Olefin Complexes of Low-Valent Rhenium

Lewis Acid Activation of the Ferrous Heme-NO Fragment toward the N-N Coupling Reaction with NO To Generate N2O

Bacterial NO reductase (bacNOR) enzymes utilize a heme/non-heme active site to couple two NO molecules to N₂O. We show that BF₃ coordination to the nitrosyl O-atom in (OEP)Fe(NO) activates it toward N-N bond formation with NO to generate N₂O. ¹⁵N-isotopic labeling reveals a reversible nitrosyl exchange reaction and follow-up N-O bond cleavage in the N₂O formation step. Other Lewis acids (B(C₆F₅)₃ and K⁺) also promote the NO coupling reaction with (OEP)Fe(NO). These results, complemented by DFT calculations, provide experimental support for the cis: b₃ pathway in bacNOR.

Probing the catalytic potential of chloro nitrosyl rhenium(I) complexes

The reduction of the mononitrosyl Re(II) salt [NMe(4)](2)[ReCl(5)(NO)] (1) with zinc in acetonitrile afforded the Re(i) dichloride complex [ReCl(2)(NO)(CH(3)CN)(3)] (2). Subsequent ligand substitution reactions with PCy(3), PiPr(3) and P(p-tolyl)(3) afforded the bisphosphine Re(i) complexes [ReCl(2)(NO)(PR(3))(2)(CH(3)CN)] (3, R = Cy a, iPr b, p-tolyl c) in good yields. The acetonitrile ligand in 3 is labile, permitting its replacement with H(2) (1 bar) to afford the dihydrogen Re(I) complexes [ReCl(2)(NO)(PR(3))(2)(η(2)-H(2))] (4, R = Cy a, iPr b). The catalytic activity of 2, 3 and 4 in hydrogen-related catalyses including dehydrocoupling of Me(2)NH·BH(3), dehydrogenative silylation of styrenes, and hydrosilylation of ketones and aryl aldehydes were investigated, with the main focus on phosphine and halide effects. In the dehydrocoupling of Me(2)NH·BH(3), the phosphine-free complex 2 exhibits the same activity as the bisphosphine-substituted systems. In the dehydrogenative silylation of styrenes, 3a and 4a bearing PCy(3) ligands exhibit high catalytic activities. Monochloro Re(I) hydrides [Re(Cl)(H)(NO)(PR(3))(2)(CH(3)CN)] (5, R = Cy a, iPr b) were proven to be formed in the initiation pathway. The phosphine-free complex 2 showed in dehydrogenative silylations even higher activity than the bisphosphine derivatives, which further emphasizes the importance of a facile phosphine dissociation in the catalytic process. In the hydrosilylation of ketones and aryl aldehydes, at least one rhenium-bound phosphine is required to ensure high catalytic activity.

Facile synthetic access to rhenium(II) complexes: activation of carbon-bromine bonds by single-electron transfer

The five-coordinated Re(I) hydride complexes [Re(Br)(H)(NO)(PR(3))(2)] (R=Cy 1 a, iPr 1 b) were reacted with benzylbromide, thereby affording the 17-electron mononuclear Re(II) hydride complexes [Re(Br)(2)(H)(NO)(PR(3))(2)] (R=Cy 3 a, iPr 3 b), which were characterized by EPR, cyclic voltammetry, and magnetic susceptibility measurements. In the case of dibromomethane or bromoform, the reaction of 1 afforded Re(II) hydrides 3 in addition to Re(I) carbene hydrides [Re(=CHR(1))(Br)(H)(NO)(PR(3))(2)] (R(1)=H 4, Br 5; R=Cy a, iPr b) in which the hydride ligand is positioned cis to the carbene ligand. For comparison, the dihydrogen Re(I) dibromide complexes [Re(Br)(2)(NO)(PR(3))(2)(eta(2)-H(2))] (R=Cy 2 a, iPr 2 b) were reacted with allyl- or benzylbromide, thereby affording the monophosphine Re(II) complex salts [R(3)PCH(2)R'][Re(Br)(4)(NO)(PR(3))] (R'=-CH=CH(2) 6, Ph 7). The reduction of Re(II) complexes has also been examined. Complex 3 a or 3 b can be reduced by zinc to afford 1 a or 1 b in high yield. Under catalytic conditions, this reaction enables homocoupling of benzylbromide (turnover frequency (TOF): 3 a 150, 3 b 134 h(-1)) or allylbromide (TOF: 3 a 575, 3 b 562 h(-1)). The reaction of 6 a and 6 b with zinc in acetonitrile affords in good yields the monophosphine Re(I) complexes [Re(Br)(2)(NO)(MeCN)(2)(PR(3))] (R=Cy 8 a, iPr 8 b), which showed high catalytic activity toward highly selective dehydrogenative silylation of styrenes (maximum TOF of 61 h(-1)). Single-electron transfer (SET) mechanisms were proposed for all these transformations. The molecular structures of 3 a, 6 a, 6 b, 7 a, 7 b, and 8 a were established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies.

Highly selective dehydrogenative silylation of alkenes catalyzed by rhenium complexes

Choosy chemicals: Rhenium(I) complexes of type [ReBr(2)(L)(NO)(PR(3))(2)] (L=H(2) (1), CH(3)CN (2), ethylene (3); R=iPr (a), cyclohexyl (b)) proved to be suitable catalyst precursors for the highly selective dehydrogenative silylation of alkenes. Two types of rhenium(I) hydride species, [ReBrH(NO)(PR(3))(2)] (4) and [ReBr(eta(2)-CH(2)=CHR(1))H(NO)(PR(3))(2)] (5), were found in the [ReBr(2)(L)(NO)(PR(3))(2)]-catalyzed dehydrogenative silylation of alkenes.Rhenium(I) complexes of type [ReBr(2)(L)(NO)(PR(3))(2)] (L=H(2) (1), CH(3)CN (2), and ethylene (3); R=iPr (a) and cyclohexyl (Cy; b)) catalyze dehydrogenative silylation of alkenes in a highly selective manner to yield silyl alkenes and the corresponding alkanes. Hydrosilylation products appear only rarely depending on the type of olefinic substituent, and if they do appear then it is in very minor amounts. Mechanistic studies showed that two rhenium(I) hydride species of type [ReBrH(NO)(PR(3))(2)] (R=iPr (4 a) and Cy (4 b)) and [ReBr(eta(2)-CH(2)=CHR(1))H(NO)(PR(3))(2)] (R(1)=p-CH(3)C(6)H(4), R=iPr (5 a), Cy (5 b); R(1)=H, R=iPr (5 a'), Cy (5 b')) are involved in the initiation pathway of the catalysis. The rate-determining steps of the catalytic cycle are the phosphine dissociation from complexes of type 5 and the reductive eliminations to form the alkane components. The catalytic cycle implies that the given rhenium systems have the ability to activate C-H and Si-H bonds through the aid of a facile redox interplay of Re(I) and Re(III) species. The molecular structures of 4 b and 5 a were established by means of X-ray diffraction studies.