Insights into Activation of Cobalt Pre-Catalysts for C(sp2)-H Functionalization

Exploring the Effect of Pincer Rigidity on Oxidative Addition Reactions with Cobalt(I) Complexes

Cobalt complexes containing the 2,6-diaminopyridine-substituted PNP pincer (iPrPNMeNP = 2,6-(iPr2PNMe)2(C5H3N)) were synthesized. A combination of solid-state structures and investigation of the cobalt(I)/(II) redox potential established a relatively rigid and electron-donating chelating ligand as compared to iPrPNP (iPrPNP = 2,6-(iPr2PCH2)2(C5H3N)). Based on a buried volume analysis, the two pincer ligands are sterically indistinguishable. Nearly planar, diamagnetic, four-coordinate complexes were observed independent of the field strength (chloride, alkyl, aryl) of the fourth ligand completing the coordination sphere of the metal. Computational studies supported a higher barrier for C-H oxidative addition, largely a result of the increased rigidity of the pincer. The increased oxidative addition barrier resulted in stabilization of (iPrPNMeNP)Co(I) complexes, enabling the characterization of the cobalt boryl and the cobalt hydride dimer by X-ray crystallography. Moreover, (iPrPNMeNP)CoMe served as an efficient precatalyst for alkene hydroboration likely because of the reduced propensity to undergo oxidative addition, demonstrating that reactivity and catalytic performance can be tuned by rigidity of pincer ligands.

First-Row d-Block Element-Catalyzed Carbon-Boron Bond Formation and Related Processes

Organoboron reagents represent a unique class of compounds because of their utility in modern synthetic organic chemistry, often affording unprecedented reactivity. The transformation of the carbon-boron bond into a carbon-X (X = C, N, and O) bond in a stereocontrolled fashion has become invaluable in medicinal chemistry, agrochemistry, and natural products chemistry as well as materials science. Over the past decade, first-row d-block transition metals have become increasingly widely used as catalysts for the formation of a carbon-boron bond, a transformation traditionally catalyzed by expensive precious metals. This recent focus on alternative transition metals has enabled growth in fundamental methods in organoboron chemistry. This review surveys the current state-of-the-art in the use of first-row d-block element-based catalysts for the formation of carbon-boron bonds.

Direct C-H Borylation of Arenes Catalyzed by Saturated Hydride-Boryl-Iridium-POP Complexes: Kinetic Analysis of the Elemental Steps

The saturated trihydride IrH₃ {κ³ -P,O,P-[xant(PiPr₂ )₂ ]} (1; xant(PiPr₂ )₂ =9,9-dimethyl-4,5-bis(diisopropylphosphino)xanthene) activates the B-H bond of two molecules of pinacolborane (HBpin) to give H₂ , the hydride-boryl derivatives IrH₂ (Bpin){κ³ -P,O,P-[xant(PiPr₂ )₂ ]} (2) and IrH(Bpin)₂ {κ³ -P,O,P-[xant(PiPr₂ )₂ ]} (3) in a sequential manner. Complex 3 activates a C-H bond of two molecules of benzene to form PhBpin and regenerates 2 and 1, also in a sequential manner. Thus, complexes 1, 2, and 3 define two cycles for the catalytic direct C-H borylation of arenes with HBpin, which have dihydride 2 as a common intermediate. C-H bond activation of the arenes is the rate-determining step of both cycles, as the C-H oxidative addition to 3 is faster than to 2. The results from a kinetic study of the reactions of 1 and 2 with HBpin support a cooperative function of the hydride ligands in the B-H bond activation. The addition of the boron atom of the borane to a hydride facilitates the coordination of the B-H bond through the formation of κ¹ - and κ² -dihydrideborate intermediates.

