Recent Advances in the Chemistry of Metal Carbamates

Exploring metal carbamates as precursors for the synthesis of metal-organic frameworks

In the synthesis of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), the choice of the metal precursor plays a key role because of the influence that it can exert on the crystallization kinetics. The present work explores the use of metal-carbamato complexes for the synthesis of benchmark MOFs, namely HKUST-1 and UiO-66. Cu2(O2CNEt2)4·2NHEt2 and Zr(O2CNEt2)4, prepared using straightforward CO2 fixation reactions starting from the corresponding metal chlorides and diethylamine, were employed as metal precursors for MOF formation. The synthesis conditions, including the solvent, temperature, and ligand protonation degree, were systematically investigated, revealing metal carbamates as highly reactive precursors due to their prompt release of CO2 and amine upon reaction with protic species, i.e., the polycarboxylic linkers. This property of metal carbamates allowed us to identify room temperature protocols to achieve MOFs with comparable properties to those obtained using traditional metal precursors. Subsequent optimization of the reaction conditions led to the design of a one-pot synthetic strategy for HKUST-1, starting directly from copper(II) chloride and diethylamine under a CO2 atmosphere. The MOFs were characterized using various techniques, including powder X-ray diffraction, N2 sorption analysis, 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and CHN elemental analysis, and compared to reference samples prepared according to literature procedures.

Heteroallene Insertions into Tin(II) Alkoxide Bonds

A series of iso-carbamate complexes have been synthesized by the reaction of [SnII(OiPr)2] or [SnII(OtBu)2] with either aryl or alkyl isocyanates, ONC-R (R = 2,4,6-trimethylphenyl (Mes), 2,6-diisopropylphenyl (Dipp), isopropyl (iPr), cyclohexyl (Cy) and tert-butyl (tBu)). In the case of aryl isocyanates, mono-insertion occurs to form structurally characterized complexes [Sn{κ2-N,O-R-NC(OiPr)O}(μ-OiPr)]2 (1: R = Mes, 2: R = Dipp) and [Sn{κ2-N,O-R-NC(OtBu)O}(μ-OtBu)]2 (3: R = Mes, 4: R = Dipp). The complicated solution-state chemistry of these species has been explored using 1H DOSY experiments. In contrast, reactions of tin(II) alkoxides with alkyl isocyanates result in the formation of bis-insertion products [Sn{κ2-N,O-R-NC(OiPr)O}2] (5: R = iPr, and 6: R = Cy) and [Sn{κ2-N,O-R-NC(OtBu)O}2] (7: R = iPr, 8: R = Cy), of which complexes 6-8 have also been structurally characterized. 1H NMR studies show that the reaction of tBu-NCO with either [Sn(OiPr)2] or [Sn(OtBu)2] results in a reversible mono-insertion. Variable-temperature 2D 1H-1H exchange spectroscopy (VT-2D-EXSY) was used to determine the rate of exchange between free tBu-NCO and the coordinated tBu-iso-carbamate ligand for the {OiPr} alkoxide complex, as well as the activation energy (Ea = 92.2 ± 0.8 kJ mol-1), enthalpy (ΔH‡ = 89.4 ± 0.8 kJ mol-1), and entropy (ΔS‡ = 12.6 ± 2.9 J mol-1 K-1) for the process [Sn(OiPr)2] + tBu-NCO ↔ [Sn{κ2-N,O-tBu-NC(OiPr)O}(OiPr)]. Attempts to form Sn(II) alkyl carbonates by the insertion of CO2 into either [Sn(OiPr)2] or [Sn(OtBu)2] proved unsuccessful. However, 119Sn{1H} NMR spectroscopy of the reaction of excess CO2 with [Sn(OiPr)2] reveals the presence of a new Sn(II) species, i.e., [(iPrO)Sn(O2COiPr)], VT-2D-EXSY (1H) of which confirms the reversible alkyl carbonate formation (Ea = 70.3 ± 13.0 kJ mol-1; ΔH‡ = 68.0 ± 1.3 kJ mol-1 and ΔS‡ = -8.07 ± 2.8 J mol-1 K-1).

