Isocyanide Complexes with Platinum and Palladium and Their Reactivity toward Cycloadditions with Nitrones to Form Aminooxycarbenes: A Theoretical Study

Tuning the luminescence of transition metal complexes with acyclic diaminocarbene ligands

Organometallics featuring acyclic diaminocarbene ligands have recently emerged as powerful emitters for use in electroluminescent technologies.

Reaction between Indazole and Pd-Bound Isocyanides-A Theoretical Mechanistic Study

The mechanism of the addition of indazole (Ind)-a bifunctional aromatic N,NH-nucleophile-to cyclohexyl isocyanide coordinated to the palladium(II) center in the model complex cis-[PdCl₂(CNMe)(CNCy)] (1) to give the corresponding aminocarbene ligand was investigated in detail by theoretical (DFT) methods. The most plausible mechanism of this reaction is that of the associative type involving nucleophilic attack of Ind by its unprotonated N atom at the isocyanide carbon atom followed by the stepwise proton transfer from the nucleophile molecule to the isocyanide N atom via deprotonation/protonation steps. Two reaction channels based on two tautomeric forms of indazole were found. The channel leading to the experimentally isolated aminocarbene product is based on the less stable tautomeric form. Another channel based on the more stable tautomer of Ind is slightly kinetically more favorable but it is endergonic. Thus, the regioselectivity of this reaction is thermodynamically rather than kinetically driven. The bonding situation in key species was analyzed.

Metal-Mediated Addition of N-Nucleophiles to Isocyanides: Mechanistic Aspects

Despite the long history of the investigation of nucleophilic addition to metal-bound isocyanides, some important aspects of the reaction mechanism remain unclear even for the simplest systems. In this work, the addition of the sp³-N, sp²-N, and mixed sp²/sp³-N nucleophiles (i.e., HNMe₂, HN=CPh₂, and H₂N-N=CPh₂, respectively) to isocyanides C≡NR coordinated to the platinum(II) centers in the complexes cis-[Pt(C≡NCy)(2-pyz)(dppe)]⁺ (2-pyz = 2-pyrazyl, dmpe = Me₂PCH₂CH₂PMe₂) and cis-[PtCl₂(C≡NXyl)(C≡NMe)] was studied in detail by theoretical (DFT) methods. The mechanism of these reactions is stepwise associative rather than concerted and it includes the addition of a nucleophile to the isocyanide C atom, deprotonation of the nucleophilic moiety in the resulting intermediate, and protonation of the isocyanide N atom to give the final product. The calculated activation energy (ΔG≠) of all reactions is in the range of 19.8-22.4 kcal/mol.

Copper(I)-Catalyzed 1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition of Ketonitrones to Dialkylcyanamides: A Step toward Sustainable Generation of 2,3-Dihydro-1,2,4-oxadiazoles

Cu^I-catalyzed cycloaddition (CA) of the ketonitrones, Ph₂C=N⁺(R')O^- (R' = Me, CH₂Ph), to the disubstituted cyanamides, NCNR₂ (R = Me₂, Et₂, (CH₂)₄, (CH₂)₅, (CH₂)₄O, C₉H₁₀, (CH₂Ph)₂, Ph(Me)), gives the corresponding 5-amino-substituted 2,3-dihydro-1,2,4-oxadiazoles (15 examples) in good to moderate yields. The reaction proceeds under mild conditions (CH₂Cl₂, RT or 45 °C) and requires 10 mol % of [Cu(NCMe)₄](BF₄) as the catalyst. The somewhat reduced yields are due to the individual properties of 2,3-dihydro-1,2,4-oxadiazoles, which easily undergo ring opening via N-O bond splitting. Results of density functional theory calculations reveal that the CA of ketonitrones to Cu^I-bound cyanamides is a concerted process, and the copper-catalyzed reaction is controlled by the predominant contribution of the HOMO_dipole-LUMO_{dipolarophile} interaction (group I by Sustmann's classification). The metal-involving process is much more asynchronous and profitable from both kinetic and thermodynamic viewpoints than the hypothetical metal-free reaction.

Diversity of reactivity modes upon interplay between Au(iii)-bound isocyanides and cyclic nitrones: a theoretical consideration

Metal-bound isocyanides demonstrate a very rich chemistry towards 1,3-dipoles of the allyl anion type such as nitrones. Depending on the metal centre, dipole nature and substituent in isocyanides, cycloadducts, imine + isocyanates or metallacycles may be formed. In this work, the reasons for such diversity, intimate details of the reaction mechanism and main factors determining the chemoselectivity in the reaction between Au(iii)-bound isocyanides ([AuCl₃(C[triple bond, length as m-dash]NR)]) and cyclic nitrones ^-O-N[combining low line]⁺[double bond, length as m-dash]C(H)XXX[combining low line] (XXX = CH₂CH₂CMe₂, CH₂CH₂CH₂, OCH₂CMe₂, CH₂OCMe₂ and CH₂CH₂O) are analysed in detail by theoretical (DFT) methods. The formation of cycloadducts is controlled by the LUMO_{π*(C[triple bond, length as m-dash]N)} of isocyanides and it occurs in a stepwise manner via the initial nucleophilic addition of nitrone at the C atom of C[triple bond, length as m-dash]NR (except for nitronate ^-O-N[combining low line]⁺[double bond, length as m-dash]C(H)CH₂CH₂O[combining low line]). The imine + isocyanate products are formed upon oxygen transfer from nitrones to isocyanides, and N-O bond cleavage is the main factor determining this process. A metallacycle is formed upon decomposition of the cycloadduct, and this process includes deprotonation of the oxadiazoline CH group/N-O bond cleavage and Cl^- elimination/cyclization. The main factor controlling the metallacycle formation is the acidity of the endocyclic CH group in the cycloadduct. Effects of the substituent R in C[triple bond, length as m-dash]NR and the nitrone nature on the reactivity are analysed.