methylaluminoxane
Sign in to saveMethylaluminoxane, commonly called MAO, is a mixture of organoaluminium compounds with the approximate formula (Al(CH3)O)n. It is usually encountered as a solution in (aromatic) solvents, commonly toluene but also xylene, cumene, or mesitylene, Used in large excess, it activates precatalysts for alkene polymerization.
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Methylaluminoxane, commonly called MAO, is a mixture of organoaluminium compounds with the approximate formula (Al(CH3)O)n. It is usually encountered as a solution in (aromatic) solvents, commonly toluene but also xylene, cumene, or mesitylene, Used in large excess, it activates precatalysts for alkene polymerization.
==Preparation and structure== thumb|left|320px|Structure of Al33O26(CH3)47(Al2(CH3)6), an MAO crystallized by Luo, Younker, Zabula. The highlighted (CH3)2Al+sites are proposed to be released during catalyst activation. MAO is prepared by the incomplete hydrolysis of trimethylaluminium, as indicated by this idealized equation: n Al(CH3)3 + n H2O → (Al(CH3)O)n + 2n CH4 After many years of study, single crystals of an active MAO were analyzed by X-ray crystallography. The molecule adopts a ruffled sheet of tetrahedral Al centers linked by triply bridging oxides.