Enhancing CO2 Capture via Metal-Ligand Cooperativity: Tuning Ligand Basicity and Zn(II) Lewis Acidity

A series of thiosemicarbazonato-hydrazinatopyridine zinc(II) complexes were evaluated as direct air CO2 capture agents. The complexes sequester CO2 in a methanol solution as a metal-coordinated methylcarbonate. The reaction is reversible upon sparging of solutions with an inert gas (N2 or Ar). The capture process involves metal-ligand cooperativity with the noncoordinating nitrogen of the hydrazinatopyridine functional group serving as a Brønsted-Lowry base and the zinc acting as a Lewis acid. In this study, the pendent amine of the thiosemicarbazonato group was varied to include 4-phenyl (ZnL5), 4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl (ZnL6), 4-cyanophenyl (ZnL7), 4-tolyl (ZnL8), and 4-naphthyl (ZnL9). Hyperconjugation between the pendent group and the ligand core resulted in modulation of the metal ion acidity, as quantified by ligand exchange equilibrium constants (K3 = 193-511) and ligand basicity (pKa,MeOH = 11.09-11.94). Variations in electronic structure that decreased ligand basicity were more than offset by increases in Lewis acidity. The equilibrium constant (K1) for CO2 capture varied from 46300 to 73700. Overall, the value of K1 was directly related to the relative Lewis acidity of the complexes (K3). Notably, there was an overall inverse relationship between K1 and the ligand basicity. The results provide insights into ligand design to further improve CO2 capture.

Small, Electron-Donating Substituents Give CO2 Activation by Permethylpentalene Zirconium Amido Complexes the Upper Hand: A DFT Study of Distortion and Interaction

An insight into factors controlling CO₂ activation is necessary to develop molecular systems that utilize CO₂ as a chemical feedstock. Two permethylpentalene zirconium cyclopentadienyl (mono)amido complexes, Pn*ZrCp(NR₂), were previously assessed for CO₂ activation, and a strong dependence on the amido substituent was observed. The R = Me analogue reacted rapidly and quantitatively at room temperature to form the carbamato complex, while the R = Ph species was inert. Here, we investigate the origin of this reactivity difference using DFT and the distortion-interaction model to characterize steric and electronic contributions to the activation barrier. We find that the barrier for CO₂ insertion with R = Me (19.1 kcal/mol) is lower than with R = Ph (36.6 kcal/mol), explaining the inertness of the Ph-substituted analogue. The distortion energy trend follows the steric bulk of the amido substituents, and the bulkier Ph-substituted complex has a consistently higher distortion energy along its potential energy surface than that of the Me-substituted complex. The interaction energy trend follows the electronics, and a more electron-donating Me-substituted complex shows a consistently lower interaction energy. The balance of these effects at the corresponding TS gives a reduced activation barrier. Small, electron-donating substituents therefore facilitate CO₂ activation in these complexes.

Stabilization of CO2 as Zwitterionic Carbamate within a Coordination Polymer (CP): Synthesis, Structure and Anions Sensing Behaviour of Tb-CP composite

A new gadolinium (III) based coordination polymer (CP), [Gd(3,5-pydc)1.5(CO2)0.5(H2O)4].3H2O (where 3,5-pydc =3,5-pyridinedicarboxylate) , 1, has been successfully synthesized using slow diffusion method at room temperature. Single crystal X-ray diffraction study...

Non-redox reactivity of V(ii) and Fe(ii) formamidinates towards CO2 resulting in the formation of novel M(ii) carbamates

Multiple CO2 insertions into the M–N bonds of V(ii) and Fe(ii) bis(formamidinates) led to the isolation of three novel carbamates. The CO2 insertion effectivity depended on the solvent used and the metal centre's coordination sphere geometry.

Screening the biological properties of transition metal carbamates reveals gold(I) and silver(I) complexes as potent cytotoxic and antimicrobial agents

We report a screening study aimed to assess for the first time the air- and water-stability and the biological potential of simple metal-carbamates. These molecular metallic species are based on elements belonging to the groups 4-5, 7-9 and 11, and tin, and are easily available from inexpensive reagents. Complexes [Ag(O₂CNEt₂)] (13-Ag) and [Au(O₂CNMe₂)(PPh₃)] (14-Au) resulted substantially stable in aqueous media and exhibited a potent in vitro cytotoxicity. Especially 13-Ag revealed a significant selectivity against the A549 lung adenocarcinoma and the A2780 ovarian cancer cell lines with respect to the noncancerous HEK293 cell line. Generation of ROS (reactive oxygen species) and mitochondrial membrane depolarization were recognized for 13-Ag and 14-Au; notwithstanding, the cell death mechanism is different in the two cases: apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 phase for 13-Ag; necroptosis and cell cycle arrest in S phase for 14-Au. Both 13-Ag and 14-Au are endowed with antibacterial activity, which is relatively stronger for 13-Ag towards Gram negative and for 14-Au towards Gram positive strains, respectively.

