Cation–π interactions enabling hard/soft Ti/Ag heterobimetallic cooperativity in lactide ring-opening polymerisation

Abstract

The combination of a Ti–salen complex with AgBArF reveals unique hard/soft heterobimetallic cooperativity in lactide ring-opening polymerisation (ROP), enabling significant activity at room temperature. Reactivity, mechanistic and computational studies highlight the role of cation–π interactions in the formation of heterobimetallic species and provide key insights into the role of both metals in ROP.