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Abstract Al(OC(CF₃)₃)(PhF) reacts with silanols present on partially dehydroxylated silica to form well‐defined ≡SiOAl(OC(CF₃)₃)₂(O(Si≡)₂) (1).²⁷Al NMR and DFT calculations with a small cluster model to approximate the silica surface show that the aluminum in1adopts a distorted trigonal bipyramidal coordination geometry by coordinating to a nearby siloxane bridge and a fluorine from the alkoxide. Fluoride ion affinity (FIA) calculations follow experimental trends and show that1is a stronger Lewis acid than B(C₆F₅)₃and Al(OC(CF₃)₃)(PhF) but is weaker than Al(OC(CF₃)₃) andⁱPr₃Si⁺. Cp₂Zr(CH₃)₂reacts with1to form [Cp₂ZrCH₃][≡SiOAl(OC(CF₃)₃)₂(CH₃)] (3) by methide abstraction. This reactivity pattern is similar to reactions of organometallics with the proposed strong Lewis acid sites present on Al₂O₃. 

Abstract The silylium‐like surface species [ⁱPr₃Si][(R^FO)₃Al−OSi≡)] activates (N^N)Pd(CH₃)Cl (N^N=Ar−N=CMeMeC=N−Ar, Ar=2,6‐bis(diphenylmethyl)‐4‐methylbenzene) by chloride ion abstraction to form [(N^N)Pd−CH₃][(R^FO)₃Al−OSi≡)] (1). A combination of FTIR, solid‐state NMR spectroscopy, and reactions with CO or vinyl chloride establish that1shows similar reactivity patterns as (N^N)Pd(CH₃)Cl activated with Na[B(Ar^F)₄]. Multinuclear¹³C{²⁷Al} RESPDOR and¹H{¹⁹F} S‐REDOR experiments are consistent with a weakly coordinated ion‐pair between (N^N)Pd−CH₃⁺and [(R^FO)₃Al−OSi≡)].1catalyzes the polymerization of ethylene with similar activities as [(N^N)Pd−CH₃]⁺in solution and incorporates up to 0.4 % methyl acrylate in copolymerization reactions.1produces polymers with significantly higher molecular weight than the solution catalyst, and generates the highest molecular weight polymers currently reported in copolymerization reactions of ethylene and methylacrylate. 

Understanding how a ligand affects the steric and electronic properties of a metal is the cornerstone of the inorganic chemistry enterprise. What happens when the ligand is an extended surface? This question is central to the design and implementation of state-of-the-art functional materials containing transition metals. This perspective will describe how these two very different sets of extended surfaces can form well-defined coordination complexes with metals. In the Green formalism, functionalities on oxide surfaces react with inorganics to form species that contain X-type or LX-type interactions between the metal and the oxide. Carbon surfaces are neutral L-type ligands; this perspective focuses on carbons that donate six electrons to a metal. The nature of this interaction depends on the curvature, and thereby orbital overlap, between the metal and the extended π-system from the nanocarbon. 

Transition metal interactions with Lewis acids (M → Z linkages) are fundamentally interesting and practically important. The most common Z-type ligands contain boron, which contains an NMR active 11 B nucleus. We measured solid-state 11 B{ 1 H} NMR spectra of copper, silver, and gold complexes containing a phosphine substituted 9,10-diboraanthracene ligand (B 2 P 2 ) that contain planar boron centers and weak M → BR 3 linkages ([(B 2 P 2 )M][BAr F 4 ] (M = Cu (1), Ag (2), Au (3)) characterized by large quadrupolar coupling ( C Q ) values (4.4–4.7 MHz) and large span ( Ω ) values (93–139 ppm). However, the solid-state 11 B{ 1 H} NMR spectrum of K[Au(B 2 P 2 )] − (4), which contains tetrahedral borons, is narrow and characterized by small C Q and Ω values. DFT analysis of 1–4 shows that C Q and Ω are expected to be large for planar boron environments and small for tetrahedral boron, and that the presence of a M → BR 3 linkage relates to the reduction in C Q and 11 B NMR shielding properties. Thus solid-state 11 B NMR spectroscopy contains valuable information about M → BR 3 linkages in complexes containing the B 2 P 2 ligand.