Isolation of a Tetranuclear Intermediate Complex in the Synthesis of Paddlewheel-Type Dirhodium Tetraacetate

Hydroxypyridinate-bridged paddlewheel-type dirhodium complex as a catalyst for photochemical and electrochemical hydrogen evolution

Electrochemical and photochemical hydrogen (H2) evolution activities of a 6-fluoro-2-hydroxypyridinate (fhp-)-bridged paddlewheel-type dirhodium (Rh2) complex, [Rh2(fhp)4], were investigated through experimental and theoretical approaches. In DMF, the [Rh2(fhp)4] underwent a one-electron reduction (assigned to Rh24+/3+) at -1.31 V vs SCE in the cathodic region. Adding trifluoroacetic acid as a proton source to the electrochemical cell containing [Rh2(fhp)4], the significant catalytic current, i.e., electrochemical H2 evolution, was observed; the turnover frequency and overpotential of electrochemical H2 evolution were 18 244 s-1 and 732 mV, respectively. The reaction mechanism of electrochemical H2 evolution catalyzed by [Rh2(fhp)4] in DMF was examined in detail by theoretically predicting the redox potentials and pKa values of the reaction intermediates using density functional theory calculations. The calculations revealed that (i) the formation of a one-electron reduced species, [Rh2(fhp)4]-, triggered for H2 evolution and (ii) the protonation and reduction processes of [Rh2(fhp)4]- to further reduced hydride intermediates proceeded directly via a concerted proton-electron transfer mechanism. Moreover, [Rh2(fhp)4] was shown to be a highly efficient H2 evolution catalyst (HEC) for photochemical proton reduction reactions when combined with an artificial photosynthetic (AP) system containing [Ir(ppy)2(dtbbpy)]PF6 and triethylamine, which served as a photosensitizer and a sacrificial electron donor, respectively. Under visible light irradiation, the total amount of H2 evolved and its turnover number (per Rh ion) were 1361.0 µmol and 13 610, respectively, which are superior to those of previously reported AP systems with rhodium complexes as HEC.

Scalable Synthesis of Esp and Rhodium(II) Carboxylates from Acetylacetone and RhCl3·xH2O

Rhodium(II) carboxylates are privileged catalysts for the most challenging carbene-, nitrene-, and oxo-transfer reactions. In this work, we address the strategic challenges of current organic and inorganic synthesis methods to access these rhodium(II) complexes through an oxidative rearrangement strategy and a reductive ligation reaction. These studies illustrate the multiple benefits of oxidative rearrangement in the process-scale synthesis of congested carboxylates over nitrile anion alkylation reactions, and the impressive effect of inorganic additives in the reductive ligation of rhodium(III) salts.

Coordination-Induced Self-Assembly of a Heteroleptic Paddlewheel-Type Dirhodium Complex

A novel heteroleptic paddlewheel-type dirhodium (Rh2) complex [Rh2(O2CCH3)3(PABC)] (1; PABC = para-aminobenzenecarboxylate), which has an amino group as a potential donor site for coordination with the metal ion, was synthesized and characterized by 1H NMR, ESI-TOF-MS, infrared spectra, and elemental analysis. The slow evaporation of N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF)-dissolved 1 produces the purple-colored crystalline polymeric species [Rh2(O2CCH3)3 (PABC)(DMF)]n (1P). Single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction analyses, as well as thermo-gravimetric analysis, clarified that 1P formed a one-dimensional polymeric structure, in which the two axial sites of the Rh2 ion in 1P are coordinated by a DMF molecule and an amino group of the PABC ligand of the neighboring molecule 1, by coordination-induced self-assembly (polymerization) with an Rh-amino bond. The reversible structural change (self-assembly and disassembly transformations) between the discrete species [Rh2(O2CCH3)3(PABC)(DMF)2] (1D; green solution) and the polymeric species 1P (purple solid) was accompanied by a color change, which easily occurred by the dissolution and evaporation procedures with DMF.

Intrinsic hydrogen evolution capability and a theoretically supported reaction mechanism of a paddlewheel-type dirhodium complex

The intrinsic capability of the paddlewheel-type dirhodium tetraacetate complex, [Rh₂(O₂CCH₃)₄(H₂O)₂] ([1(H₂O)₂]), as a hydrogen evolution catalyst (HEC) for photochemical hydrogen evolution from aqueous solution was illustrated. This was achieved by using an optimized artificial photosynthesis (AP) system with a cyclometalated iridium complex [Ir(ppy)₂(bpy)](PF₆) ([Ir-PS-1]) and triethylamine (TEA) serving as a photosensitizer (PS) and a sacrificial donor, respectively. The total amount of hydrogen evolution and the turnover number (TON) of catalysis using this AP system were 385.7 μmol and 3857 (per Rh ion), respectively; these values are higher than those of [Rh(dtBubpy)₃](PF₆)₃, which is the most efficient HEC among the mononuclear rhodium complexes, and RhCl₃. Moreover, the catalytic performance of [1(H₂O)₂] was further accelerated by using [Ir(ppy)₂(dtBubpy)](PF₆) [Ir-PS-3] as a PS; 9886 TON (H₂ per Rh ion) was verified after 12 h of irradiation. In addition, the detailed mechanism of hydrogen evolution catalyzed by [1(H₂O)₂] was clarified by combining electro- and photochemical analyses and DFT calculations. The optimized geometries of [1(H₂O)₂], [1], hydride intermediates [H-Rh₂(O₂CCH₃)₄] ([H-1]), and their reduced species were theoretically verified by DFT calculations. Moreover, their redox potentials were theoretically estimated and compared with the observed potentials. Their combination analyses indicated that (i) the formation of [1], which has an open-metal site for hydrogen evolution and can be reduced by the one-electron reduced species of [Ir-PS-1], is a trigger for hydrogen evolution; (ii) [H-1] and its reduced species, which are verified by CV analyses, are key intermediate species in this reaction; and (iii) photochemical hydrogen evolution catalyzed by [1(H₂O)₂] occurred by two-electron reduction processes.

Synthesis, Characterization, Absorption Properties, and Electronic Structures of Paddlewheel-Type Dirhodium(II) Tetra-μ-(n-naphthoate) Complexes: An Experimental and Theoretical Study

The reactions of [Rh₂(O₂CCH₃)₄(OH₂)₂] with n-naphthalenecarboxylic acids (n = 1: 1-HNC, n = 2: 2-HNC) afford the dirhodium tetra-μ-(n-naphthoate) complexes [Rh₂(1-NC)₄] (1) and [Rh₂(2-NC)₄] (2), respectively. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analyses of [1(OCMe₂)₂] and [2(OCMe₂)₂], which were obtained by recrystallization from acetone (OCMe₂) solutions of 1 and 2, reveal that the dirhodium cores are coordinated by four equatorially bridging naphthoate ligands and two axial OCMe₂ ligands. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation confirmed that (i) the single Rh⁻Rh bond is formed between the two Rh ions and (ii) the electronic structures between two Rh ions in [1(OCMe₂)₂] and [2(OCMe₂)₂] are best described as π⁴δ²σ²δ*²π*⁴ and δ²π⁴σ²δ*²π*⁴, respectively. Time-dependent DFT (TDDFT) calculations clarify the absorption band characters of [1(OCMe₂)₂] and [2(OCMe₂)₂]; the former shows the bands due to d⁻d and metal⁻to⁻metal-ligand charge transfer (MMLCT) excitations in the visible light region, whereas the latter shows the bands due to only d⁻d excitations in the same region. The electrochemical properties and thermal stabilities of [1(OCMe₂)₂] and [2(OCMe₂)₂] were also investigated in this study.