New mono- and tricyclopalladated dendritic systems with encapsulated catalytic sites

Cr(II) and Cr(III) NCN pincer complexes: synthesis, structure, and catalytic reactivity

The synthesis, characterization, and reactivity of several new Cr(II) and Cr(III) complexes featuring an NCN pincer ligand with an arene backbone connected to amine donors NEt2 and NiPr2 via CH2-linkers is described. Reacting the in situ lithiated ligand precursor N(C-Br)NCH2-Et with [CrCl3(THF)3] resulted in the formation of the Cr(III) complex trans-[Cr(κ3NCN-NCNCH2-Et)(Cl)2(THF)]. Upon reaction of lithiated N(C-Br)NCH2-iPr with a suspension of anhydrous CrCl2, the Cr(II) complex [Cr(κ2NC-NCNCH2-iPr)2] is formed featuring two NCN ligands bound in κ2NC-fashion. In contrast, when lithiated N(C-Br)NCH2-iPr is reacted with a homogeneous solution of anhydrous CrX2 (X = Cl, Br), complexes [Cr(κ3NCN-NCNCH2-iPr)X] are obtained. Treatment of [Cr(κ3NCN-NCNCH2-iPr)Cl] with 1 equiv of PhCH2MgCl and LiCH2SiMe3 afforded the alkyl complexes [Cr(κ3NCN-NCNCH2-iPr)(CH2Ph)] and [Cr(κ3NCN-NCNCH2-iPr)(CH2SiMe3)]. All Cr(II) complexes exhibit effective magnetic moments in the range of 4.7-4.9 µB which is indicative for d4 high spin systems. If a solution of lithiated N(C-Br)NCH2-iPr is treated with CrCl2, followed by addition of an excess of Na[HB(Et)3], the dimeric complex [Cr(κ2NC-NCNCH2-iPr)(μ2-H)]2 is obtained bearing two bridging hydride ligands. [Cr(κ3NCN-NCNCH2-iPr)(CH2SiMe3)] turned out to be catalytically active for the hydrosilylation of ketones at room temperature with a catalyst loading of 1 mol%. X-ray structures of all complexes are presented.

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Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00706-023-03128-6.

Synthesis and Characterization of Cobalt NCN Pincer Complexes

A series of cobalt complexes, stabilized by a monoanionic tridentate NCN pincer ligand, was synthetized and characterized. Preparation of the paramagnetic 15 VE complex [Co(NCNCH2-Et)Br] (1) was accomplished by transmetalation of Li[2,6-(Et2NCH2)2C6H3] with CoBr2 in THF. Treatment of this air-sensitive compound with NO gas resulted in the formation of the diamagnetic Co(III) species [Co(NCNCH2-Et)(NO)Br] (2) as confirmed by X-ray diffraction. This complex features a strongly bent NO ligand (Co-N-O∠135.0°). The νNO is observed at 1609 cm-1 which is typical for a bent metal-N-O arrangement. Coordinatively unsaturated 1 could further be treated with pyridine, isocyanides, phosphines and CO to form five-coordinate 17 VE complexes. Oxidation of 1 with CuBr2 led to the formation of the Co(III) complex [Co(NCNCH2-Et)Br2]. Treatment of [Co(NCNCH2-Et)Br2] with TlBF4 as halide scavenger in acetonitrile led to the formation of the cationic octahedral complex [Co(NCNCH2-Et)(MeCN)3](BF4)2. A combination of X-ray crystallography, IR-, NMR- and EPR-spectroscopy as well as DFT/CAS-SCF calculations were used to characterize all compounds.

