Ultrafast Studies of Stannane Activation by Triplet Organometallic Photoproducts

The mechanistic investigations of photochemical decarbonylations and oxidative addition reactions for M(CO)5 (M = Fe, Ru, Os) complexes

The mechanisms for the photochemical CO-dissociation and the oxidative addition reactions are studied theoretically using three model systems: M(CO)₅ (M = Fe, Ru, and Os) and the CASSCF/Def2-SVP (fourteen-electron/ten-orbital active space) and MP2-CAS/Def2-SVP//CASSCF/Def2-SVP methods. The structures of the intersystem crossings and the conical intersections, which play a decisive role in these CO photo-extrusion reactions, are determined. The intermediates and the transition structures in either the singlet or triplet states are also computed, in order to explain the reaction routes. These model studies suggest that after the irradiation of Fe(CO)₅ with UV light, it quickly loses one CO molecule to generate a 16-electron iron tetracarbonyl, in either the singlet or the triplet states. It is found that the triplet Fe(CO)₄ plays a vital role in the formation of the final oxidative addition product, Fe(CO)₄(H)(SiMe₃), but the singlet Fe(CO)₄ plays a relatively minor role in the formation of the final product. However, its vacant coordination site interacts weakly with solvent molecules ((Me₃)SiH) to yield the alkyl-solvated iron complexes, which are detectable experimentally. The theoretical observations show that Ru(CO)₅ and Os(CO)₅ have similar photochemical and thermal potential energy profiles. In particular, this study demonstrates that the oxidative addition yield for Fe is much greater than those for its Ru and Os counterparts, under the same chemical conditions.

The effect of coordination of alkanes, Xe and CO2 (η1-OCO) on changes in spin state and reactivity in organometallic chemistry: a combined experimental and theoretical study of the photochemistry of CpMn(CO)3

A combined experimental and theoretical study is presented of several ligand addition reactions of the triplet fragment 3CpMn(CO)2 formed upon photolysis of CpMn(CO)3. Experimental data are provided for reactions in n-heptane and perfluoromethylcyclohexane (PFMCH), as well as in PFMCH doped with C2H6, Xe and CO2. In PFMCH we find that the conversion of 3CpMn(CO)2 to 1CpMn(CO)2(PFMCH) is much slower (τ = 18 (±3) ns) than the corresponding reactions in conventional alkanes (τ = 111 (±10) ps). We measure the effect of the coordination ability by doping PFMCH with alkane, Xe and CO2; these doped ligands form the corresponding singlet adducts with significantly variable formation rates. The reactivity as measured by the addition timescale follows the order 1CpMn(CO)2(C5H10) (τ = 270 (±10) ps) > 1CpMn(CO)2Xe (τ = 3.9 (±0.4) ns) ∼ 1CpMn(CO)2(CO2) (τ = 4.7 (±0.5) ns) > 1CpMn(CO)2(C7F14) (τ = 18 (±3) ns). Electronic structure theory calculations of the singlet and triplet potential energy surfaces and of their intersections, together with non-adiabatic statistical rate theory, reproduce the observed rates semi-quantitatively. It is shown that triplet adducts of the ligand and 3CpMn(CO)2 play a role in the kinetics, and account for the variable timescales observed experimentally.

Mechanistic investigations of CO-photoextrusion and oxidative addition reactions of early transition-metal carbonyls: (η(5)-C5H5)M(CO)4 (M = V, Nb, Ta)

The mechanisms for the photochemical Si-H bond activation reaction are studied theoretically using a model system of the group 5 organometallic compounds, η(5)-CpM(CO)4 (M = V, Nb, and Ta), with the M06-2X method and the Def2-SVPD basis set. Three types of reaction pathways that lead to final insertion products are identified. The structures of the intersystem crossings, which play a central role in these photo-activation reactions, are determined. The intermediates and transitional structures in either the singlet or triplet states are also calculated to provide a mechanistic explanation of the reaction pathways. All of the potential energy surfaces for the group 5 η(5)-CpM(CO)4 complexes are quite similar. In particular, the theoretical evidence suggests that after irradiation using light, η(5)-CpM(CO)4 quickly loses one CO ligand to yield two tricarbonyls, in either the singlet or the triplet states. The triplet tricarbonyl 16-electron intermediates, ([η(5)-CpM(CO)3](3)), play a key role in the formation of the final oxidative addition product, η(5)-CpM(CO)3(H)(SiMe3). However, the singlet counterparts, ([η(5)-CpM(CO)3](1)), play no role in the formation of the final product molecule, but their singlet metal centers interact weakly with solvent molecules ((Me3)SiH) to produce alkyl-solvated organometallic complexes, which are observable experimentally. This theoretical evidence is in accordance with the available experimental observations.