Non-precious metal carbamates as catalysts for the aziridine/CO2 coupling reaction under mild conditions

The catalytic potential of a large series of easily available metal carbamates (based on thirteen different non-precious metal elements) was explored for the first time in the coupling reaction between 2-aryl-aziridines and carbon dioxide, working under solventless and ambient conditions and using tetraalkylammonium halides as co-catalysts. The straightforward synthesis of novel [NbCl3(O2CNEt2)2], NbCl, and [NbBr3(O2CNEt2)2], NbBr, is reported. The niobium complex NbCl, in combination with NBu4I, emerged as the best catalyst of the overall series to convert aziridines with small N-alkyl substituents into the corresponding 5-aryl-oxazolidin-2-ones.

Catalytic Urea Synthesis from Ammonium Carbamate Using a Copper(II) Complex: A Combined Experimental and Theoretical Study

The synthesis of urea fertilizer is currently the largest CO₂ conversion process by volume in the industry. In this process, ammonium carbamate is an intermediate en route to urea formation. We determined that the tetraammineaquacopper(II) sulfate complex, [Cu(NH₃)₄(OH₂)]SO₄, catalyzed the formation of urea from ammonium carbamate in an aqueous solution. A urea yield of up to 18 ± 6% was obtained at 120 °C after 15 h and in a high-pressure metal reactor. No significant urea formed without the catalyst. The urea product was characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), and quantitative ¹H{¹³C} NMR analyses. The [Cu(NH₃)₄(OH₂)]SO₄ catalyst was then recovered at the end of the reaction in a 29% recovery yield, as verified by FT-IR, PXRD, and quantitative UV-vis spectroscopy. A precipitation method using CO₂ was developed to recover and reuse 66 ± 3% of Cu(II). The catalysis mechanism was investigated by the density functional theory at the B3LYP/6-31G** level with an SMD continuum solvent model. We determined that the [Cu(NH₃)₄]²⁺ complex is likely an effective catalyst structure. The study of the catalysis mechanism suggests that the coordinated carbamate with [Cu(NH₃)₄]²⁺ is likely the starting point of the catalyzed reaction, and carbamic acid can be involved as a transient intermediate that facilitates the removal of an OH group. Our work has paved the way for the rational design of catalysts for urea synthesis from the greenhouse gas CO₂.

CO2 activation by permethylpentalene amido zirconium complexes

We report the synthesis and characterisation of new permethylpentalene zirconium bis(amido) and permethylpentalene zirconium cyclopentadienyl mono(amido) complexes, and their reactivity with carbon dioxide.

Effect of Substituents of Cerium Pyrazolates and Pyrrolates on Carbon Dioxide Activation

Homoleptic ceric pyrazolates (pz) Ce(RR’pz)₄ (R = R’ = tBu; R = R’ = Ph; R = tBu, R’ = Me) were synthesized by the protonolysis reaction of Ce[N(SiHMe₂)₂]₄ with the corresponding pyrazole derivative. The resulting complexes were investigated in their reactivity toward CO₂, revealing a significant influence of the bulkiness of the substituents on the pyrazolato ligands. The efficiency of the CO₂ insertion was found to increase in the order of tBu₂pz < Ph₂pz < tBuMepz < Me₂pz. For comparison, the pyrrole-based ate complexes [Ce₂(pyr)₆(µ-pyr)₂(thf)₂][Li(thf)₄]₂ (pyr = pyrrolato) and [Ce(cbz)₄(thf)₂][Li(thf)₄] (cbz = carbazolato) were obtained via protonolysis of the cerous ate complex Ce[N(SiHMe₂)₂]₄Li(thf) with pyrrole and carbazole, respectively. Treatment of the pyrrolate/carbazolate complexes with CO₂ seemed promising, but any reversibility could not be observed.

CO2 Derivatives of Molecular Tin Compounds. Part 2: Carbamato, Formato, Phosphinoformato and Metallocarboxylato Complexes

Single-crystal X-ray diffraction structures of organotin compounds bearing hemicarbonate and carbonate ligands were recently reviewed by us—“CO2 Derivatives of Molecular Tin Compounds. Part 1: Hemicarbonato and Carbonato Complexes”, Inorganics 2020, 8, 31—based on crystallographic data available from the Cambridge Structural Database. Interestingly, this first collection revealed that most of the compounds listed were isolated in the context of studies devoted to the reactivity of tin precursors towards carbon dioxide, at atmospheric pressure or under pressure, thus highlighting the suitable disposition of Sn to fix CO2. In the frame of a second part, the present review carries on to explore CO2 derivatives of molecular tin compounds by describing successively the complexes with carbamato, formato, and phosphinoformato ligands, and obtained from insertion reactions of carbon dioxide into Sn–X bonds (X = N, H, P, respectively). The last chapter is devoted to X-ray structures of transition metal/tin CO2 complexes exhibiting metallocarboxylato ligands. As in Part 1, for each tin compound reported and when described in the original study, the structural descriptions are supplemented by synthetic conditions and spectroscopic data.

