Well-Defined, Versatile and Recyclable Half-Sandwich Nickelacarborane Catalyst for Selective Carbene-Transfer Reactions

Bis(Dicarbollide) Complexes of Transition Metals: How Substituents in Dicarbollide Ligands Affect the Geometry and Properties of the Complexes

The interaction between different types of substituents in dicarbollide ligands and their influence on the stabilization of various rotational conformers (rotamers) of transition metal bis(dicarbollide) complexes [3,3'-M(1,2-C2B9H11)2]- are considered. It has been shown that the formation of intramolecular CH···X hydrogen bonds between dicarbollide ligands is determined by the size of the proton acceptor atom X rather than its electronegativity. Due to the stabilization of rotamers with different dipole moments, intramolecular hydrogen bonds between ligands in transition metal bis(dicarbollide) complexes can have a significant impact on the biological properties of their derivatives. In the presence of external complexing metals, weak intramolecular CH···X hydrogen bonds can be broken to form stronger X->M donor-acceptor bonds. This process is accompanied by the mutual rotation of dicarbollide ligands and can be used in sensors and molecular switches based on transition metal bis(dicarbollide) complexes.

Understanding the Remarkable Stability of Well-Defined Dinuclear Copper(I) Carbene Complexes

The synthesis of a well-defined dicopper carbene complex supported by the PNNP (2,7-bis(di-tert-butylphosphaneyl)methyl-1,8-naphthyridine) expanded pincer ligand is reported. This carbene complex is remarkably stable, even in the presence of air and water. The reactivity of this complex was explored towards typical carbene transfer substrates and its electronic structure was investigated. Using a combination of experiments and DFT calculations, the principles that underly the stability of dinuclear carbene complexes are probed.

Pathway to Construct α-Acyloxy Esters by B(C6F5)3-Catalyzed O-H Insertion of Carboxylic Acids with Sulfoxonium Ylides

We report the first example of B(C6F5)3-catalyzed O-H insertion reaction of sulfoxonium ylides and carboxylic acids, achieving efficient construction of diester moieties under metal-free condition. This protocol is characterized by broad substrate tolerance, particularly for various phenylacetic acids, and good compatibility with water/air condition, which is superior to most other methods.

Half-Sandwich Nickelacarboranes Derived from [7-(MeO(CH2)2S)-7,8-C2B9H11]−

New carboranyl thioethers 1-MeO(CH2)nS-1,2-C2B10H11 (n = 2, 3) were prepared by the alkylation of the trimethylammonium salt of 1-mercapto-ortho-carborane with 1-bromo- 2-methoxyethane and 1-bromo-3-methoxypropane, respectively. Their deboronation with cesium fluoride in ethanol gave the corresponding nido-carboranes Cs[7-MeO(CH2)nS-7,8-C2B9H11] (n = 2, 3). The reactions of Cs[7-MeO(CH2)2S-7,8-C2B9H11] with various nickel(II) phosphine complexes [(dppe)NiCl2] and [(R’R2P)2NiCl2] (R = R’ = Ph, Bu; R = Me, R’ = Ph; R = Ph, R’ = Me, Et) were studied and a series of nickelacarboranes 3,3-dppe-1-MeO(CH2)2S-closo-3,1,2-NiC2B9H10 and 3,3- (R’R2P)2-1-MeO(CH2)2S-closo-3,1,2-NiC2B9H10 (R = R’ = Bu; R = Me, R’ = Ph; R = Ph, R’ = Me, Et) was prepared. The molecular crystal structure of 3,3-dppe-1-MeO(CH2)2S-closo-3,1,2-NiC2B9H10 was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction.

Nickel Carbene-Mediated One-Carbon Homologative γ-Butyrolactonization

In this report, we present a highly efficient approach for the synthesis of β,γ-disubstituted γ-butyrolactone motifs. This newly developed strategy is based on the combination of a diastereoselective aldol and a nickel carbene-mediated γ-butyrolactonization and uses an effective intramolecular ring closure to rapidly access a range of functionalized chiral γ-butyrolactones. This single-step approach was applied to produce straightforward asymmetric syntheses of (-)-talaumidin methyl ether, (+)-veraguensin, and (+)-dubiusamine A and a formal synthesis of (+)-phaseolinic acid as one of the shortest syntheses disclosed to date.

Nickel-Catalyzed Enantioconvergent Carboxylation Enabled by a Chiral 2,2'-Bipyridine Ligand

In contrast to previous approaches to chiral α-aryl carboxylic acids that based on reactions using hazardous gases, pressurized setup and mostly noble metal catalysts, in this work, a nickel-catalyzed general, efficient and highly enantioselective carboxylation reaction of racemic benzylic (pseudo)halides under mild conditions using atmospheric CO₂ has been developed. A unique chiral 2,2'-bipyridine ligand named Me-SBpy featuring compact polycyclic skeleton enabled both high reactivity and stereoselectivity. The utility of this method has been demonstrated by synthesis of various chiral α-aryl carboxylic acids (30 examples, up to 95 % yield and 99 : 1 er), including profen family anti-inflammatory drugs and transformations using the acids as key intermediates. Based on mechanistic experimental results, a plausible catalytic cycle involving Ni-complex/radical equilibrium and Lewis acid-assisted CO₂ activation has been proposed.