Ultrafast infrared studies of the role of spin states in organometallic reaction dynamics

The importance of spin state changes in organometallic reactions is a topic of significant interest, as an increasing number of reaction mechanisms involving changes of spin state are consistently being uncovered. The potential influence of spin state changes on reaction rates can be difficult to predict, and thus this class of reactions remains among the least well understood in organometallic chemistry. Ultrafast time-resolved infrared (TRIR) spectroscopy provides a powerful tool for probing the dynamics of spin state changes in organometallic catalysis, as such processes often occur on the picosecond to nanosecond time scale and can readily be monitored in the infrared via the absorptions of carbonyl reporter ligands. In this Account, we summarize recent work from our group directed toward identifying trends in reactivity that can be used to offer predictive insight into the dynamics of coordinatively unsaturated organometallic reaction intermediates. In general, coordinatively unsaturated 16-electron (16e) singlets are able to coordinate to solvent molecules as token ligands to partially stabilize the coordinatively unsaturated metal center, whereas 16e triplets and 17-electron (17e) doublets are not, allowing them to diffuse more rapidly through solution than their singlet counterparts. Triplet complexes typically (but not always) undergo spin crossover prior to solvent coordination, whereas 17e doublets do not coordinate solvent molecules as token ligands and cannot relax to a lower spin state to do so. 16e triplets are typically able to undergo facile spin crossover to yield a 16e singlet where an associative, exothermic reaction pathway exists. The combination of facile spin crossover with faster diffusion through solution for triplets can actually lead to faster catalytic reactivity than for singlets, despite the forbidden nature of these reactions. We summarize studies on odd-electron complexes in which 17e doublets were found to display varying behavior with regard to their tendency to react with 2-electron donor ligands to form 19-electron (19e) adducts. The ability of 19e adducts to serve as reducing agents in disproportionation reactions depends on whether the excess electron density localized at the metal center or at a ligand site. The reactivity of both 16e and 17e complexes toward a widely used organic nitroxyl radical (TEMPO) are reviewed, and both classes of complexes generally react similarly via an associative mechanism with a low barrier to these reactions. We also describe recent work targeted at unraveling the photoisomerization mechanism of a thermal-solar energy storage complex in which spin state changes were found to play a crucial role. Although a key triplet intermediate was found to be required for this photoisomerization mechanism to proceed, the details of why this triplet is formed in some complexes (those based on ruthenium) and not others (those based on iron, molybdenum, or tungsten) remains uncertain, and further exploration in this area may lead to a better understanding of the factors that influence intramolecular and excited state spin state changes.

Reactivity of TEMPO toward 16- and 17-electron organometallic reaction intermediates: a time-resolved IR study

The (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-yl)oxyl radical (TEMPO) has been employed for an extensive range of chemical applications, ranging from organometallic catalysis to serving as a structural probe in biological systems. As a ligand in an organometallic complex, TEMPO can exhibit several distinct coordination modes. Here we use ultrafast time-resolved infrared spectroscopy to study the reactivity of TEMPO toward coordinatively unsaturated 16- and 17-electron organometallic reaction intermediates. TEMPO coordinates to the metal centers of the 16-electron species CpCo(CO) and Fe(CO)4, and to the 17-electron species CpFe(CO)2 and Mn(CO)5, via an associative mechanism with concomitant oxidation of the metal center. In these adducts, TEMPO thus behaves as an anionic ligand, characterized by a pyramidal geometry about the nitrogen center. Density functional theory calculations are used to facilitate interpretation of the spectra and to further explore the structures of the TEMPO adducts. To our knowledge, this study represents the first direct characterization of the mechanism of the reaction of TEMPO with coordinatively unsaturated organometallic complexes, providing valuable insight into its reactions with commonly encountered reaction intermediates. The similar reactivity of TEMPO toward each of the species studied suggests that these results can be considered representative of TEMPO's reactivity toward all low-valent transition metal complexes.

Switching from Ru to Fe: picosecond IR spectroscopic investigation of the potential of the (fulvalene)tetracarbonyldiiron frame for molecular solar-thermal storage

A foray into the exploration of Fe analogues of the (fulvalene)tetracarbonyldiruthenium [FvRu2(CO)4] solar-thermal storage system 1⇆2 is described. It was facilitated by the development of a convenient synthetic access to the parent [FvFe2(CO)4] 3a and the more soluble di(tert-butyl)fulvalene derivatives 3c and d. Laboratory time scale irradiations (>400 nm) fail to induce photoisomerization, an observation that is explained by the results of time-resolved IR experiments. They show that photoexcitation generates only the short-lived singlet syn biradical of 3 (and a small amount of decarbonylation product), in the absence of the corresponding triplet species required for the occurrence of rearrangement to 4.