Phenylimido complexes of rhenium: fluorine substituents provide protection, reactivity, and solubility

Reactions of [Re(NPhF)Cl₃(PPh₃)₂] ({NPhF}^2- = p-fluorophenylimide) with a variety of alkyl and aryl isocyanides have been studied. Different reactivity patterns and products have been obtained depending on the steric and electronic properties of the individual ligands. This involves the formation of 1 : 1 and 1 : 2 exchange products of Re(V) with the general formulae mer-[Re(NPhF)Cl₃(PPh₃)(isocyanide)] and cis- or trans-[Re(NPhF)Cl₃(isocyanide)₂]. The stability of the obtained products is correlated with the substitution pattern of the isocyanide ligands. The products have been studied by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and spectroscopic methods, including IR and multinuclear NMR spectroscopy as well as mass spectrometry. The use of partially fluorinated starting materials and ligands allows the modulation of the solubilities of the starting materials and the products as well as the monitoring of the reactions by means of ¹⁹F NMR. The attachment of the CF₃ or F substituent on the isocyanides gives control over the steric bulk and the electronic properties of the ligands and, thus, their reactivity.

Complexes of Technetium(V) and Rhenium(V) with β-Diketonates

Reactions of (NBu₄)[MOCl₄] complexes (M = Tc or Re) with an excess of hexafluoroacetylacetone (Hhfac) give products with a composition of (NBu₄)[MOCl₃(hfac)] as bright yellow (Tc) or red (Re) solids. The products are stable as solids but rapidly decompose in solution. A number of related phenylimidorhenium(V) complexes were synthesized starting from [Re(NPhF)Cl₃(PPh₃)₂], where (NPhF)^2- is a para-fluorinated phenylimido ligand. Products with compositions of [Re(NPhF)Cl₂(PPh₃)(acac)], [Re(NPhF)Cl₂(PPh₃)(hfac)], [Re(NPhF)Cl₂(PPh₃)(tfac)], [Re(NPhF)Cl₂(PPh₃)(naphtfac)], and [Re(NPhF)Cl₂(PPh₃)(^tbutfac)] (Hacac = acetylacetone, Htfac = trifluoroacetylacetone, Hnaphtfac = naphthoyltrifluoroacetylmethane, and H^tbutfac = tert-butyroyltrifluoroacetylmethane) were isolated from reactions of the quite soluble [Re(NPhF)Cl₃(PPh₃)₂] with the corresponding β-diketones and studied spectroscopically and by X-ray diffraction. The β-diketonates are coordinated in a meridional arrangement with the phenylimide. The formation of two isomers was detected for nonsymmetric β-diketones with a preference for the "equatorial" position for the more bulky substituents. Products with more than one chelating ligand were not obtained. The technetium complexes [Tc(NPhX)Cl₃(PPh₃)₂] (X = p-F or p-CF₃) were prepared from reactions of pertechnetate, PPh₃, HCl, and substituted arylacetylhydrazines and isolated as green solids. They are sufficiently stable as solid but rapidly decompose in moist solvents upon hydrolysis of the Tc-N bonds. From reactions of [Tc(NPh)Cl₃(PPh₃)₂] or [Tc(NPhF)Cl₃(PPh₃)₂] in dry solvents, the complexes [Tc(NPh)Cl₂(PPh₃)(hfac)] and [Tc(NPhF)Cl₂(PPh₃)(hfac)] were prepared and isolated in crystalline form. An X-ray diffraction study shows that fluorination of the para position of the phenylimido ligand results in a slight lengthening of all bonds in the coordination sphere of technetium.