Intricacies of ligand coordination in tricarbonylchromium(0) complexes with ortho- and para-fluorobiphenyls.

The steric and electronic factors that influence which of the two rings of a substituted biphenyl ligand coordinates to chromium are of interest and it has been suggested that haptotropic rearrangements within these molecules may be limited if the arene-arene dihedral angle is too large. Two tricarbonylchromium(0) complexes and their respective free ligands have been characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. In the solid state, tricarbonyl[(1',2',3',4',5',6'-η)-2-fluoro-1,1'-biphenyl]chromium(0), [Cr(C12H9F)(CO)3], (I), exists as the more stable isomer with the nonhalogenated arene ring ligated to the metal center. Similarly, tricarbonyl[(1',2',3',4',5',6'-η)-4-fluoro-1,1'-biphenyl]chromium(0) crystallizes as the more stable isomer with the phenyl ring bonded to the Cr0 center. The arene-arene dihedral angles in these complexes are 55.77 (4) and 52.4 (5)°, respectively. Structural features of these complexes are compared to those of the DFT-optimized geometries of ten tricarbonyl[(η6-C6H5)(4-F-C6H4)]chromium model complexes. The solid-state structures of the free ligands 2-fluoro-1,1'-biphenyl and 4-fluoro-1,1'-biphenyl, both C12H9F, exhibit arene-arene dihedral angles of 54.83 (7) and 0.71 (8)°, respectively. The molecules of the free ligands occupy crystallographic twofold axes and exhibit positional disorder. Weak intermolecular C-H...F interactions are observed in all four structures.

DFT study of intramolecular interring η6,η6-haptotropic rearrangements in tricarbonylchromium complexes of 2-aminobiphenyl and 4-aminobiphenyl.

DFT studies have been carried out to investigate the role of nitrogen participation in the interring haptotropic rearrangements of [(η(6)-C6H5)(C6H4-4-NH2)]Cr(CO)3 and [(η(6)-C6H5)(C6H4-2-NH2)]Cr(CO)3. For the para-substituted case, where intramolecular coordination of nitrogen to chromium is not possible, DFT modeling predicts an activation barrier of 32.5 kcal mol(-1), which is in very close agreement with the experimentally determined value of 32.57 kcal mol(-1). In the case of the ortho-substituted isomers, modeling of a mechanism that does not invoke stabilization via nitrogen coordination yields a predicted energy barrier of 32.7 kcal mol(-1), while a mechanism that does invoke nitrogen participation and accounts for interconversion of rotational isomers gives a predicted value of 30.2 kcal mol(-1). This is consistent with the experimentally determined value of 31.22 kcal mol(-1). These data provide evidence that intramolecular stabilization via nitrogen coordination to chromium is responsible for the ortho substituted isomer undergoing haptotropic rearrangement with a rate nearly five times greater than that observed for the para isomer. For the mechanism that invokes ortho-amino group participation, transition state analysis in the frame of Bader theory shows that each transition state along the proposed mechanistic pathway has a bond critical point between nitrogen and chromium.

Haptotropic rearrangement in tricarbonylchromium complexes of 2-aminobiphenyl and 4-aminobiphenyl.

The para-aminobiphenyl compound [(η(6)-C(6)H(5))(C(6)H(4)-4-NH(2))]Cr(CO)(3) (1) has an arene-phenyl dihedral angle of 38.01(6)°, as determined by single-crystal X-ray crystallography, and 34.7(11)°, as determined by DFT calculations. It undergoes haptotropic rearrangement at 140 °C in solution to form [(η(6)-C(6)H(4)-4-NH(2))(C(6)H(5))]Cr(CO)(3) (2), even though previous reports have suggested that such rearrangements should not be observed in compounds with arene-phenyl dihedral angles greater than 22°. NMR analysis gave a rate constant of k = 5.0 × 10(-5) s(-1) for the rearrangement of 1 to 2. The ortho-substituted analog [(η(6)-C(6)H(5))(C(6)H(4)-2-NH(2))]Cr(CO)(3) (3) has an arene-phenyl dihedral angle of 67.70(7)°, as determined by single-crystal X-ray crystallography, and 51.9(10)°, as determined by DFT calculations. Surprisingly, even though it displays a more extreme canting of arene rings, 3 rearranges to [(η(6)-C(6)H(4)-2-NH(2))(C(6)H(5))]Cr(CO)(3) (4) at 140 °C in solution with a rate constant of k = 2.6 × 10(-4) s(-1). This approximately five-fold rate enhancement likely results from the ortho-amino group providing intramolecular stabilization for intermediates formed during the rearrangement.

(eta6-Biphenyl)tricarbonylchromium and mu-(eta6:eta6)-biphenyl-bis(tricarbonylchromium).

The title compounds, [Cr(C(12)H(10))(CO)(3)] and [Cr(2)(C(12)H(10))(CO)(6)], serve as a fundamental standard of comparison for other mono- and polysubstituted (eta(6)-biphenyl)tricarbonylchromium compounds. (eta(6)-Biphenyl)tricarbonylchromium has a typical piano-stool coordination about the Cr center, and the dihedral angle between the planes of the phenyl rings is 23.55 (5) degrees . The corresponding angle in mu-(eta(6):eta(6))-biphenyl-bis(tricarbonylchromium) is 0 degrees because the molecule occupies a crystallographic inversion center; the Cr atoms reside on opposite sides of the biphenyl ligand. Density functional theory and natural bonding orbital theory analyses were used to scrutinize the geometry of these and closely related compounds to explain important structural features.

(eta6-2-Bromo-1,1'-biphenyl)-tricarbonylchromium.

The title compound, [Cr(C(12)H(9)Br)(CO)(3)], crystallizes in the triclinic space group P-1 with close Br.Br separations. These contacts, along with several other factors, influence the (Ph)C-C(o-BrC(6)H(4)) dihedral angle of 58.82 (6) degrees. The typical piano-stool coordination about the Cr atom is in excellent agreement with the results of density functional theory calculations.