Concerted aryl-sulfur reductive elimination from PNP pincer-supported Co(iii) and subsequent Co(i)/Co(iii) comproportionation

This report discloses a combined experimental and computational study aimed at understanding C-S reductive elimination from Co(iii) supported by a diarylamido/bis(phosphine) PNP pincer ligand. Divalent (PNP)Co-aryl complexes could be easily oxidized to five-coordinate Co(iii) derivatives, and anion metathesis provided five-coordinate (PNP)Co(Ar)(SAr') complexes of Co(iii). In contrast to their previously described (POCOP)Co(Ar)(SAr') analogs, but similarly to the (PNP)Rh(Ar)(SAr') and (POCOP)Rh(Ar)(SAr') analogs, (PNP)Co(Ar)(SAr') undergo C-S reductive elimination with the formation of the desired diarylsulfide product ArSAr'. DFT studies and experimental observations are consistent with a concerted process. However, in contrast to the Rh analogs, the immediate product of such reductive elimination, the unobserved Co(i) complex (PNP)Co, un-dergoes rapid comproportionation with the (PNP)Co(Ar)(SAr') starting material to give Co(ii) compounds (PNP)Co-Ar and (PNP)Co-SAr'.

Computational understanding of catalyst-controlled borylation of fluoroarenes: directed vs. undirected pathway

In this work, density functional theory (DFT) calculations are performed to understand the origin of the regioselective C–H borylation of aromatics catalyzed by Co(i)/^iPrPNP and Ir(iii)/dtbpy (4,4-di-tert-butyl bipyridine).

Enabling Two-Electron Pathways with Iron and Cobalt: From Ligand Design to Catalytic Applications

Homogeneous catalysis with Earth-abundant, first-row transition metals, including iron and cobalt, has gained considerable recent attention as a potentially cost-effective and sustainable alternative to more commonly and historically used precious metals. Because fundamental organometallic transformations, such as oxidative addition and reductive elimination, are two-electron processes and essential steps in many important catalytic cycles, controlling redox chemistry-in particular overcoming one-electron chemistry-has been as a central challenge with Earth-abundant metals. This Perspective focuses on approaches to impart sufficiently strong ligand fields to generate electron-rich metal complexes able to promote oxidative addition reactions where the redox changes are exclusively metal-based. Emphasis is placed on how ligand design and exploration of fundamental organometallic chemistry coupled with mechanistic understanding have been used to discover iron catalysts for the hydrogen isotope exchange in pharmaceuticals and cobalt catalysts for C(sp²)-H borylation reactions. A pervasive theme is that first-row metal complexes often promote unique chemistry from their precious-metal counterparts, demonstrating that these elements offer a host of new opportunities for reaction discovery and for more sustainable catalysis.

Regiodivergent hydrosilylation, hydrogenation, [2π + 2π]-cycloaddition and C-H borylation using counterion activated earth-abundant metal catalysis

Low oxidation-state iron- and cobalt catalysis has been enabled using tetrafluoroborate activation across 5 reaction classes and seven ligand frameworks using a single catalysis protocol.

The widespread adoption of earth-abundant metal catalysis lags behind that of the second- and third-row transition metals due to the often challenging practical requirements needed to generate the active low oxidation-state catalysts. Here we report the development of a single endogenous activation protocol across five reaction classes using both iron- and cobalt pre-catalysts. This simple catalytic manifold uses commercially available, bench-stable iron- or cobalt tetrafluoroborate salts to perform regiodivergent alkene and alkyne hydrosilylation, 1,3-diene hydrosilylation, hydrogenation, [2π + 2π]-cycloaddition and C–H borylation. The activation protocol proceeds by fluoride dissociation from the counterion, in situ formation of a hydridic activator and generation of a low oxidation-state catalyst.

3d Transition Metals for C-H Activation

C-H activation has surfaced as an increasingly powerful tool for molecular sciences, with notable applications to material sciences, crop protection, drug discovery, and pharmaceutical industries, among others. Despite major advances, the vast majority of these C-H functionalizations required precious 4d or 5d transition metal catalysts. Given the cost-effective and sustainable nature of earth-abundant first row transition metals, the development of less toxic, inexpensive 3d metal catalysts for C-H activation has gained considerable recent momentum as a significantly more environmentally-benign and economically-attractive alternative. Herein, we provide a comprehensive overview on first row transition metal catalysts for C-H activation until summer 2018.