Synthesis, characterization, and electrochemical studies of PPh(3-n)(dipp)(n) (dipp = 2,6-diisopropylphenyl): steric and electronic effects on the chemical and electrochemical oxidation of a homologous series of triarylphosphines and the reactivities of the corresponding phosphoniumyl radical cations.

Activation barriers to the electrochemical oxidation for the series PPh3-n(dipp)n (dipp = 2,6-diisopropylphenyl) in CH2Cl2/Bu4NPF6 were measured using large amplitude FT ac voltammetry. Increasing substitution across this series, which offers the widest range of steric requirements across any analogous series of triarylphosphines reported to date, increases the energetic barrier to electron transfer; values of 18, 24, and 25 kJ mol(-1) were found for compounds with n = 1, 2, and 3, respectively. These values are significantly greater than those calculated for outer sphere activation barriers, with deviations between observed and calculated values increasing with the number of dipp ligands. This suggests that the steric congestion afforded by these bulky substituents imposes significant reorganizational energy on the electron transfer processes. This is the first investigation of the effect of sterics on the kinetics of heterogeneous electron transfer across a structurally homologous series. Increased alkyl substitution across the series also increases the chemical reversibility of the oxidations and decreases the oxidation peak potentials. As the compounds for which n = 1 and 2 are novel, the synthetic strategies employed in their preparation are described, along with their full spectroscopic, physical, and crystallographic characterization. Optimal synthesis when n = 1 is via a Grignard reagent, whereas when n = 2 an aryl copper reagent must be employed, as use of a Grignard results in reductive coupling. Chemical oxidation studies were performed to augment the electrochemical work; the O, S, and Se oxidation products for the parent triarylphosphines for which n = 1 and 2 were isolated and characterized.

Activation parameters derived from a temperature dependent large amplitude ac voltammetric study of the electrode kinetics of the Cp2M(0/+) redox couples (M = Fe, Co) at a glassy carbon electrode.

Heterogeneous charge transfer rate constants (k°) for the oxidation of ferrocene, Fc (k° = 0.21 cm s(-1) at 20 °C), and the reduction of the cobaltocenium cation, Cc(+) (k° = 0.12 cm s(-1) at 18 °C), in CH(2)Cl(2) (0.5 M Bu(4)NPF(6)) at a glassy carbon (GC) electrode were determined as a function of temperature using the higher harmonic components available in Fourier transformed large amplitude ac voltammetry. The measured k° values lie at the upper end of the analytically useful range available for the acquisition of meaningful kinetic data for these very fast (i.e., close to reversible) processes. Measurements of the kinetics are facilitated by the ac technique because contributions resulting from uncompensated resistance and slow electrode kinetics, both of which also vary with temperature, can be distinguished via their different contributions to individual harmonics. Values of k° measured over the temperature range of -18 to +20 °C for the Fc(0/+) and Cc(+/0) processes gave linear Arrhenius plots yielding free energies of activation (ΔG(‡)) estimates of 17.0 and 18.0 kJ mol(-1), respectively, in excellent agreement with theoretical values derived from Marcus theory. An analogous temperature dependence is indicated in a study of the Fc(0/+) process in acetonitrile (0.1 M Bu(4)NPF(6)), but the greater k° value evident makes the temperature dependence of these parameters more difficult to quantify as departures from reversibility are minimal, even in the higher harmonics.

Effects of coupled homogeneous chemical reactions on the response of large-amplitude AC voltammetry: extraction of kinetic and mechanistic information by Fourier transform analysis of higher harmonic data.

Large-amplitude ac voltammograms contain a wealth of kinetic information concerning electrode processes and can provide unique mechanistic insights compared to other techniques. This paper describes the effects homogeneous chemical processes have on ac voltammetry in general and provides experimental examples using two well-known chemical systems: one simple and one complex. Oxidation of [Cp*Fe(CO)(2)](2) (Cp* = η(5)-pentamethylcyclopentadienyl) in noncoordinating media is a reversible one-electron process; in the presence of nucleophiles, however, the resulting ligand-induced disproportionation changes the process to a multiple step regeneration. The chemical kinetic parameters of the regeneration mechanism were discerned via analysis of the third and higher harmonics of Fourier-transformed ac voltammetry data. Comparison of experimental data to digital simulations provides clear evidence that the reaction proceeds via a rapid pre-equilibrium between the electrogenerated monocation and the coordinating ligand; simultaneous fitting of the first nine harmonics indicates that k(f) = 7500 M(-1) s(-1) and k(r) = 100 s(-1), and that the unimolecular decomposition of the corresponding intermediate occurs with a rate constant of 2.2 s(-1). The rapid cis(+) → trans(+) isomerization of the electrogenerated cis-[W(CO)(2)(dpe)(2)](+), where dpe = 1,2-diphenylphosphinoethane, was examined to illustrate the effects of a simpler EC mechanism on the higher harmonics; a rate constant of 280 s(-1) was determined. These results not only shed new light on the chemistry of these systems, but provide a clear demonstration that the higher harmonics of ac voltammetry provide mechanistic insights into coupled homogeneous processes far more detailed than those that are readily accessible with dc techniques.