Soluble, crystalline, and thermally stable alkali CO2 - and carbonite (CO2 2-) clusters supported by cyclic(alkyl)(amino) carbenes

The mono- and dianions of CO2 (i.e., CO2 - and CO2 2-) have been studied for decades as both fundamentally important oxycarbanions (anions containing only C and O atoms) and as critical species in CO2 reduction and fixation chemistry. However, CO2 anions are highly unstable and difficult to study. As such, examples of stable compounds containing these ions are extremely limited; the unadulterated alkali salts of CO2 (i.e., MCO2, M2CO2, M = alkali metal) decompose rapidly above 15 K, for example. Herein we report the chemical reduction of a cyclic (alkyl)(amino) carbene (CAAC) adduct of CO2 at room temperature by alkali metals, which results in the formation of CAAC-stabilized alkali CO2 - and CO2 2- clusters. One-electron reduction of CAAC-CO2 adduct (1) with lithium, sodium or potassium metal yields stable monoanionic radicals [M(CAAC-CO2)] n (M = Li, Na, K, 2-4) analogous to the alkali CO2 - radical, and two-electron alkali metal reduction affords dianionic clusters of the general formula [M2(CAAC-CO2)] n (5-8) with reduced CO2 units which are structurally analogous to the carbonite anion CO2 2-. It is notable that crystalline clusters of these alkali-CO2 salts may also be isolated via the "one-pot" reaction of free CO2 with free CAAC followed by the addition of alkali metals - a process which does not occur in the absence of carbene. Each of the products 2-8 was investigated using a combination of experimental and theoretical methods.

Synthesis of α-alkylidene cyclic carbonates via CO2 fixation under ambient conditions promoted by an easily available silver carbamate

A series of α-alkylidene cyclic carbonates has been synthesized under mild conditions using silver carbamate Ag(O₂CNEt₂) in combination with PPh₃.

Functionalization of Silica SBA-15 with [3-(2-Aminoethylamino)Propyl] Trimethoxysilane in Supercritical CO2 Modified with Methanol or Ethanol for Carbon Capture

The CO2 adsorption process using amine-grafted silica is a promising technology for reducing the CO2 emissions from the power and industry sectors. In this work, silica SBA-15 was functionalized using [3-(2-aminoethylamino)propyl] trimethoxysilane (AEAPTS) in supercritical CO2 (scCO2) modified with 10% mol methanol or ethanol. The functionalization experiments were carried out at 323 K and 12.5 MPa, and with reaction times of 2 and 3 h. The molar fraction of AEAPTS in scCO2 plus 10% mol alcohol ranged from 0.5 × 10−3 to 1.8 × 10−3. It was found that as the molar fraction of AEAPTS increased, the amino-grafting density steadily rose, and the pore volume, surface area and pore size of the functionalized silica SBA-15 also decreased gradually. The scCO2 functionalization method was compared to the traditional toluene method. The diamine-SBA-15 prepared in the scCO2 process shows a slightly lower amine-grafting density but a higher surface area and pore volume than the ones obtained using the traditional method. Finally, the excess CO2 adsorption capacity of the materials at different temperatures and low pressure was measured. The diamine-silica SBA-15 displayed moderate excess CO2 adsorption capacities, 0.7–0.9 mmol∙g−1, but higher amine efficiency, ca. 0.4, at 298 K, due to the chemisorption of CO2. These findings show that diamine-grafted silica for post-combustion capture or direct air capture can be obtained using a media more sustainable than organic solvents.

Bypassing the Inertness of Aziridine/CO2 Systems to Access 5-Aryl-2-Oxazolidinones: Catalyst-Free Synthesis Under Ambient Conditions

The development of sustainable synthetic routes to access valuable oxazolidinones via CO₂ fixation is an active research area, and the aziridine/carbon dioxide coupling has aroused a considerable interest. This reaction features a high activation barrier and thus requires a catalytic system, and may present some other critical issues. Here, the straightforward gram-scale synthesis of a series of 5-aryl-2-oxazolidinones was developed at ambient temperature and atmospheric CO₂ pressure, in the absence of any catalyst/co-catalyst. The key to this innovative procedure consists in the direct transfer of the pre-formed amine/CO₂ adduct (carbamate) to common aziridine precursors (dimethylsulfonium salts), replacing the classical sequential addition of amine (intermediate isolation of aziridine) and then CO₂ . The reaction mechanism was investigated by NMR spectroscopy and DFT calculations applied to model cases.