Precursors of post-metallocene olefin polymerization catalysts, unlike their predecessors, are usually octahedral transition metal complexes with multidentate ligands. Such ligands may wrap around the central atom in many ways, thus yielding several isomeric species. For a wide range of phenoxyimine (FI) ligands with different substituents, all the theoretically predicted diastereomers of group 4 and 5 complexes are available synthetically. However, only one of the isomers is usually preferred, and this is determined by the nature of the substituents in the FI ligand. The origin and mechanism of such preference has not been completely elucidated. We attempted to describe it quantitatively on the basis of density functional theory and our calculations indicate that the main factor contributing to the stability of a particular isomer of the complex is the molar volume of the substituent at the nitrogen atom in the FI ligand. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved