Polarized metal-metal multiple bonding and reactivity of phosphinoamide-bridged heterobimetallic group IV/cobalt compounds

Heterobimetallic complexes are studied for their ability to mimic biological systems as well as active sites in heterogeneous catalysts. While specific interest in early/late heterobimetallic systems has fluctuated, they serve as important models to fundamentally understand metal-metal bonding. Specifically, the polarized metal-metal multiple bonds formed in highly reduced early/late heterobimetallic complexes exemplify how each metal modulates the electronic environment and reactivity of the complex as a whole. In this Perspective, we chronicle the development of phosphinoamide-supported group IV/cobalt heterobimetallic complexes. This combination of metals allows access to a low valent Co-I center, which performs a rich variety of bond activation reactions when coupled with the pendent Lewis acidic metal center. Conversely, the low valent late transition metal is also observed to act as an electron reservoir, allowing for redox processes to occur at the d0 group IV metal site. Most of the bond activation reactions carried out by phosphinoamide-bridged M/Co-I (M = Ti, Zr, Hf) complexes are facilitated by cleavage of metal-metal multiple bonds, which serve as readily accessible electron reservoirs. Comparative studies in which both the number of buttressing ligands as well as the identity of the early metal were varied to give a library of heterobimetallic complexes are summarized, providing a thorough understanding of the reactivity of M/Co-I heterobimetallic systems.

Synthesis and characterization of homometallic cobalt complexes with metal-metal interactions

Complexes featuring metal-metal bonds play crucial roles in catalysis and small molecule activation due to the synergistic effects between the metals. Here, we report a series of homometallic cobalt complexes with metal-metal interactions that have been successfully stabilized by a multidentate ligand platform. Theoretical studies on metal-metal interactions in these cobalt complexes are discussed.

H2 and carbon-heteroatom bond activation mediated by polarized heterobimetallic complexes

The field of heterobimetallic chemistry has rapidly expanded over the last decade. In addition to their interesting structural features, heterobimetallic structures have been found to facilitate a range of stoichiometric bond activations and catalytic processes. The accompanying review summarizes advances in this area since January of 2010. The review encompasses well-characterized heterobimetallic complexes, with a particular focus on mechanistic details surrounding their reactivity applications.

Paramagnetic Metal-Metal Bonded Heterometallic Complexes

Significant progress has been made in the past 10-15 years on the design, synthesis, and properties of multimetallic coordination complexes with heterometallic metal-metal bonds that are paramagnetic. Several general classes have been explored including heterobimetallic compounds, heterotrimetallic compounds of either linear or triangular geometry, discrete molecular compounds containing a linear array of more than three metal atoms, and coordination polymers with a heterometallic metal-metal bonded backbone. We focus in this Review on the synthetic methods employed to access these compounds, their structural features, magnetic properties, and electronic structure. Regarding the metal-metal bond distances, we make use of the formal shortness ratio (FSR) for comparison of bond distances between a broad range of metal atoms of different sizes. The magnetic properties of these compounds can be described using an extension of the Goodenough-Kanamori rules to cases where two magnetic ions interact via a third metal atom. In describing the electronic structure, we focus on the ability (or not) of electrons to be delocalized across heterometallic bonds, allowing for rationalizations and predictions of single-molecule conductance measurements in paramagnetic heterometallic molecular wires.

Structure and bonding of group 4-nickel heterobimetallics supported by 2-(diphenylphosphino)pyrrolide ligands

The synthesis of a full series of group 4/nickel complexes supported by a 2-(diphenylphosphino)pyrrolide (NP) ligand is reported. Treatment of the homoleptic, 8-coordinate M(NP)4 monometallic precursors with Ni(COD)2 (COD = 1,5-cyclooctadiene) yielded the heterobimetallic complexes (κ(2)-NP)M(μ2-NP)3Ni (M = Ti, Zr, Hf). Although X-ray crystallographic analysis reveals similarly short metal-metal distances in all three complexes, quantum chemical calculations indicate that ZrNi () and HfNi () contain only single Ni → M dative bonds while TiNi () has an additional Ti-Ni π-bond. All three complexes have quasireversible reductions by cyclic voltammetry, and 1-electron chemical reduction of by Na(Hg) yields the anion, [Na][(κ(2)-NP)Ti(μ2-NP)3Ni] (). X-ray and computational analysis indicate that the 1-electron reduction of completely breaks the metal-metal bond, yielding a formally Ti(III)-Ni(0) complex. Ti-Ni bonding can also be disrupted by coordination of CO, wherein Ni → CO backbonding effectively outcompetes Ni → Ti dative bonding.

Tantallacyclopentadiene as a unique metal-containing diene ligand coordinated to nickel for preparing tantalum–nickel heterobimetallic complexes

The mononuclear tantallacyclopentadiene, TaCl₃(C₄H₂^tBu₂), coordinates to Ni to form heterobimetallic complexes of Cl₃Ta(μ-C₄H₂^tBu₂)Ni(L) (L = COD, phosphines, IPr).

Multi-electron redox processes at a Zr(iv) center facilitated by an appended redox-active cobalt-containing metalloligand

The reactivity of a reduced heterobimetallic Co^−I/Zr^IV complex with a series of azido and diazo reagents is explored to demonstrate the feasibility of facilitating two-electron redox processes at a formally d⁰ Zr(iv) center using the appended Co fragment exclusively as an electron-reservoir.

A heterobimetallic complex featuring a Ti-Co multiple bond and its application to the reductive coupling of ketones to alkenes

A Ti/Co heterobimetallic complex featuring a very short metal–metal triple bond has been synthesized. This complex promotes the reductive coupling reaction of aryl ketones into alkenes.

To explore metal–metal multiple bonds between first row transition metals, Ti/Co complexes supported by two phosphinoamide ligands have been synthesized and characterized. The Ti metalloligand Cl₂Ti(XylNPⁱPr₂)₂ (1) was treated with CoI₂ under reducing conditions, permitting isolation of the Ti/Co complex [(μ-Cl)Ti(XylNPⁱPr₂)₂CoI]₂ (2). One electron reduction of complex 2 affords ClTi(XylNPⁱPr₂)₂CoPMe₃ (3), which features a metal–metal triple bond and an unprecedentedly short Ti–Co distance of 2.0236(9) Å. This complex is shown to promote the McMurry coupling reaction of aryl ketones into alkenes, with concomitant formation of the tetranuclear complex [Ti(μ₃-O)(NXylPⁱPr₂)₂CoI]₂ (4). A cooperative mechanism involving bimetallic C Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019 ]]> O bond activation and a cobalt carbene intermediate is proposed.

Electronic tuning of Mo2(thioamidate)4 complexes through π-system substituents and cis/trans isomerism

We report an exploration of the coordination chemistry of a systematic series of cyclic thioamidate ligands with the quadruply-bonded Mo2(4+) core. In addition to the S and N donor atoms that bind to Mo, the ligands utilized in this study have an additional O or S atom in conjugation with the thioamidate π system. The preparation of four new Mo2 complexes is described, and these compounds are characterized by X-ray crystallography, NMR and UV-vis spectroscopy, electrochemistry, and DFT calculations. These complexes provide a means to interrogate the electronics of Mo2(thioamidate)4 systems. Notably, we describe the first two examples of Mo2(thioamidate)4 complexes in their cis-2,2-regioisomer. By varying the π-system substituent and regioisomerism of these compounds, the electronics of the dimolybdenum core is shown to be altered with varying degrees of effect. Cyclic voltammetry results show that changing the π-system substituent from O to S results in an increase in the Mo2(4+/5+) oxidation potential by 170 mV. Changing the arrangement of ligands around the dimolybdenum core from trans-2,2 to cis-2,2 slightly weakens the metal-ligand bonds, raising the oxidation potential by a more modest 30-100 mV. MO diagrams of each compound derived from DFT calculations support these conclusions as well; the identity of the π-system substituent alters the δ-δ* (HOMO-LUMO) gap by up to 0.4 eV, whereas regioisomerism yields smaller changes in the electronic structure.

Formation of heterobimetallic zirconium/cobalt diimido complexes via a four-electron transformation

The reactivity of the reduced heterobimetallic complex Zr((i)PrNP(i)Pr2)3CoN2 (1) toward aryl azides was examined, revealing a four-electron redox transformation to afford unusual heterobimetallic zirconium/cobalt diimido complexes. In the case of p-tolyl azide, the diamagnetic C3-symmetric bis(terminal imido) complex 3 is formed, but mesityl azide instead leads to asymmetric complex 4 featuring a bridging imido fragment.

Tris(phosphinoamide)-supported uranium-cobalt heterobimetallic complexes featuring Co → U dative interactions

A series of tris- and tetrakis(phosphinoamide) U/Co complexes has been synthesized. The uranium precursors, (η(2)-Ph2PN(i)Pr)4U (1), (η(2)-(i)Pr2PNMes)4U (2), (η(2)-Ph2PN(i)Pr)3UCl (3), and (η(2)-(i)Pr2PNMes)3UI (4), were easily accessed via addition of the appropriate stoichiometric equivalents of [Ph2PN(i)Pr]K or [(i)Pr2PNMes]K to UCl4 or UI4(dioxane)2. Although the phosphinoamide ligands in 1 and 4 have been shown to coordinate to U in an η(2)-fashion in the solid state, the phosphines are sufficiently labile in solution to coordinate cobalt upon addition of CoI2, generating the heterobimetallic Co/U complexes ICo(Ph2PN(i)Pr)3U[η(2)-Ph2PN(i)Pr] (5), ICo((i)Pr2PNMes)3U[η(2)-((i)Pr2PNMes)] (6), ICo(Ph2PN(i)Pr)3UI (7), and ICo((i)Pr2PNMes)3UI (8). Structural characterization of complexes 5 and 7 reveals reasonably short Co-U interatomic distances, with 7 exhibiting the shortest transition metal-uranium distance ever reported (2.874(3) Å). Complexes 7 and 8 were studied by cyclic voltammetry to examine the influence of the metal-metal interaction on the redox properties compared with both monometallic Co and heterobimetallic Co/Zr complexes. Theoretical studies are used to further elucidate the nature of the transition metal-actinide interaction.

A transition metal Lewis acid/base triad system for cooperative substrate binding

A frustrated Lewis pair accessory functionality is positioned in the secondary coordination sphere of a terpyridine ligand (Tpy(BN) = 6-morpholino-2,2':6',2″-terpyridine-6″-boronic acid pinacol ester) to promote directed Lewis acid/base interactions. Following metalation with VCl3, the utility of the metal Lewis acid/base triad (LABT) is highlighted with N2H4 as a cooperatively coordinated substrate, affording the first η(2)-[N2H3](-) vanadium complex.