Alkyl dehydrogenation in a Rh(I) complex via an isolated agostic intermediate

14-Electron Rh and Ir silylphosphine complexes and their catalytic activity in alkene functionalization with hydrosilanes

Herein we report an experimental and computational study of a family of four coordinated 14-electron complexes of Rh(iii) devoid of agostic interactions. The complexes [X-Rh(κ³(P,Si,Si)PhP(o-C₆H₄CH₂SiⁱPr₂)₂], where X = Cl (Rh-1), Br (Rh-2), I (Rh-3), OTf (Rh-4), Cl·GaCl₃ (Rh-5); derive from a bis(silyl)-o-tolylphosphine with isopropyl substituents on the Si atoms. All five complexes display a sawhorse geometry around Rh and exhibit similar spectroscopic and structural properties. The catalytic activity of these complexes and [Cl-Ir(κ³(P,Si,Si)PhP(o-C₆H₄CH₂SiⁱPr₂)₂], Ir-1, in styrene and aliphatic alkene functionalizations with hydrosilanes is disclosed. We show that Rh-1 catalyzes effectively the dehydrogenative silylation of styrene with Et₃SiH in toluene while it leads to hydrosilylation products in acetonitrile. Rh-1 is an excellent catalyst in the sequential isomerization/hydrosilylation of terminal and remote aliphatic alkenes with Et₃SiH including hexene isomers, leading efficiently and selectively to the terminal anti-Markonikov hydrosilylation product in all cases. With aliphatic alkenes, no hydrogenation products are observed. Conversely, catalysis of the same hexene isomers by Ir-1 renders allyl silanes, the tandem isomerization/dehydrogenative silylation products. A mechanistic proposal is made to explain the catalysis with these M(iii) complexes.

Ortho-aryl substituted DPEphos ligands: rhodium complexes featuring C-H anagostic interactions and B-H agostic bonds

The synthesis of new Schrock–Osborn Rh(i) pre-catalysts with ortho-substituted DPEphos ligands, [Rh(DPEphos-R)(NBD)][BAr^F₄] [R = Me, OMe, ⁱPr; Ar^F = 3,5-(CF₃)₂C₆H₃], is described. Along with the previously reported R = H variant, variable temperature ¹H NMR spectroscopic and single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies show that these all have axial (C–H)⋯Rh anagostic interactions relative to the d⁸ pseudo square planar metal centres, that also result in corresponding downfield chemical shifts. Analysis by NBO, QTAIM and NCI methods shows these to be only very weak C–H⋯Rh bonding interactions, the magnitudes of which do not correlate with the observed chemical shifts. Instead, as informed by Scherer's approach, it is the topological positioning of the C–H bond with regard to the metal centre that is important. For [Rh(DPEphos–ⁱPr)(NBD)][BAr^F₄] addition of H₂ results in a Rh(iii) ⁱPr–C–H activated product, [Rh(κ³,σ-P,O,P-DPEphos-ⁱPr′)(H)][BAr^F₄]. This undergoes H/D exchange with D₂ at the ⁱPr groups, reacts with CO or NBD to return Rh(i) products, and reaction with H₃B·NMe₃/tert-butylethene results in a dehydrogenative borylation to form a complex that shows both a non-classical B–H⋯Rh 3c-2e agostic bond and a C–H⋯Rh anagostic interaction at the same metal centre.

Rh(i) complexes of ortho-substituted DPEphos-R (R = H, Me, OMe, ⁱPr) ligands show anagostic interactions; for R =ⁱPr C–H activation/dehydrogenative borylation forms a product exhibiting both B–H/Rh 3c-2e agostic and C–H/Rh anagostic motifs.

Synthesis of Highly Fluorinated Arene Complexes of [Rh(Chelating Phosphine)]+ Cations, and their use in Synthesis and Catalysis

The synthesis of rhodium complexes with weakly binding highly fluorinated benzene ligands is described: 1,2,3-F3 C6 H3 , 1,2,3,4-F4 C6 H2 and 1,2,3,4,5-F5 C6 H are shown to bind with cationic [Rh(Cy2 P(CH2 )x PCy2 )]+ fragments (x=1, 2). Their structures and reactivity with alkenes, and use in catalysis for promoting the Tishchenko reaction of a simple aldehyde, are demonstrated. Key to the synthesis of these complexes is the highly concentrated reaction conditions and use of the [Al{OC(CF3 )3 }4 ]- anion.

