Carbon dioxide reduction by early metal compounds: A propensity for oxygen atom transfer

Selective Reduction of CO2 to a Tantalum Formate Complex and Release of Methyl Formate from the Tantalum(V) Center

A cyclometalated NHC-coordinated hydrido tantalum alkoxide was found to selectively react with CO₂ to afford the genuine tantalum formate (NHC)(HCOO)Ta(OR_F)₃ with OR_F = OC(CF₃)₂CH₃. In the solid state, the presence of a κ²-O,O-formate moiety was established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and ATR-IR spectroscopy, while NMR experiments and DFT modeling studies suggest that the κ¹-O-coordination mode is preferred in solution. Despite the accessibility of the latter κ¹-O-formate in solution, no over-reduction to a dinuclear methylene diolate was observed. Upon treatment with MeOTf, the κ¹-O-formate was methylated selectively, which led to the formation of a tantalum triflate complex along with methyl formate. This is a rare example in which a value-added oxygen-containing organic product (here HCOOMe) is released from an oxophilic early transition metal (here Ta^V).

Metal coordination to a dimetallaoctatetrayne

The reactions of the ditungstaoctatetrayne [(Tp*)(CO)₂W([triple bond, length as m-dash]CC[triple bond, length as m-dash]CC[triple bond, length as m-dash]CC[triple bond, length as m-dash])W(CO)₂(Tp*)] with several metal complexes have been investigated. Addition of [Co₂(CO)₈] occurs across the internal C[triple bond, length as m-dash]C bonds, whereas [AuCl(SMe₂)] initially delivers 'AuCl' across the W[triple bond, length as m-dash]C carbyne bonds before undergoing further reaction to oxidise the tungsten and replace the carbonyl ligands with chloride in [(Tp*)Cl₂W([triple bond, length as m-dash]CC[triple bond, length as m-dash]CC[triple bond, length as m-dash]CC[triple bond, length as m-dash])WCl₂(Tp*)] with retention of the ditungstaoctatetrayne bridge. Reaction with [AuCl(PR₃)] (R = Ph, Cy) in the presence of AgPF₆ prevents this oxidation and adds [AuPR₃]⁺ across the W[triple bond, length as m-dash]C bonds to give dicationic derivatives. Finally, the reaction with [Pt(nbe)₃] (nbe = norbornene, bicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-ene) and 1,5-cyclooctadiene (COD) adds a 'Pt(COD)' unit to one or both tungsten-carbon bonds, allowing both the mono- and diplatinum complexes to be isolated.

The Reductive Activation of CO2 Across a Ti=Ti Double Bond: Synthetic, Structural, and Mechanistic Studies

The reactivity of the bis(pentalene)dititanium double-sandwich compound Ti2Pn†2 (1) (Pn† = 1,4-{SiiPr3}2C8H4) with CO2 is investigated in detail using spectroscopic, X-ray crystallographic, and computational studies. When the CO2 reaction is performed at -78 °C, the 1:1 adduct 4 is formed, and low-temperature spectroscopic measurements are consistent with a CO2 molecule bound symmetrically to the two Ti centers in a μ:η2,η2 binding mode, a structure also indicated by theory. Upon warming to room temperature the coordinated CO2 is quantitatively reduced over a period of minutes to give the bis(oxo)-bridged dimer 2 and the dicarbonyl complex 3. In situ NMR studies indicated that this decomposition proceeds in a stepwise process via monooxo (5) and monocarbonyl (7) double-sandwich complexes, which have been independently synthesized and structurally characterized. 5 is thermally unstable with respect to a μ-O dimer in which the Ti-Ti bond has been cleaved and one pentalene ligand binds in an η8 fashion to each of the formally TiIII centers. The molecular structure of 7 shows a "side-on" bound carbonyl ligand. Bonding of the double-sandwich species Ti2Pn2 (Pn = C8H6) to other fragments has been investigated by density functional theory calculations and fragment analysis, providing insight into the CO2 reaction pathway consistent with the experimentally observed intermediates. A key step in the proposed mechanism is disproportionation of a mono(oxo) di-TiIII species to yield di-TiII and di-TiIV products. 1 forms a structurally characterized, thermally stable CS2 adduct 8 that shows symmetrical binding to the Ti2 unit and supports the formulation of 4. The reaction of 1 with COS forms a thermally unstable complex 9 that undergoes scission to give mono(μ-S) mono(CO) species 10. Ph3PS is an effective sulfur transfer agent for 1, enabling the synthesis of mono(μ-S) complex 11 with a double-sandwich structure and bis(μ-S) dimer 12 in which the Ti-Ti bond has been cleaved.