Ab Initio XRPD Structure Determination of Organometallic Compounds: The Case of Pd(Phen)(C(O)N(Me)OC(O)), a Model Intermediate in the Palladium−Phenanthroline-Catalyzed Reductive Carbonylation of Aromatic Nitro Compounds

Away from phosgene: reductive carbonylation of nitroarenes and oxidative carbonylation of amines, understanding the mechanism to improve performance

Recent progress, with some emphasis on the author's own work, on the understanding of the mechanism of the reductive carbonylation of nitroarenes and of the oxidative carbonylation of amines is discussed, highlighting the close connection between the two reactions and trying to unify scattered data in the literature. Isocyanates, carbamates and ureas can be obtained by either procedure, without the need for the use of the toxic and corrosive phosgene.

Complexation of beryllium(II) ion by phosphinate ligands in aqueous solution. Synthesis and XRPD structure determination of Be[(PhPO2)2CH2](H2O)2

Two bifunctional ligands, phenyl(carboxymethyl)phosphinate (ccp(2-) and P,P'-diphenylmethylenediphosphinate (pcp(2-)), have been tested as chelating agents of beryllium(II). Both ligands have the same charge and a similar chelating structure, but whereas the 1:1 adduct of pcp(2-), Be(pcp)(H(2)O)(2), could be isolated as a white powder, no pure compound could be isolated from solutions containing beryllium(II) and ccp(2-). Instead, the solutions were examined by means of potentiometry and (9)Be NMR spectroscopy. Analysis of the potentiometric titration data with the program HYPERQUAD suggested the formation of the complex species BeL, [BeHL](+), [BeL(2)](2-), and [BeHL(2)](-) (L = ccp). The formation constants for these species were determined at 25 degrees C and I = 0.5 mol dm(-3) NaClO(4). The (9)Be NMR spectra are consistent with this model. The formation constants found for the ccp(2-) complexes are lower than those reported for related phosphonate ligands. However, the effective stability constant (which gives a better indication of the intrinsic coordinating capacity of the ligand at a particular pH) of the complex [Be(ccp)(2)](2-) at pH < 4 is greater than the effective constants of the corresponding phosphonoacetate and methylenediphosphonate complexes. The structure of Be(pcp)(H(2)O)(2) was determined by X-ray powder diffraction methods and consists of discrete molecules interconnected by an extended 2D network of hydrogen bonds, resulting in a stacking of doublelayers with a polar core and a lipophilic surface. Crystal data: C(13)H(16)BeO(6)P(2), fw 339.21, monoclinic P2(1)/c, a = 16.174(1) A, b = 8.979(1) A, c = 10.929(1) A, beta = 90.398(9) degrees, V = 1587.2(3) A(3), Z = 4.