Kinetic and Thermodynamic Selectivity of Intermolecular C–H Activation at [Tp′Rh(PMe3)]. How Does the Ancillary Ligand Affect the Metal–Carbon Bond Strength?

Remotely Bonded Bridging Dioxygen Ligands Enhance Hydrogen Transfer in a Silica-Supported Tetrairidium Cluster Catalyst

A longstanding challenge in catalysis by noble metals has been to understand the origin of enhancements of rates of hydrogen transfer that result from the bonding of oxygen near metal sites. We investigated structurally well-defined catalysts consisting of supported tetrairidium carbonyl clusters with single-atom (apical iridium) catalytic sites for ethylene hydrogenation. Reaction of the clusters with ethylene and H2 followed by O2 led to the onset of catalytic activity as a terminal CO ligand at each apical Ir atom was removed and bridging dioxygen ligands replaced CO ligands at neighboring (basal-plane) sites. The presence of the dioxygen ligands caused a 6-fold increase in the catalytic reaction rate, which is explained by the electron-withdrawing capability induced by the bridging dioxygen ligands, consistent with the inference that reductive elimination is rate-determining. Electronic-structure calculations demonstrate an additional role of the dioxygen ligands, changing the mechanism of hydrogen transfer from one involving equatorial hydride ligands to that involving bridging hydride ligands. This mechanism is made evident by an inverse kinetic isotope effect observed in ethylene hydrogenation reactions with H2 and, alternatively, with D2 on the cluster incorporating the dioxygen ligands and is a consequence of quasi-equilibrated hydrogen transfer in this catalyst. The same mechanism accounts for rate enhancements induced by the bridging dioxygen ligands for the catalytic reaction of H2 with D2 to give HD. We posit that the mechanism involving bridging hydride ligands facilitated by oxygen ligands remote from the catalytic site may have some generality in catalysis by oxide-supported noble metals.

Photolysis of Tp'Rh(CNneopentyl)(PhNCNneopentyl) in the presence of ketones and esters: kinetic and thermodynamic selectivity for activation of different aliphatic C-H bonds

The active fragment [Tp'Rh(CNneopentyl)], generated from the precursor Tp'Rh(CNneopentyl)(PhN[double bond, length as m-dash]CNneopentyl), underwent oxidative addition of substituted ketones and esters resulting in Tp'Rh(CNneopentyl)(R)(H) complexes (Tp' = tris-(3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl)borate). These C-H activated complexes underwent reductive elimination at varying temperatures (24-70 °C) in C6D6 or C6D12. Using previously established kinetic techniques, the relative Rh-C bond strengths were calculated. Analysis of the relative Rh-C bond strengths vs. C-H bond strengths shows a linear correlation with slope RM-C/C-H = 1.22 (12). In general, α-substituents increase the relative Rh-C bond strengths compared to the C-H bond that is broken.

The Essential Role of Bond Energetics in C-H Activation/Functionalization

The most fundamental concepts in chemistry are structure, energetics, reactivity and their inter-relationships, which are indispensable for promoting chemistry into a rational science. In this regard, bond energy, the intrinsic determinant directly related to structure and reactivity, should be most essential in serving as a quantitative basis for the design and understanding of organic transformations. Although C-H activation/functionalization have drawn tremendous research attention and flourished during the past decades, understanding the governing rules of bond energetics in these processes is still fragmentary and seems applicable only to limited cases, such as metal-oxo-mediated hydrogen atom abstraction. Despite the complexity of C-H activation/functionalization and the difficulties in measuring bond energies both for the substrates and intermediates, this is definitely a very important issue that should be more generally contemplated. To this end, this review is rooted in the energetic aspects of C-H activation/functionalization, which were previously rarely discussed in detail. Starting with a concise but necessary introduction of various classical methods for measuring heterolytic and homolytic energies for C-H bonds, the present review provides examples that applied the concept and values of C-H bond energy in rationalizing the observations associated with reactivity and/or selectivity in C-H activation/functionalization.

Nitrile coordination to rhodium does not lead to C-H activation

Tris(pyrazolyl)borate complexes of rhodium are well known to activate C-H bonds. The reactive [Tp'Rh(PMe₃)] fragment [Tp' is tris(3,5-dimethylpyrazol-1-yl)hydroborate] is found to react with valeronitrile to give the κ¹N-bound complex (pentanenitrile-κN)(trimethylphosphane-κP)[tris(3,5-dimethylimidazol-1-yl)hydroborato-κ²N²,N^2']rhodium(I), [Rh(C₁₅H₂₂BN₆)(C₅H₉N)(C₃H₉P)]. In contrast to the widespread evidence for the reaction of this fragment with C-H bonds via oxidative addition, no evidence for such a complex is observed.

Methyl Complexes of the Transition Metals

Organometallic chemistry can be considered as a wide area of knowledge that combines concepts of classic organic chemistry, that is, based essentially on carbon, with molecular inorganic chemistry, especially with coordination compounds. Transition-metal methyl complexes probably represent the simplest and most fundamental way to view how these two major areas of chemistry combine and merge into novel species with intriguing features in terms of reactivity, structure, and bonding. Citing more than 500 bibliographic references, this review aims to offer a concise view of recent advances in the field of transition-metal complexes containing M-CH3 fragments. Taking into account the impressive amount of data that are continuously provided by organometallic chemists in this area, this review is mainly focused on results of the last five years. After a panoramic overview on M-CH3 compounds of Groups 3 to 11, which includes the most recent landmark findings in this area, two further sections are dedicated to methyl-bridged complexes and reactivity.

Bond formation and coupling between germyl and bridging germylene ligands in dinuclear palladium(I) complexes

The dinuclear palladium(I) complexes [L(Ar2 HGe)Pd(μ-GeAr2 )2 Pd(GeHAr2 )L] (Ar=Ph, p-Tol; L=PMe3 , tBuNC) contain terminal germyl and bridging germylene ligands with the experimentally observed Ge⋅⋅⋅Ge bond lengths of 2.8263(4) Å (L=PMe3 ) and 2.928(1) Å (L=tBuNC), which are close to the longest Ge-Ge bond reported to date [2.714(1) Å]. Significant Ge⋅⋅⋅Ge interactions between the germylene and germyl ligands (PMe3 complexes > tBuNC complexes) are supported by DFT calculations, Wiberg bond indices (WBI), and natural bond orbital (NBO) analyses. Exchanging tBuNC for PMe3 ligands increases the Ge⋅⋅⋅Ge interaction, and simultaneously activates two Pd-Ge bonds. Adding the chelating diphosphine 1,2-bis(diethylphosphino)ethane (depe) to the PMe3 complexes results in the intramolecular coupling of germyl and germylene ligands followed by extrusion of a digermane.

Iridium-mediated C–S bond activation and transformation: organoiridium(iii) thioether, thiolato, sulfinato and thiyl radical compounds. Synthesis, mechanistic, spectral, electrochemical and theoretical aspects

The iridium-mediated C–S bond scission by an uncommon SET reductive process: exploration of S-centered reactivity of iridium(iii) thiolato complex.

Metal control of selectivity in acetate-assisted C–H bond activation: an experimental and computational study of heterocyclic, vinylic and phenylic C(sp2)–H bonds at Ir and Rh

Experimental and DFT studies show the selectivity of C–H bond activation at [MCl₂Cp*]₂ (M = Ir, Rh) species can be controlled by the choice of metal catalyst, reflecting kinetic control at M = Ir and thermodynamic control at M = Rh.