Reaction of allyl bromide with cyclometallated platinum(II) complexes: Unusual kinetic behavior and a novel case of methyl and allyl C-C bond reductive elimination

Ligand-Mediated C-Br Oxidative Addition to Cycloplatinated(II) Complexes and Benzyl-Me C-C Bond Reductive Elimination from a Cycloplatinated(IV) Complex

Reaction of the Pt(II) complexes [PtMe₂(pbt)], 1a, (pbt = 2-(2-pyridyl)benzothiazole) and [PtMe(C^N)(PPh₂Me)] [C^N = deprotonated 2-phenylpyridine (ppy), 1b, or deprotonated benzo[h]quinoline (bhq), 1c] with benzyl bromide, PhCH₂Br, is studied. The reaction of 1a with PhCH₂Br gave the Pt(IV) product complex [PtBr(CH₂Ph)Me₂(pbt)]. The major trans isomer is formed in a trans oxidative addition (2a), while the minor cis products (2a' and 2a″) resulted from an isomerization process. A solution of Pt(II) complex 1a in the presence of benzyl bromide in toluene at 70 °C after 7 days gradually gave the dibromo Pt(IV) complex [Pt(Br)₂Me₂(pbt)], 4a, as determined by NMR spectroscopy and single-crystal XRD. The reaction of complexes 1b and 1c with PhCH₂Br gave the Pt(IV) complexes [PtMeBr(CH₂Ph)(C^N)(PPh₂Me)] (C^N = ppy; 2b; C^N = bhq, 2c), in which the phosphine and benzyl ligands are trans. Multinuclear NMR spectroscopy ruled out other isomers. Attempts to grow crystals of the cycloplatinated(IV) complex 2b yielded a previously reported Pt(II) complex [PtBr(ppy)(PPh₂Me)], 3b, presumably from reductive elimination of ethylbenzene. UV-vis spectroscopy was used to study the kinetics of reaction of Pt(II) complexes 1a-1c with benzyl bromide. The data are consistent with a second-order S_N2 mechanism and the first order in both the Pt complex and PhCH₂Br. The rate of reaction decreases along the series 1a ≫ 1c > 1b. Density functional theory calculations were carried out to support experimental findings and understand the formation of isomers.

Selectivity in carbon–carbon coupling reactions at palladium(IV) and platinum(IV)

The isomerization and reductive elimination reactions from octahedral organometallic complexes of palladium(IV) and platinum(IV) usually occur through five-coordinate intermediates that cannot be directly detected. This paper reports a computational study of five-coordinate complexes of formulae [PtMe3(bipy)]+, [PtMe2Ph(bipy)]+, and [PtMe(CH2CMe2C6H4)(bipy)]+ (M = Pd or Pt, bipy = 2,2′-bipyridine), particularly with respect to reactivity and selectivity in reductive elimination. All of the complexes are predicted to have square pyramidal structures with the bipy and two R groups in the equatorial positions and one R group in the axial position, and axial–equatorial exchange occurs by a pairwise mechanism, with the transition state having a pinched trigonal bipyramidal (PTBP) stereochemistry, with one nitrogen and two R groups in the trigonal plane. The activation energy for isomerization is lower than that for reductive elimination in all cases. For the complexes [MMe2Ph(bipy)]+, the activation energies for reductive elimination with Me–Me or Me–Ph coupling are similar. For the complexes [MMe(CH2CMe2C6H4)(bipy)]+, the reductive elimination with Me–C6H4 bond formation from the isomer with the methyl group in the axial position is predicted and is attributed to it having the best conformation of the Me and C6H4 groups for C–C bond formation. In all cases, the selectivity for reductive elimination is similar for M = Pd or Pt, but reactivity is higher for M = Pd. The relevance of this work to selectivity in catalysis is discussed.