Catalytic reactions of hydrocarbons promoted by coordination unsaturated Zr and Ti compounds: A density functional theory study

The paper is a review of a series of publications devoted to a number of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic reactions, their mechanisms, and energy characteristics. These reactions are promoted by coordination unsaturated compounds of Ti and Zr and proceed with cleavage and/or formation of C-C and C-H bonds in the hydrocarbon chain (polymerization reaction of ethylene, styrene, and butadiene-1,3, hydrogenolysis and hydroisomerization of linear and branched alkanes, and H/D isotope exchange in alkanes). A high-level quantum chemical method (DFT, PBE functional, gauss type TZ2p basis sets, the original PRIRODA program) was applied for the catalytic systems under the study. The nature and the structure of the active center, detailed mechanisms, and energy profile of the reaction of the substrate with a catalytic particle are considered. We compare our data with the results of both experimental and theoretical contributions from other authors.