Tricarbonylchromium(0) complexes of 1,3,5-triphenylbenzene: an X-ray crystallographic and high field NMR spectroscopic study

Intricacies of ligand coordination in tricarbonylchromium(0) complexes with ortho- and para-fluorobiphenyls

The steric and electronic factors that influence which of the two rings of a substituted biphenyl ligand coordinates to chromium are of interest and it has been suggested that haptotropic rearrangements within these molecules may be limited if the arene-arene dihedral angle is too large. Two tricarbonylchromium(0) complexes and their respective free ligands have been characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. In the solid state, tricarbonyl[(1',2',3',4',5',6'-η)-2-fluoro-1,1'-biphenyl]chromium(0), [Cr(C12H9F)(CO)3], (I), exists as the more stable isomer with the nonhalogenated arene ring ligated to the metal center. Similarly, tricarbonyl[(1',2',3',4',5',6'-η)-4-fluoro-1,1'-biphenyl]chromium(0) crystallizes as the more stable isomer with the phenyl ring bonded to the Cr0 center. The arene-arene dihedral angles in these complexes are 55.77 (4) and 52.4 (5)°, respectively. Structural features of these complexes are compared to those of the DFT-optimized geometries of ten tricarbonyl[(η6-C6H5)(4-F-C6H4)]chromium model complexes. The solid-state structures of the free ligands 2-fluoro-1,1'-biphenyl and 4-fluoro-1,1'-biphenyl, both C12H9F, exhibit arene-arene dihedral angles of 54.83 (7) and 0.71 (8)°, respectively. The molecules of the free ligands occupy crystallographic twofold axes and exhibit positional disorder. Weak intermolecular C-H...F interactions are observed in all four structures.

Organic and organometallic derivatives of pentaphenylbenzene, C6Ph5X: correlation of peripheral phenyl ring orientations with the steric bulk of “X”

A series of C6Ph5X compounds, including X = H, Br, CO2H, CO2R, C[Formula: see text]CPh, cis-BrC=C(Br)Ph, 2-bornenyl, and ferrocenyl, have been characterized by use of X-ray crystallography. Also, the first organometallic complexes of pentaphenylbenzene have been prepared by reaction with chromium hexacarbonyl to yield (η6-C6Ph5H)Cr(CO)3 complexes in which the metal tripod is attached either to an ortho peripheral ring or to the central ring. Crystalline pentaphenylbenzoic acid exists as a hydrogen-bonded dimer; however, the steric bulk of the substituents does not allow the carboxylic acid moieties to be linked directly but instead via two bridging methanol molecules. In the solid state, the orientation of the peripheral rings in bulky C6Ph5X systems is very sensitive to the size of the “X” substituents, such that the twist angle of the para ring responds inversely with increasing bulk of “X”, which drives the ortho rings farther out of the plane of the central ring. The relevance of these observations to correlated motion in molecular propellers, and ultimately to molecular machines, is discussed.

Ferrocenyl-penta-(β-naphthyl)benzene — Synthesis, structure, and dynamic behaviour

3-Ferrocenyl-2,4,5-tri-(β-naphthyl)cyclopentadienone undergoes a Diels–Alder reaction with di-(β-naphthyl) acetylene to yield, after elimination of carbon monoxide, ferrocenyl-penta-(β-naphthyl)benzene (4). 1H and 13C variable-temperature NMR studies on 4 reveal the existence of multiple diastereoisomers at low temperature. These data are interpreted in terms of slowed rotation of the naphthyl groups, and are supported by the X-ray crystal structure of 4, which exhibits disorder at three of the naphthyl sites.Key words: sterically crowded molecules, hindered rotations, crystallography, NMR.

SiCl4–ethanol as a trimerization agent for organometallics: convenient syntheses of the symmetrically substituted arenes 1,3,5-C6H3R3 where R = (C5H4)Mn(CO)3 and (C5H4)Fe(C5H5)

Trimerization of acetylferrocene and of (acetylcyclopentadienyl)tricarbonyl-manganese proceeds efficiently in the presence of ethanol and tetrachlorosilane. The resulting 1,3,5-trisubstituted benzenes have been characterized by X-ray crystallography and compared with the structure of (1,3,5-triphenylbenzene)tris(tricarbonylchromium). The efficacy of EtOH–SiCl4 as a combined reagent for the trimerization of polycyclic ketones is also discussed. Finally, the synthesis and structure of [CpMn(CO)2]2(µ-C=CHPr), derived from the reaction of cymantrene with butyllithium and phenylacetyl chloride at room temperature, is described.Key words: ketone, condensation, cyclization, organometallics, arenes.

2000 Alcan Award Lecture Adventures in organometallic NMR: steric restraints, slowed rotations, and skeletal rearrangements

The structures and NMR fluxionality of a wide variety of organometallic complexes (including tetrahedral cluster cations and systems of the type (CnRn)ML3, where R = Et, Ph) are discussed. Barriers to tripodal and peripheral substituent rotations are reported, and the relevance of correlated rotations to molecular machines is outlined. Haptotropic shifts in (cyclopenta[def]phenanthrenyl)MLn and (cyclopenta[l]phenanthrenyl)MLn complexes are rationalized in terms of the aromatic character of the transition states. Likewise, the barriers to silatropic shifts in polyindenylsilanes can be correlated with the aromaticity of the intermediate isoindenes. Finally, the use of cobalt clusters to control cyclohexane ring conformations is described.Key words: NMR ring currents, fluxionality, correlated rotations, molecular rearrangements, haptotropic shifts.