Kinetic and spectroscopic studies of the substitution reactions of [Rh(acac)(CO)2] with triphenylphosphite

Oxidative addition of methyl iodide to [Rh(PhCOCHCOPh)(CO)(P(OCH2)3CCH3)]: an experimental and computational study

The reaction rate of the oxidative addition and CO insertion steps of methyl iodide with [Rh(PhCOCHCOPh)(CO)(P(OCH2)3CCH3)] are presented. Large negative experimental values for the activation entropy and results from a density functional theory computational chemistry study indicated trans addition of the CH3I to [Rh(PhCOCHCOPh)(CO)(P(OCH2)3CCH3)]. A study of the molecular orbitals gives insight into the flow of electrons during the oxidative addition reaction. CO insertion leads to a square pyramidal [Rh(PhCOCHCOPh)(P(OCH2)3CCH3)(COCH3)(I)] acyl product with the COCH3 moiety in the apical position. The strong electron donation of the P(OCH2)3CCH3 ligand accelerates the oxidation addition step of methyl iodide to [Rh(PhCOCHCOPh)(CO)(P(OCH2)3CCH3)] by ca. 265 times faster (at 35°C) than that of the Monsanto catalyst, but inhibits the CO insertion step.

Relationship between electrochemical potentials and substitution reaction rates of ferrocene-containing β-diketonato rhodium(I) complexes; cytotoxicity of [Rh(FcCOCHCOPh)(cod)]

A series of ferrocene-containing rhodium complexes of the type [Rh(FcCOCHCOR)(cod)] (cod = 1,5-cyclooctadiene) with R = CF(3), 1, (E(pa)(Rh) = 269; E(o)'(Fc) = 329 mV vs. Fc/Fc(+)), CCl(3), 2, (E(pa) = 256; E(o)' = 312 mV), CH(3), 3, (E(pa) = 177; E(o)' = 232 mV), Ph = C(6)H(5), 4, (E(pa) = 184; E(o)' = 237 mV), and Fc = ferrocenyl = (C(5)H(5))Fe(C(5)H(4)), 5, (E(pa) = 135; E(o)'(Fc1) = 203; E(o)'(Fc2) = 312 mV), have been studied electrochemically in CH(3)CN. Results indicated that the rhodium(I) centre is irreversibly oxidised to Rh(III) in a two-electron transfer process before the ferrocenyl fragment is reversibly oxidized in a one-electron transfer process. The peak anodic (oxidation) potential, E(pa), (in V vs. Fc/Fc(+)) of the rhodium core in 1-5 relates to k(2), the second-order rate constant for the substitution of (FcCOCHCOR)(-) with 1,10-phenanthroline in [Rh(FcCOCHCOR)(cod)] to form [Rh(phen)(cod)](+) in methanol at 25 °C with the equation lnk(2) = 39.5 E(pa)(Rh) - 3.69, while the formal oxidation potential of the ferrocenyl groups in 1-5 relates to k(2) by lnk(2) = 40.8 E(o)'(Fc)-6.34. Complex 4 (IC(50) = 28.2 μmol dm(-3)) was twice as cytotoxic as the free FcCOCH(2)COPh ligand having IC(50) = 54.2 μmol dm(-3), but approximately one order of magnitude less toxic to human HeLa neoplastic cells than cisplatin (IC(50) = 2.3 μmol dm(-3)).

Synthesis and Conformational Behavior of Rhodium(I) Metallohosts Derived from Diphenylglycoluril

The design and synthesis of molecules containing both a substrate-binding cavity and a nearby catalytically active metal center is a useful approach to the development of synthetic systems that function according to the principles of enzymes. To this end the receptor molecule 2a, derived from diphenylglycoluril, was functionalized with triaryl phosphite ligands to give the receptor ligand 2d. Exchange reactions of 2d with (diketonate)Rh(CO)(2), (diketone = acetylacetone, dibenzoylmethane, or dipivaloylmethane) led to the formation of the metallohosts 3a-c, respectively. The properties and conformational behavior of these metal complexes were studied by NMR techniques. Reaction of compounds 3 with H(2) in the presence of a small excess of additional triphenyl phosphite yields the rhodium(I) hydride complex 5. The metallohosts are capable of binding dihydroxybenzene guests in their cavities by hydrogen bonding and pi-pi stacking interactions. On binding a substrate the conformational behavior of hosts 3a-c was affected considerably.