Synthesis of carbosilane dendritic wedges and their use for the construction of dendritic receptors

A divergent route for the synthesis of carbosilane wedges that contain either a bromine or amine as focal point has been developed. These new building blocks enable the construction of various core-functionalized carbosilane dendrimers. As a typical example carbosilane dendrimers up to the third generation containing a N,N',N''-1,3,5-benzenetricarboxamide core (G1-G3) have been synthesized. This new class of molecules has been studied as host molecules and they have been found to bind protected amino acids as guest molecules via hydrogen bonding interactions. A decrease in the association constants was observed for the higher generation dendritic hosts, which is attributed to the increased steric hindrance around the core where the binding site is located. The binding properties of the dendritic host molecules can be tuned by modifying the binding motif at the core of the carbosilane dendrimers. A higher association constant for N-CBZ-protected glutamic acid 1-methyl ester (5) was observed when the third generation N,N',N''-1,3,5-tris(L-alaninyl)benzenetricarboxamide core-functionalized carbosilane dendrimer (G3') was used as the host molecule compared to G3. Different association constants for the formation of the diastereomeric G3'.L-5(K=295 M(-1)) and G3'.(D-5)(2) (K=236 M(-1)) host-guest complexes were observed, pointing to a small enantioselective recognition effect. The difference between the association constants for the formation of the G3'.(L-5)(2) and G3'.(D-5)(2) host-guest complexes was much more pronounced, K=37 M(-1)versus K=10 M(-1), respectively.

Peripheral SH-functionalisation of carbosilane dendrimers including the synthesis of the model compound dimethylbis(propanethiol)silane and their interaction with rhodium complexes

Treatment of the allyl-containing compounds Me2Si(CH2CHCH2)2 and MeSi(CH2CHCH2)3 with thioacetic acid in the presence of AIBN gave Me2Si[(CH2)3SC(O)CH3]2 and MeSi[(CH2)3SC(O)CH3]3, respectively, which were reduced with LiAlH4 to the dithiols Me2Si[(CH2)3SH]2(3) and MeSi[(CH2)3SH]3(4). This protocol was applied to the first and second generations of the doubly and triply-branched carbosilane allyl dendrimers, Si[(CH2)3SiMe(CH2CHCH2)2]4(G(1)allyl-8), Si[(CH2)3SiMe{(CH2)3SiMe(CH2CHCH2)2}2]4(G(2)allyl-16), Si[(CH2)3Si(CH2CHCH2)3]4(G(1)allyl-12), and Si[(CH2)3Si{(CH2)3Si(CH2CHCH2)3}3]4(G(2)allyl-36) to give the corresponding SH functionalised surface dendrimers Si[(CH2)3SiMe(CH2CH2CH2SH)2]4(G(1)SH-8), G(2)SH-16, G(1)SH-12, and G(2)SH-36. Reactions of 3 with [M(acac)(diolefin)](M = Rh, Ir; diolefin = 1,5-cyclooctadiene, 2,5-norbornadiene) gave the compounds of the type [M2(mu-Me2Si[(CH2)3S]2)(diolefin)2]n. These diolefin complexes are octanuclear (n= 4) in solution while the complex [Rh2(mu-Me2Si[(CH2)3S]2)(cod)2]n(5) is tetranuclear in the solid state. The structure of 5, solved by X-ray diffraction methods, consists of a 20-membered metallomacrocycle formed by two dimethylbis(propylthiolate)silane moieties bridging four fragments Rh(cod) in a mu2 fashion through the sulfur atoms. Treatment of [Rh(acac)(CO)2] with 3 gave [Rh2(mu-Me2Si[(CH2)3S]2)(CO)4]n, which is a mixture of tetra (n= 2) and octanuclear (n= 4) complexes in a 2 : 1 ratio in solution, while the related complex [Rh2(mu-Me2Si[(CH2)3S]2)(CO)2(PPh3)2]2 is tetranuclear. Reactions of [Rh(acac)(L-L)](L-L = cod, (CO)2, (CO)(PPh3)) with 4 and the dendrimers G(1)SH-8, G(2)SH-16, and G(1)SH-12, gave microcrystalline solids of formulae [Rh3(MeSi[(CH2)3S]3)(L-L)3]n, [Si[(CH2)3SiMe{(CH2)3SRh(cod)}2]4]n([G(1)Rh(cod)-8]n), [Si[(CH2)3Si{(CH2)3SRh(cod)}3]4]n([G(1)Rh(cod)-12]n), etc., which presumably are tridimensional coordination polymers.