Comparative study of fluxional processes at two different classes of eight-coordinate rhenium(V) polyhydride complexes

[ReH3 (PPh3 )4 ] - A Key Compound in the Rhenium Hydride Chemistry

The chemistry of the rhenium trihydrido complex [ReH₃ (PPh₃ )₄ ] (1) has been reinvestigated. An improved synthesis and the solid-state structure of the compound as well as several reactions are reported. The solid-state structure of 1 is similar to that of [TcH₃ (PPh₃ )₄ ] having a capped-octahedral coordination sphere. The PPh₃ ligands surround the Re atom in a trigonal-pyramidal mode with a short apical Re-P bond (2.300(2) Å) and three longer basal bonds (2.429(2)-2.449(2) Å). Reactions of 1 with monodentate phosphines such as PMe₃ or PBu₃ give the mono-substituted complexes [ReH₃ (PPh₃ )₃ (PMe₃ )] (2) and [ReH₃ (PPh₃ )₃ (PBu₃ )] (3) under retention of the apical PPh₃ ligand and substitution of one of the basal PPh₃ ligands. The stability of the phosphine trihydride complexes decreases in the order PPh₃ >PMe₃ >PBu₃ . Treatment of [ReH₃ (PPh₃ )₄ ] with trityl hexafluorophosphate in CH₃ CN does not result in a hydride abstraction, but gives the tetrahydrido cation [ReH₄ (NCCH₃ )(PPh₃ )₃ ]⁺ (4), while reactions with nitriles give unstable azavinylidene complexes of the composition [ReH₂ (PPh₃ )₃ (NC(H)R)] (5). They are formed by an insertion of the nitrile into a Re-H bond. The solid-state structure of the methyl derivative [ReH₂ (PPh₃ )₃ (NC(H)CH₃ )] (5 a) was determined showing a linear Re-N-C unit with rhenium-nitrogen and nitrogen-carbon double bonds, while the N=CH-C bond is clearly bent with an angle of 124°. Two previously unknown polymorphs of [ReH₅ (PPh₃ )₃ ] were isolated from reactions of 1 with HOC₆ H₃ (CH₃ )₂ and thiourea after prolonged heating in toluene and characterized by IR spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction.

Dynamic Processes of Rhenium Polyhydride Complexes

Studies have demonstrated that high-coordination-number rhenium polyhydride complexes are precursors to catalysts that transform a variety of organic molecules. While rhenium polyhydride complexes lead to active catalysts, little has been reported on the mechanisms for the transformations. High-coordination-number rhenium polyhydride complexes exhibit several dynamic processes that make characterizations of the chemical properties for individual atoms difficult, at best, for room-temperature solutions. This review describes what is known of the dynamic processes that occur at high-coordination-number rhenium polyhydride complexes and how that knowledge may lead to the design of catalytic precursors in which the chemical properties of individual atoms can be more readily identified in room-temperature solutions.

Coordination Properties of Non-Rigid Phosphinoyldithioformate Complexes of the [Mo2O2(µ-S)2]2+ Cation in Catalytic Sulfur Transfer Reactions with Thiiranes

Two “Mo2O2S2”-based complexes with phosphinoyldithioformate ligands were synthesized from the metathesis reaction of [R2P(O)CS2]− with (Me4N)2[Mo2O2(µ-S)2(Cl)4] to give [Mo2O2(µ-S)2{R2P(O)CS2}2] (1; R = Ph, 2; R = Bn). The complexes were fully characterized, including the X-ray crystal structure for 1. Variable temperatures 31P NMR of 1 and 2 exhibit non-rigid behavior in solution where three and two coordination isomers were present, respectively. The organic substituent on the P atom greatly impacts the complex non-rigid properties and behavior. The catalytic activity of 1 and 2 towards sulfur atom transfer (SAT) using propylene sulfide and cyclohexene sulfide was explored, employing homogeneous reaction conditions at an ambient temperature on the NMR scale. The complexes showed distinctly different properties along with high conversions in short reaction times. A catalytic cycle consistent with the results is proposed.

Describing Polytopal Rearrangement Processes of Octacoordinate Structures. I. Renewed Insights into Fluxionality of the Rhenium Polyhydride Complex ReH5(PPh3)2(Pyridine)

Hydride ligands of transition metal polyhydride complexes with a high coordination number are prone to fluxionality leading to interesting structural dynamics. However, the underlying polytopal rearrangement pathways have been rarely studied. Based on quantum chemical calculations carried out in this work with density functional theory and coupled-cluster theory, two new fluxional mechanisms have been identified for the rhenium polyhydride complex ReH₅(PPh₃)₂(pyridine) to jointly account for two consecutive coalescence events in the variable-temperature NMR spectra upon heating: lateral and basal three-arm turnstile rotation. The frequently cited pseudorotation in ReH₅(PPh₃)₂(pyridine) (Lee et al. Inorg. Chem. 1996, 35, 695) turns out to be a three-step process including two lateral three-arm turnstile steps and one basal turnstile step in between. The new fluxional mechanisms discovered in this work may also exist in other transition metal polyhydrides.