Preferential Activation of Primary CH Bonds in the Reactions of Small Alkanes with the Diatomic MgO+. Cation

Metal-Oxyl Species and Their Possible Roles in Chemical Oxidations

Metal-oxyl (Mⁿ⁺-O^•) complexes having an oxyl radical ligand, which are electronically equivalent to well-known metal-oxo (M⁽ⁿ⁺¹⁾⁺═O) complexes, are surveyed as a new category of metal-based oxidants. Detection and characterization of Mⁿ⁺-O^• species have been made in some cases, although proposals and characterization of the species are mostly done on the basis of density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The reactivity of Mⁿ⁺-O^• complexes will provide a way to achieve potentially difficult oxidative conversion of substrates. This Viewpoint will provide state-of-the-art knowledge on the Mⁿ⁺-O^• species in terms of the formation, characterization, and DFT-based proposals to shed light on the characteristics of the intriguing oxidatively active species.

Activation of propane C-H and C-C bonds by gas-phase Pt atom: a theoretical study

The reaction mechanism of the gas-phase Pt atom with C₃H₈ has been systematically investigated on the singlet and triplet potential energy surfaces at CCSD(T)//BPW91/6-311++G(d, p), Lanl2dz level. Pt atom prefers the attack of primary over secondary C-H bonds in propane. For the Pt + C₃H₈ reaction, the major and minor reaction channels lead to PtC₃H₆ + H₂ and PtCH₂ + C₂H₆, respectively, whereas the possibility to form products PtC₂H₄ + CH₄ is so small that it can be neglected. The minimal energy reaction pathway for the formation of PtC₃H₆ + H₂, involving one spin inversion, prefers to start at the triplet state and afterward proceed along the singlet state. The optimal C-C bond cleavages are assigned to C-H bond activation as the first step, followed by cleavage of a C-C bond. The C-H insertion intermediates are kinetically favored over the C-C insertion intermediates. From C-C to C-H oxidative insertion, the lowering of activation barrier is mainly caused by the more stabilizing transition state interaction ΔE^≠_int, which is the actual interaction energy between the deformed reactants in the transition state.

Oxidative methane upgrading

The economically viable oxidative upgrading of methane presents one of the most difficult but rewarding challenges within catalysis research. Its potential to revolutionalise the chemical value chain, coupled with the associated supremely challenging scientific aspects, has ensured this topic's high popularity over the preceeding decades. Herein, we report a non-exhaustive account of the current developments within the field of oxidative methane upgrading and summarise the pertaining challenges that have yet to be solved.

Aromatic C-H bond activation revealed by infrared multiphoton dissociation spectroscopy

Metal-oxide cations are models of catalyst mediating the C-H bond activation of organic substrates. One of the most powerful reagents suggested in the gas phase is based on CuO(+) . Here, we describe the activation of the aromatic C-H bonds of phenanthroline in its complex with CuO(+) . The reaction sequence starts with a hydrogen atom abstraction by the oxygen atom from the 2-position of the phenanthroline ring, followed by OH migration to the ring. Using infrared multiphoton spectroscopy, it is shown that the reaction can be energetically facilitated by additional coordination of a water ligand to the copper ion. As the reaction is intramolecular, a spectroscopic characterization of the product is mandatory in order to unambiguously address the reaction mechanism.

Theoretical study on the gas-phase reaction mechanism between palladium monoxide and methane

The gas-phase reaction mechanism between palladium monoxide and methane has been theoretically investigated on the singlet and triplet state potential energy surfaces (PESs) at the CCSD(T)/AVTZ//B3LYP/6-311+G(2d, 2p), SDD level. The major reaction channel leads to the products PdCH(2) + H(2)O, whereas the minor channel results in the products Pd + CH(3)OH, CH(2)OPd + H(2), and PdOH + CH(3). The minimum energy reaction pathway for the formation of main products (PdCH(2) + H(2)O), involving one spin inversion, prefers to start at the triplet state PES and afterward proceed along the singlet state PES, where both CH(3)PdOH and CH(3)Pd(O)H are the critical intermediates. Furthermore, the rate-determining step is RS-CH(3) PdOH → RS-2-TS1cb → RS-CH(2)Pd(H)OH with the rate constant of k = 1.48 × 10(12) exp(-93,930/RT). For the first C-H bond cleavage, both the activation strain ΔE(≠)(strain) and the stabilizing interaction ΔE(≠)(int) affect the activation energy ΔE(≠), with ΔE(≠)(int) in favor of the direct oxidative insertion. On the other hand, in the PdCH(2) + H(2) O reaction, the main products are Pd + CH(3)OH, and CH(3)PdOH is the energetically preferred intermediate. In the CH(2)OPd + H(2) reaction, the main products are Pd + CH(3)OH with the energetically preferred intermediate H(2)PdOCH(2). In the Pd + CH(3)OH reaction, the main products are CH(2)OPd + H(2), and H(2)PdOCH(2) is the energetically predominant intermediate. The intermediates, PdCH(2), H(2) PdCO, and t-HPdCHO are energetically preferred in the PdC + H(2), PdCO + H(2), and H(2)Pd + CO reactions, respectively. Besides, PdO toward methane activation exhibits higher reaction efficiency than the atom Pd and its first-row congener NiO.

Chemistry with methane: concepts rather than recipes

Four seemingly simple transformations related to the chemistry of methane will be addressed from mechanistic and conceptual points of view: 1) metal-mediated dehydrogenation to form metal carbene complexes, 2) the hydrogen-atom abstraction step in the oxidative dimerization of methane, 3) the mechanisms of the CH(4)→CH(3)OH conversion, and 4) the initial bond scission (C-H vs. O-H) as well as the rate-limiting step in the selective CH(3)OH→CH(2)O oxidation. State-of-the-art gas-phase experiments, in conjunction with electronic-structure calculations, permit identification of the elementary reactions at a molecular level and thus allow us to unravel detailed mechanistic aspects. Where appropriate, these results are compared with findings from related studies in solution or on surfaces.

Investigation of coordination of Mg(II) cations to 2-pyrimidinyloxy-N-arylbenzylamines by electrospray mass spectrometry: insights for Mg(II) catalyzed Smiles rearrangement reactions

The CH(3)OH solutions of pyrimidinyloxy-N-arylbenzylamines (1-5) in the presence of Mg(II)X(2) salts (X = Cl or ClO(4)) were investigated by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) subsequently, showing that the cationic Mg(II) complexes 1-5·MgX(+) were important active complexes or intermediates for initiating interesting Smiles rearrangement reactions in both the gas and solution phases. By using different MgX(2) salts and selecting a set of reactants with different substitutes, the role of the counter-ion (X(-)) and the structure effect of the reactants on the Mg(II) catalyzed Smiles rearrangement reactions were studied. Moreover, the solvent effect on Mg(II) catalyzed Smiles rearrangement reactions was revealed by studying the CH(3)OH adduct complexes of 1-5·MgCl(+), which showed that the coordination of CH(3)OH to the Mg(II) center in the complexes decreased the reaction tendency. The mechanisms involved in the gas-phase Mg(II) catalyzed Smiles rearrangement reactions were proposed on the basis of MS/MS experiments and theoretical computations, showing some unique chemistries initiated by introducing Mg(II) into the template molecules.