Selective ozone activation of phenanthrene in liquid CO2.

We demonstrate liquid CO2 (8 °C, 4.4 MPa) as a benign medium to perform safe ozonolysis of phenanthrene at near-ambient temperatures. The ozonolysis products consist of several monomeric oxidation products such as diphenaldehyde, diphenic acid and phenanthrenequinone as well as polymeric structures up to 1130 Da. The observed chemical shifts (1H-6.03 ppm, 13C-104.38 ppm) in 2D-NMR spectra of the products confirm the formation of secondary ozonide. Based on the range of observed products, a Criegee-type mechanism is proposed. The ability to deconstruct phenanthrene and produce oxygenated precursors via this technique is particularly of interest in creating new materials from aromatic moieties.

Oxidative reactivity difference among the metal oxo and metal hydroxo moieties: pH dependent hydrogen abstraction by a manganese(IV) complex having two hydroxide ligands.

Clarifying the difference in redox reactivity between the metal oxo and metal hydroxo moieties for the same redox active metal ion in identical structures and oxidation states, that is, M(n+)O and M(n+)-OH, contributes to the understanding of nature's choice between them (M(n+)O or M(n+)-OH) as key active intermediates in redox enzymes and electron transfer enzymes, and provides a basis for the design of synthetic oxidation catalysts. The newly synthesized manganese(IV) complex having two hydroxide ligands, [Mn(Me(2)EBC)(2)(OH)(2)](PF(6))(2), serves as the prototypic example to address this issue, by investigating the difference in the hydrogen abstracting abilities of the Mn(IV)O and Mn(IV)-OH functional groups. Independent thermodynamic evaluations of the O-H bond dissociation energies (BDE(OH)) for the corresponding reduction products, Mn(III)-OH and Mn(III)-OH(2), reveal very similar oxidizing power for Mn(IV)O and Mn(IV)-OH (83 vs 84.3 kcal/mol). Experimental tests showed that hydrogen abstraction proceeds at reasonable rates for substrates having BDE(CH) values less than 82 kcal/mol. That is, no detectable reaction occurred with diphenyl methane (BDE(CH) = 82 kcal/mol) for both manganese(IV) species. However, kinetic measurements for hydrogen abstraction showed that at pH 13.4, the dominant species Mn(Me(2)EBC)(2)(O)(2), having only Mn(IV)O groups, reacts more than 40 times faster than the Mn(IV)-OH unit in Mn(Me(2)EBC)(2)(OH)(2)(2+), the dominant reactant at pH 4.0. The activation parameters for hydrogen abstraction from 9,10-dihydroanthracene were determined for both manganese(IV) moieties: over the temperature range 288-318 K for Mn(IV)(OH)(2)(2+), DeltaH(double dagger) = 13.1 +/- 0.7 kcal/mol, and DeltaS(double dagger) = -35.0 +/- 2.2 cal K(-1) mol(-1); and the temperature range 288-308 K for for Mn(IV)(O)(2), DeltaH(double dagger) = 12.1 +/- 1.8 kcal/mol, and DeltaS(double dagger) = -30.3 +/- 5.9 cal K(-1) mol(-1).

Olefin epoxidation by alkyl hydroperoxide with a novel cross-bridged cyclam manganese complex: demonstration of oxygenation by two distinct reactive intermediates.

Olefin epoxidation provides an operative protocol to investigate the oxygen transfer process in nature. A novel manganese complex with a cross-bridged cyclam ligand, MnIV(Me2EBC)(OH)2(2+) (Me2EBC = 4,11-dimethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazabicyclo[6.6.2]hexadecane), was used to study the epoxidation mechanism with biologically important oxidants, alkyl hydroperoxides. Results from direct reaction of the freshly synthesized manganese(IV) complex, [Mn(Me2EBC)(OH)2](PF6)2, with various olefins in neutral or basic solution, and from catalytic epoxidation with oxygen-labeled solvent, H2 18O, eliminate the manganese oxo moiety, Mn(IV)=O, as the reactive intermediate and obviate an oxygen rebound mechanism. Epoxidations of norbornylene under different conditions indicate multiple mechanisms for epoxidation, and cis-stilbene epoxidation under atmospheric 18O2 reveals a product distribution indicating at least two distinctive intermediates serving as the reactive species for epoxidation. In addition to alkyl peroxide radicals as dominant intermediates, an alkyl hydroperoxide adduct of high oxidation state manganese(IV) is suggested as the third kind of active intermediate responsible for epoxidation. This third intermediate functions by the Lewis acid pathway, a process best known for hydrogen peroxide adducts. Furthermore, the tert-butyl peroxide adduct of this manganese(IV) complex was detected by mass spectroscopy under catalytic oxidation conditions.

