Titanium amino alcohol complexes from α-titanic acid:: X-ray crystal structure of titanium bis[2,2′-(methylimino)diethanolate]

A method for producing amino alcohol complexes of titanium from hydrated titania (alpha-titanic acid) is described. Thus hydrated titania was completely converted into triethanolamine and diethanolamine complexes during reaction at 120 degrees C for 6 h. This represents a synthetic method for titanium sol-gel precursors which are free from chlorine-containing impurities. Products were characterized with assistance from H-1 and C-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and electrospray mass spectrometry. A single-crystal X-ray structure of titanium bis[2,2'-(methylimino)ethanolate], tetragonal, space group <P(4)over bar>2(1)c, is presented. The titanium centre is coordinated by an N2O4 donor set which can be most closely described as a bifacially capped tetrahedral geometry.