Room Temperature Acceptorless Alkane Dehydrogenation from Molecular σ-Alkane Complexes

The non-oxidative catalytic dehydrogenation of light alkanes via C-H activation is a highly endothermic process that generally requires high temperatures and/or a sacrificial hydrogen acceptor to overcome unfavorable thermodynamics. This is complicated by alkanes being such poor ligands, meaning that binding at metal centers prior to C-H activation is disfavored. We demonstrate that by biasing the pre-equilibrium of alkane binding, by using solid-state molecular organometallic chemistry (SMOM-chem), well-defined isobutane and cyclohexane σ-complexes, [Rh(Cy₂PCH₂CH₂PCy₂)(η:η-(H₃C)CH(CH₃)₂][BAr^F₄] and [Rh(Cy₂PCH₂CH₂PCy₂)(η:η-C₆H₁₂)][BAr^F₄] can be prepared by simple hydrogenation in a solid/gas single-crystal to single-crystal transformation of precursor alkene complexes. Solid-gas H/D exchange with D₂ occurs at all C-H bonds in both alkane complexes, pointing to a variety of low energy fluxional processes that occur for the bound alkane ligands in the solid-state. These are probed by variable temperature solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance experiments and periodic density functional theory (DFT) calculations. These alkane σ-complexes undergo spontaneous acceptorless dehydrogenation at 298 K to reform the corresponding isobutene and cyclohexadiene complexes, by simple application of vacuum or Ar-flow to remove H₂. These processes can be followed temporally, and modeled using classical chemical, or Johnson-Mehl-Avrami-Kologoromov, kinetics. When per-deuteration is coupled with dehydrogenation of cyclohexane to cyclohexadiene, this allows for two successive KIEs to be determined [k_H/k_D = 3.6(5) and 10.8(6)], showing that the rate-determining steps involve C-H activation. Periodic DFT calculations predict overall barriers of 20.6 and 24.4 kcal/mol for the two dehydrogenation steps, in good agreement with the values determined experimentally. The calculations also identify significant C-H bond elongation in both rate-limiting transition states and suggest that the large k_H/k_D for the second dehydrogenation results from a pre-equilibrium involving C-H oxidative cleavage and a subsequent rate-limiting β-H transfer step.

Solution, Solid-State, and Computational Analysis of Agostic Interactions in a Coherent Set of Low-Coordinate Rhodium(III) and Iridium(III) Complexes

A homologous family of low-coordinate complexes of the formulation trans-[M(2,2'-biphenyl)(PR3 )2 ][BArF4 ] (M=Rh, Ir; R=Ph, Cy, iPr, iBu) has been prepared and extensively structurally characterised. Enabled through a comprehensive set of solution phase (VT 1 H and 31 P NMR spectroscopy) and solid-state (single crystal X-ray diffraction) data, and analysis in silico (DFT-based NBO and QTAIM analysis), the structural features of the constituent agostic interactions have been systematically interrogated. The combined data substantiates the adoption of stronger agostic interactions for the IrIII compared to RhIII complexes and, with respect to the phosphine ligands, in the order PiBu3 >PCy3 >PiPr3 >PPh3 . In addition to these structure-property relationships, the effect of crystal packing on the agostic interactions was investigated in the tricyclohexylphosphine complexes. Compression of the associated cations, through inclusion of a more bulky solvent molecule (1,2-difluorobenzene vs. CH2 Cl2 ) in the lattice or collection of data at very low temperature (25 vs. 150 K), lead to small but statistically significant shortening of the M-H-C distances.

Organometallic chemistry using partially fluorinated benzenes

Fluorobenzenes, in particular fluorobenzene (FB) and 1,2-difluorobenzene (1,2-DiFB), are versatile solvents for conducting organometallic chemistry and transition-metal-based catalysis.

Variable coordination modes and catalytic dehydrogenation of B-phenyl amine–boranes

The binding mode ofB-aryl substituted amine–boranes at {Rh(bisphoshine)}⁺fragments can manipulated by variation of the P–Rh–P bite-angle.

Solid-state synthesis and characterization of σ-alkane complexes, [Rh(L2)(η(2),η(2)-C7H12)][BAr(F)4] (L2 = bidentate chelating phosphine)