Synthesis, characterization, and solution properties of a novel cross-bridged cyclam manganese(IV) complex having two terminal hydroxo ligands.

A novel monomeric tetravalent manganese complex with the cross-bridged cyclam ligand 4,11-dimethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazabicyclo[6.6.2]hexadecane (Me2EBC), [Mn(IV)(Me2EBC)(OH)2](PF6)2, was synthesized by oxidation of Mn(II)(Me2EBC)Cl2 with H2O2 in the presence of NH4PF6)in aqueous solution. The X-ray crystal structure determination of this manganese(IV) compound revealed that it contains two rare terminal hydroxo ligands. EPR studies in dry acetonitrile at 77 K show two broad resonances at g = 1.96 and 3.41, indicating that the manganese(IV) exists as a high-spin d3 species. Resonance Raman (rR) spectra of this manganese(IV) species reveal that the dihydroxy moiety, Mn(IV)(OH)2, is also the dominant species in aqueous solution (pH < 7). pH titration provides two pK(a) values, 6.86(4) and 10.0(1), associated with stepwise removal of the last two oxygen-bound protons from [Mn(IV)(Me2EBC)(OH)2](2+). The cyclic voltammetry of this manganese(IV) complex in dry acetonitrile at 298 K demonstrates two reversible redox processes at +0.756 and -0.696 V (versus SHE) for the Mn4+/Mn3+ and Mn3+/Mn2+ couples, respectively. This manganese(IV) complex is relatively stable in weak acidic aqueous solution but easily degrades in basic solution to manganese(III) derivatives with an 88 +/- 1% yield.

Olefin epoxidation by the hydrogen peroxide adduct of a novel non-heme mangangese(IV) complex: demonstration of oxygen transfer by multiple mechanisms.

Olefin epoxidations are a class of reactions appropriate for the investigation of oxygenation processes in general. Here, we report the catalytic epoxidation of various olefins with a novel, cross-bridged cyclam manganese complex, Mn(Me2EBC)Cl2 (Me2EBC is 4,11-dimethyl-1,4,8,11-tetraazabicyclo[6.6.2]hexadecane), using hydrogen peroxide as the terminal oxidant, in acetone/water (ratio 4:1) as the solvent medium. Catalytic epoxidation studies with this system have disclosed reactions that proceed by a nonradical pathway other than the expected oxygen-rebound mechanism that is characteristic of high-valent, late-transition-metal catalysts. Direct treatment of olefins with freshly synthesized [Mn(IV)(Me2EBC)(OH)2](PF6)2 (pKa = 6.86) in either neutral or basic solution confirms earlier observations that neither the oxo-Mn(IV) nor oxo-Mn(V) species is responsible for olefin epoxidization in this case. Catalytic epoxidation experiments using the 18O labels in an acetone/water (H2(18)O) solvent demonstrate that no 18O from water (H2(18)O) is incorporated into epoxide products even though oxygen exchange was observed between the Mn(IV) species and H2(18)O, which leads to the conclusion that oxygen transfer does not proceed by the well-known oxygen-rebound mechanism. Experiments using labeled dioxygen, (18)O2, and hydrogen peroxide, H2(18)O2, confirm that an oxygen atom is transferred directly from the H2(18)O2 oxidant to the olefin substrate in the predominant pathway. The hydrogen peroxide adduct of this high-oxidation-state manganese complex, Mn(IV)(Me2EBC)(O)(OOH)+, was detected by mass spectra in aqueous solutions prepared from Mn(II)(Me2EBC)Cl2 and excess hydrogen peroxide. A Lewis acid pathway, in which oxygen is transferred to the olefin from that adduct, Mn(IV)(Me2EBC)(O)(OOH)+, is proposed for epoxidation reactions mediated by this novel, non-heme manganese complex. A minor radical pathway is also apparent in these systems.

Olefin oxygenation by the hydroperoxide adduct of a nonheme manganese(IV) complex: epoxidations by a metallo-peracid produces gentle selective oxidations.

The reactive intermediates and mechanisms of oxygenation of olefins by manganese complexes were investigated by treating olefins with newly synthesized [MnIV(Me2EBC)(OH)2](PF6)2 in the presence and absence of peroxide and by studying its catalytic epoxidation reaction in normal aqueous solution and, individually, with isotopically labeled H218O, 18O2, and H218O2. The manganese oxo species is not the reactive intermediate for the oxygen transfer process mediated by this manganese complex. A novel manganese(IV) peroxide intermediate, MnIV(Me2EBC)(O)(OOH)+, was captured by mass spectrometry and is proposed as the intermediate that oxygenates olefins in this catalytic system.