Synthesis and reactivity studies on alkyl–aryloxo complexes of nickel containing chelating diphosphines: cyclometallation and carbonylation reactions

Rethinking Catalyst Trapping in Ni-Catalyzed Thieno[3,2-b]thiophene Polymerization

Catalyst-transfer polymerization (CTP) is a chain-growth method used to synthesize conjugated polymers. Although CTP works well for most donor-type monomers, the polymerization stalls with thieno[3,2-b]thiophene when using Ni catalysts. Previous reports have rationalized this result by suggesting that the catalyst is trapped in a Ni0 π-complex with the highly electron-rich arene. In this study, evidence is provided that the catalyst trap is more likely a NiII complex that arises from oxidative insertion of Ni0 into the C-S bonds of thieno[3,2-b]thiophene. This result is consistent with the known reactivity of Ni0 complexes toward S-heteroarenes and is supported herein by 31P nuclear magnetic resonance spectra acquired in situ, as well as data collected from small-molecule model reactions and density-functional theory simulations of the polymerization. We propose that this C-S insertion pathway and related off-cycle reactions may be relevant to understanding or enabling the CTP of other monomers with fused thiophenes.

A comparative analysis of hydrosilative amide reduction catalyzed by first-row transition metal (Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni) N-phosphinoamidinate complexes

Screening reveals (PN)Ni(x) pre-catalysts to be effective for the hydrosilative reduction of amides under mild conditions.

Ethylene polymerization catalyzed by dinickel complexes with a double-decker structure

Double-decker dinickel catalysts, even without any substituent on an ortho-position, afforded high molecular weight polyethylene with high crystallinity and less branching.

Synthetic analogs for evaluating the influence of N-H...S hydrogen bonds on the formation of thioester in acetyl coenzyme A synthase

A series of square planar methylnickel(II) complexes, (dppe)Ni(Me)(SAr) (dppe = 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane); 2. Ar = phenyl; 3. Ar = pentafluorophenyl; 4. Ar = o-pivaloylaminophenyl; 5. Ar = p-pivaloylaminophenyl; (depe)Ni(Me)(SAr), (depe = 1,2-bis(diethylphosphino)ethane); 7. Ar = phenyl; 8. Ar = pentafluorophenyl; 9. Ar = o-pivaloylaminophenyl; 10. Ar = p-pivaloylaminophenyl), were synthesized via the reaction of (dppe)NiMe(2) (1) and (depe)NiMe(2) (6) with either the corresponding thiol or disulfide. These complexes were characterized by various spectroscopic methods including (31)P NMR, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR and infrared spectroscopies and in most cases by X-ray diffraction analyses. Solid state and solution measurements establish that 4 and 9 contain intramolecular N-H...S bonds. Carbonylation of the complexes 2-4, 7-10 leads to (dRpe)Ni(CO)(2) and MeC(O)SAr via the intermediacy of the acylnickel adducts, (dRpe)Ni(C(O)Me)(SAr), detected at low temperature by (31)P NMR spectroscopy. Consistent with experimental observations, density functional theory results reveal that the intramolecular hydrogen bond in 9 stabilizes the acylnickel adduct compared with its non-hydrogen-bonded adduct, 10. Oxidative addition of MeC(O)SC(6)F(5) to (dRpe)Ni(COD) followed by spontaneous decarbonylation proceeds in variable yields generating 3 and 8.

Conjugate Additions of Cyclic Oxygen-Bound Nickel Enolates to α,β-Unsaturated Ketones

The reaction of nickel enolates displaying a metallacyclic structure with the alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) or methyl propenyl ketone (MPK) takes place in two stages, affording initially bicyclic adducts, which subsequently isomerize to the corresponding open-chain products. The former are generated with high stereoselectivity and can be considered as the products of the [2+4] cycloaddition of the enolate to the enone. The ring opening process involves a prototropic rearrangement that can be catalyzed by water. In the case of the reaction of the parent nickel enolate complex 1 (which displays an unsubstituted Ni-O=C(R)CH2 arrangement) with MVK, a double-addition process has been observed, consisting of two successive cycloaddition/isomerization reactions. The carbonylation of the different cyclic and noncyclic products affords the corresponding lactones that retain the stereochemistry of the organometallic precursors. This methodology allowed trapping the primary product of the reaction of 1 with MPK as the corresponding organic lactone, demonstrating that the cycloaddition process takes place with exo selectivity. DFT modeling of the latter reaction provides further support for a quasi-concerted cycloaddition mechanism, displaying a nonsymmetric transition state in which the C-C and the C-O bond are formed in an asynchronous manner.

Unusual nickel-mediated C–S cleavage of alkyl and aryl sulfoxides

The first examples of transition metal mediated C-S cleavage of sulfoxides containing sp2- and sp3-hybridized carbon bonds attached to the sulfur atom and the first example of a structurally characterized complex featuring an oxygen-bound sulfinyl ligand are presented.

Cyclic enolates of Ni and Pd: equilibrium between C- and O-bound tautomers and reactivity studies

2-acylaryl complexes of Ni and Pd containing chelating diphosphines react with KtBuO to give metallacyclic enolate complexes. While coordination through the carbon atom is preferred in the case of Pd, the nickel O-enolate compounds are formed as the corresponding O-tautomers. Slow equilibration between O- and C-enolate tautomers is observed for the nickel complex with an unsubstituted enolate function (M-O-C=CH(2)). Theoretical DFT calculations suggest that the barrier for the tautomer exchange has its origin in the rigidity of the metallacycle. Whilst the C-enolate tautomer is unreactive towards aldehydes, the corresponding O-enolate adds to MeCHO and PhCHO, giving rise to products that retain the enolate functionality. The carbonylation of these products cleanly leads to the formation of enol lactones in a highly selective manner.

PdCl[PPh2CH2CH2CHCH2CH2PPh2] as a precursor to homo- and hetero-metallic species directed by ESMS (electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry)

The cyclometallated Pd compound [upper bond 1 start]PdCl[PPh(2)CH(2)CH(2)C[upper bond 1 end]HCH(2)CH(2)PPh(2)], obtained from PdCl(2)(Ph(2)P(CH(2))(5)PPh(2)) in refluxing DMF (N,N-dimethylformamide), was characterized by NMR and X-ray single-crystal diffraction analysis. The cyclometallation of MCl(2)(Ph(2)P(CH(2))(5)PPh(2))(M = Pd, Pt) to give and its Pt(ii) analogue was probed using electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESMS). The reactivity of towards neutral ligands such as phosphines and pyridines as well as basic metal complexes such as pyridine-thiolate compounds of Au(i), Hg(ii) and Pt(ii) in solution was also investigated. The results showed that the chloride trans to the Pd-C bond is susceptible to ligand replacement. A number of entry metalloligands was examined in an attempt to establish a route to cyclometallated aggregates and clusters.