The use of solid/gas and single-crystal to single-crystal synthetic routes is reported for the synthesis and characterization of a number of σ-alkane complexes: [Rh(R2P(CH2)nPR2)(η(2),η(2)-C7H12)][BAr(F)4]; R = Cy, n = 2; R = (i)Pr, n = 2,3; Ar = 3,5-C6H3(CF3)2. These norbornane adducts are formed by simple hydrogenation of the corresponding norbornadiene precursor in the solid state. For R = Cy (n = 2), the resulting complex is remarkably stable (months at 298 K), allowing for full characterization using single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The solid-state structure shows no disorder, and the structural metrics can be accurately determined, while the (1)H chemical shifts of the Rh···H-C motif can be determined using solid-state NMR spectroscopy. DFT calculations show that the bonding between the metal fragment and the alkane can be best characterized as a three-center, two-electron interaction, of which σCH → Rh donation is the major component. The other alkane complexes exhibit solid-state (31)P NMR data consistent with their formation, but they are now much less persistent at 298 K and ultimately give the corresponding zwitterions in which [BAr(F)4](-) coordinates and NBA is lost. The solid-state structures, as determined by X-ray crystallography, for all these [BAr(F)4](-) adducts are reported. DFT calculations suggest that the molecular zwitterions within these structures are all significantly more stable than their corresponding σ-alkane cations, suggesting that the solid-state motif has a strong influence on their observed relative stabilities.

Synthesis and characterization of a rhodium(I) σ-alkane complex in the solid state

Transition metal-alkane complexes-termed σ-complexes because the alkane donates electron density to the metal from a σ-symmetry carbon-hydrogen (C-H) orbital-are key intermediates in catalytic C-H activation processes, yet these complexes remain tantalizingly elusive to characterization in the solid state by single-crystal x-ray diffraction techniques. Here, we report an approach to the synthesis and characterization of transition metal-alkane complexes in the solid state by a simple gas-solid reaction to produce an alkane σ-complex directly. This strategy enables the structural determination, by x-ray diffraction, of an alkane (norbornane) σ-bound to a d(8)-rhodium(I) metal center, in which the chelating alkane ligand is coordinated to the pseudosquare planar metal center through two σ-C-H bonds.

Isolation of a PBP-pincer rhodium complex stabilized by an intermolecular C-H σ coordination as the fourth ligand

A little help from my friends: a highly reactive, 16-electron square-planar rhodium complex was isolated. This species displays an intermolecular interaction between the rhodium and the C-H bond of another molecule as the fourth ligand to form an infinite network in the crystal lattice. The complex undergoes oxidative addition to the O-H bond of phenol or a primary alkyl alcohol to give the corresponding hydrido-phenoxido Rh(III) complex or carbonyl Rh(I) complex, respectively.

Reactivity of the latent 12-electron fragment [Rh(PiBu3)2]+ with aryl bromides: aryl-Br and phosphine ligand C-H activation

Oxidative addition of aryl bromides to 12-electron [Rh(PiBu(3))(2)][BAr(F)(4)] (Ar(F)=3,5-(CF(3))(2)C(6)H(3)) forms a variety of products. With p-tolyl bromides, Rh(III) dimeric complexes result [Rh(PiBu(3))(2)(o/p-MeC(6)H(4))(mu-Br)](2)[BAr(F)(4)](2). Similarly, reaction with p-ClC(6)H(4)Br gives [Rh(PiBu(3))(2)(p-ClC(6)H(4))(mu-Br)](2)[BAr(F)(4)](2). In contrast, the use of o-BrC(6)H(4)Me leads to a product in which toluene has been eliminated and an isobutyl phosphine has undergone C-H activation: [Rh{PiBu(2)(CH(2)CHCH(3)CH(2))}(PiBu(3))(mu-Br)](2)[BAr(F)(4)](2). Trapping experiments with ortho-bromo anisole or ortho-bromo thioanisole indicate that a possible intermediate for this process is a low-coordinate Rh(III) complex that then undergoes C-H activation. The anisole and thioanisole complexes have been isolated and their structures show OMe or SMe interactions with the metal centre alongside supporting agostic interactions, [Rh(PiBu(3))(2)(C(6)H(4)OMe)Br][BAr(F)(4)] (the solid-state structure of the 5-methyl substituted analogue is reported) and [Rh(PiBu(3))(2)(C(6)H(4)SMe)Br][BAr(F)(4)]. The anisole-derived complex proceeds to give [Rh{PiBu(2)(CH(2)CHCH(3)CH(2))}(PiBu(3))(mu-Br)](2)[BAr(F)(4)](2), whereas the thioanisole complex is unreactive. The isolation of [Rh(PiBu(3))(2)(C(6)H(4)OMe)Br][BAr(F)(4)] and its onward reactivity to give the products of C-H activation and aryl elimination suggest that it is implicated on the pathway of a sigma-bond metathesis reaction, a hypothesis strengthened by DFT calculations. Calculations also suggest that C-H bond cleavage through phosphine-assisted deprotonation of a non-agostic bond is also competitive, although the subsequent protonation of the aryl ligand is too high in energy to account for product formation. C-H activation through oxidative addition is also ruled out on the basis of these calculations. These new complexes have been characterised by solution NMR/ESIMS techniques and in the solid-state by X-ray crystallography.