Patent ID: 7659415

Claim:
A catalyst, comprising: a metal complex characterized by either of the general formulas: wherein at least two of the bonds to M are covalent, when the bond to M is covalent, Y 2 and Y 3 and X and X′ are the same or different and independently selected from the group consisting of oxygen, sulfur, —NR 30 —, and —PR 30 —, where R 30 is selected from the group consisting of hydride, halide, optionally substituted hydrocarbyl, heteroatom-containing hydrocarbyl, silyl, boryl, alkoxy, and aryloxy; wherein when the bond to M is dative, Y 2 and Y 3 and X and X′ are the same or different and independently selected from the group consisting of optionally substituted amino, phosphino, hydroxy, alkoxy, aryloxy, thioxy, alkylthio and arylthio; each of R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , R 8 , R 9 , R 12 , R 13 , R 14 , R 15 , R 16 , R 17 , R 18 and R 19 is independently selected from the group consisting of hydride, halide, optionally substituted hydrocarbyl, heteroatom-containing hydrocarbyl, alkoxy, aryloxy, silyl, boryl, phosphino, amino, alkylthio, arylthio, thioxy, seleno, nitro, and combinations thereof; optionally two or more R groups can combine together into ring structures, with such ring structures having from 3 to 100 atoms in the ring not counting hydrogen atoms; B is represented by the general formula -(Q″R 40 2-z″ ) z′ — wherein each Q′ is either carbon or silicon and each R 40 may be the same or different from the others such that each R 40 is selected from the group consisting of hydride and optionally substituted hydrocarbyl, and optionally two or more groups may be joined into a ring structure having from 3 to 50 atoms in the ring structure not counting hydrogen atoms; z″ is 3; and z″ is 0, 1 or 2; M is a metal selected from groups 3-6 and Lanthanide elements of the Periodic Table of Elements, each L is a moiety that forms a covalent, dative or ionic bond with M; and n′ is 1, 2, 3 or 4; and one or more activators.