Electrooxidation of [(eta(5)-C5H5)Fe(CO)2]2 as a probe of the nucleophilic properties of ionic liquid anions.

The oxidative electrochemistry of [CpFe(CO)(2)](2), 1 (Cp = [eta(5)-C(5)H(5)](-)), was examined in detail in ionic liquids (ILs) composed of ions of widely varying Lewis acid-base properties. Cyclic voltammetric responses were strongly dependent on the nucleophilic properties of the IL anion, but all observations are consistent with the initial formation of 1(+) followed by attack from the IL anion. In [NTf(2)](-)-based ILs ([NTf(2)](-) = bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide), the process shows nearly ideal chemical reversibility as the reaction between 1(+) and [NTf(2)](-) is very slow. This is highly significant, as 1(+) is known to be highly susceptible to nucleophilic attack and its stability indicates a remarkable lack of coordinating ability of these ILs. In 1-methyl-3-butylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, [bmim][PF(6)], the oxidation of 1 is still largely reversible, but there is more pronounced evidence of [PF(6)](-) coordination. In contrast, 1 exhibits an irreversible two-electron oxidation process in a dicyanamide-based IL. This overall oxidation process is thought to proceed via an ECE mechanism, details of which are presented. Rate constants were estimated by fitting the experimental data to digital simulations of the proposed mechanism. The use of [NTf(2)](-)-based ILs as a supporting electrolyte in CH(2)Cl(2) was examined by using this solvent/electrolyte as a medium in which to perform bulk electrolyses of 1 and 1*, the permethylated analogue [Cp*Fe(CO)(2)](2) (Cp* = [eta(5)-C(5)(CH(3))(5)](-)). These cleanly yielded the corresponding binuclear radical-cation species, 1(+) and 1*(+), which were subsequently characterized by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. In addition to the above oxidation studies, the reduction of 1 was studied in each of the ILs; differences in cathodic peak potentials are attributed, in part, to ion-pairing effects. This study illustrates the wide range of electrochemical environments available with ILs and demonstrates their utility for the investigation of the redox properties of metal carbonyls and other organometallic compounds.

Barometric sensitive coatings based upon osmium complexes dissolved in a fluoroacrylic polymer.

Pressure sensitive paints (PSP) that measure the changes in air pressure have proved to be useful in the design of aircraft and other vehicles. In this study we incorporate highly luminescent divalent osmium complexes into PSP. The divalent osmium complexes were heptafluorobutyrate salts of [Os(N-N)2(L-L)]2+ or [Os(L-L)2(N-N)]2+, where N-N is a derivative of 1,10-phenanthroline, and L-L is a diphosphine or diarsine ligand. The complexes were dissolved into poly(1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropylmethacrylate-co-1H,1H-dihydroperflurobutylmethacrylate) (FIB) at a concentration of 0.002 g of complex to 1.000 g of polymer. The luminescence of the coatings was tested for pressure sensitivity, temperature dependence, and photodegradation. The paints featured strong pressure response, and the temperature dependence of the luminescence was measured as low as -0.11% degrees C(-1). Several of the complexes exhibited little photodegradation upon prolonged exposure to 400 nm light. These attributes make the complexes very desirable luminescent dyes for PSP.

Reactivity of electrochemically generated rhenium (II) Tricarbonyl alpha-diimine complexes: a reinvestigation of the oxidation of luminescent Re(CO)3(alpha-Diimine)Cl and related compounds.

The oxidative electrochemistry of luminescent rhenium (I) complexes of the type Re(CO) 3(LL)Cl, 1, and Re(CO) 3(LL)Br, 2, where LL is an alpha-diimine, was re-examined in acetonitrile. These compounds undergo metal-based one-electron oxidations, the products of which undergo rapid chemical reaction. Cyclic voltammetry results imply that the electrogenerated rhenium (II) species 1 ( + ) and 2 ( + ) disproportionate, yielding [Re(CO) 3(LL)(CH 3CN)] (+), 7, and additional products. Double potential step chronocoulometry experiments confirm that 1 ( + ) and 2 ( + ) react via second-order processes and, furthermore, indicate that the rate of disproportionation is influenced by the basicity and steric requirements of the alpha-diimine ligands. The simultaneous generation of rhenium (I) and (III) carbonyl products was detected upon the bulk oxidation of 1 using infrared spectroelectrochemistry. The rhenium (III) products are assigned as [Re(CO) 3(LL)Cl 2] (+), 5; an inner-sphere electron-transfer mechanism of the disproportionation is proposed on the basis of the apparent chloride transfer. Chemically irreversible two-electron reduction of 5 yields 1 and Cl (-). No direct spectroscopic evidence was obtained for the generation of rhenium (III) tricarbonyl bromide disproportionation products, [Re(CO) 3(LL)Br 2] (+), 6; this is attributed to their relatively rapid decomposition to 7 and dibromine. In addition, the 17-electron radical cations, 7 ( + ), were successfully characterized using infrared spectroelectrochemistry.