Is restricted M–P rotation a common feature of enantioselective monophos catalysts? An example of restricted Rh–P rotation in a secondary phosphine complex

Welcoming Neighbour or Inhospitable Host? Selective Second Metal Binding in 5- and 6-Phospha-Substituted Bpy Ligands

The controlled formation of mixed-metal bimetallics was realised through use of a fac-[Re(CO)3(N,N'-bpy-P)Cl] complex bearing an exogenous 2,4,6-trioxa-1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-8-phosphaadamantane donor at the 5-position of the bpy. The introduction of gold, silver, and rhodium with appropriate secondary ligands was readily achieved from established starting materials. Restricted rotation about the C(bpy)-P bond was observed in several of the bimetallic complexes and correlated with the relative steric bulk of the second metal moiety. Related chemistry with the 6-substituted derivative proved more limited in scope with only the bimetallic Re/Au complex being isolated.

2-Pyridyl substituents enhance the activity of palladium-phospha-adamantane catalysts for the methoxycarbonylation of phenylacetylene

The synthesis of a series of CgPAr ligands is reported, where CgP is the 6-phospha-2,4,8-trioxa-1,3,5,7-tetramethyladamant-6-yl moiety and Ar = 2-pyridyl (L2), 3-pyridyl (L3), 2-pyrimidyl (L4), 4-R-2-pyridyl [R = Me (L5a), CF₃ (L6a), SiMe₃ (L7a)] or 6-R-2-pyridyl [R = Me (L5b), CF₃ (L6b), SiMe₃ (L7b). Testing of these ligands in the Pd-catalysed methoxycarbonylation of phenylacetylene reveals that the activity and branched selectivity of the catalysts derived from these ligands varies as a function of the N-heterocycle, with the catalyst derived from L5b being the most active of those tested. This, together with the poor performance of catalysts derived from L3 supports the hypothesis that the catalysis proceeds by a "proton shuttling" mechanism, an idea that previously had only been applied to arylphosphines. Reaction of [PtCl₂(cod)] with L where L = L2 or L4-7 yields a rac/meso mixture of the trans-[PtCl₂(L)₂] (1a-h) complexes, three of which are structurally characterised. ³¹P NMR spectroscopy shows that reaction of L3 with [PtCl₂(cod)] gives a mixture of mononuclear and binuclear metal complexes in solution. The complex trans-[PdCl₂(L2)₂] (4) reacts with AgBF₄ to give the [PdCl(κ¹-L2)(κ²-L2)]BF₄ (5) with spectroscopic and structural characterisation confirming the presence of a P,N-chelate. ¹H and ³¹P NMR evidence supports the assignment of a pyridyl-protonated species being formed upon treatment of 4 with TsOH·H₂O in CD₂Cl₂; both the protonated species and chelate 5 are observed when the reaction is carried out in MeOH.