New Aspects of Ruthenium-Mediated Polyhedral Contraction of Monocarbollides

It has been shown that the interaction of tris(triphenylphosphine)ruthenium dichloride RuCl2(PPh3)3 (1) with 10-vertex monocarborane [6-Ph-nido-6-CB9H11]−[Et4N]+ (2) under mild thermolysis conditions is not selective due to the undesired coordination of ruthenium to a phenyl substituent in the carborane and phosphine ligands, giving the series of new classical and non-classical metallacarborane complexes. In contrast, the reaction of 1 and monocarborane [arachno-6-CB9H14]−[Et4N]+ (3) proceeds more selectively with the formation of the only one product, a isocloso-structured metallacarborane. The structures of two ruthenacarboranes were resolved by X-ray diffraction.

Synthesis and Catalytic Properties of Novel Ruthenacarboranes Based on nido-[5-Me-7,8-C2B9H10]2− and nido-[5,6-Me2-7,8-C2B9H9]2− Dicarbollide Ligands

The effect of methyl substituents in the lower belt of dicarbollide ligands on the redox potential of ruthenacarboranes based thereof, as well as the ability of the metallacarboranes obtained to catalyze radical polymerization with atom transfer were studied. For this purpose, a new approach to the synthesis of closo-ruthenacarboranes based on substituted dicarbollide ligands was developed and six new complexes 3,3-(Ph2P(CH2)4PPh2)-3-H-3-Cl-9-Me-12-X-closo-3,1,2-RuC2B9H9, 3,3,8-(Ph2P(CH2)4PPh-μ-(C6H4-o))-3-Cl-9-Me-12-X-closo-3,1,2-RuC2B9H8 and 3,3,4,8-(Ph2P(CH2)4P-μ-(C6H4-o)2)-3-Cl-9-Me-9-X-closo-3,1,2-RuC2B9H7 (X = H, Me) were synthetized and characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction, NMR and ESR spectroscopy and MALDI TOF mass-spectrometry. Comparison of the values of the redox potentials of the synthesized ruthenium complexes in 1,2-dichloroethane with the values previously found for the corresponding ruthenacarboranes based on the parent dicarbollide anion showed that the introduction of methyl substituents into the carborane cage led to a decrease in the redox potentials of the complexes, which made them more preferable catalysts for ATRP. Test experiments on the polymerization of MMA showed that the synthesized ruthenacarboranes were effective catalysts for ATRP, the most active being the complex with two methyl groups and two ortho-phenylenecycloboronated fragments.

Synthesis and crystal structures of nickel(ii) and palladium(ii) complexes with o-carboranyl amidine ligands

A number of new nido-carboranyl amidines 10-R(CH₂)_nNHC(Et)[double bond, length as m-dash]HN-7,8-C₂B₉H₁₁ (n = 2, R = OH, OMe, and NMe₂; n = 3, R = OH) were synthesized by the nucleophilic addition of amino alcohols and N,N-dimethylethylenediamine to the highly activated -C[triple bond, length as m-dash]N⁺- triple bond of the 10-propionitrilium derivative of nido-carborane. A similar reaction of 10-EtC[triple bond, length as m-dash]N-7,8-C₂B₉H₁₁ with ethylenediamine unexpectedly resulted in the cleavage of the C[triple bond, length as m-dash]N bond to form the ammonium derivative 10-H₃N-7,8-C₂B₉H₁₁. The complexation of the synthesized carboranyl amidines 10-MeO(CH₂)₂NHC(Et)[double bond, length as m-dash]HN-7,8-C₂B₉H₁₁ and 10-Me₂N(CH₂)₂NHC(Et)[double bond, length as m-dash]HN-7,8-C₂B₉H₁₁ with nickel and palladium phosphine complexes [(Ph₃P)₂MCl₂] (M = Ni, Pd) was studied. The reactions with 10-MeO(CH₂)₂NHC(Et)[double bond, length as m-dash]HN-7,8-C₂B₉H₁₁ result in half-sandwiched metallacarborane complexes with the retention of one triphenylphosphine ligand [3-Ph₃P-3-(8-MeOCH₂CH₂N[double bond, length as m-dash]C(Et)NH)-3,1,2-MC₂B₉H₁₀], while the reactions with 10-Me₂N(CH₂)₂NHC(Et)[double bond, length as m-dash]HN-7,8-C₂B₉H₁₁ proceed with the complete loss of the phosphine ligands and lead to the formation of complexes with the η⁵:κ²(N,N')-coordinated carboranyl amidine ligand [3,3-(8-Me₂NCH₂CH₂N[double bond, length as m-dash]C(Et)NH)-3,1,2-MC₂B₉H₁₀]. The crystal molecular structures of the synthesized complexes were determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction.

Stepwise B–H bond activation of a meta-carborane

Stepwise multiple B–H bond activation is a major challenge in synthetic chemistry.