Hydrogen activation by an aromatic triphosphabenzene.

Aromatic hydrogenation is a challenging transformation typically requiring alkali or transition metal reagents and/or harsh conditions to facilitate the process. In sharp contrast, the aromatic heterocycle 2,4,6-tri-tert-butyl-1,3,5-triphosphabenzene is shown to be reduced under 4 atm of H2 to give [3.1.0]bicylo reduction products, with the structure of the major isomer being confirmed by X-ray crystallography. NMR studies show this reaction proceeds via a reversible 1,4-H2 addition to generate an intermediate species, which undergoes an irreversible suprafacial hydride shift concurrent with P-P bond formation to give the isolated products. Further, para-hydrogen experiments confirmed the addition of H2 to triphosphabenzene is a bimolecular process. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that facile distortion of the planar triphosphabenzene toward a boat-conformation provides a suprafacial combination of vacant acceptor and donor orbitals that permits this direct and uncatalyzed reduction of the aromatic molecule.

Reactivity of the latent 12-electron fragment [Rh(PiBu3)2]+ with aryl bromides: aryl-Br and phosphine ligand C-H activation.

Oxidative addition of aryl bromides to 12-electron [Rh(PiBu(3))(2)][BAr(F)(4)] (Ar(F)=3,5-(CF(3))(2)C(6)H(3)) forms a variety of products. With p-tolyl bromides, Rh(III) dimeric complexes result [Rh(PiBu(3))(2)(o/p-MeC(6)H(4))(mu-Br)](2)[BAr(F)(4)](2). Similarly, reaction with p-ClC(6)H(4)Br gives [Rh(PiBu(3))(2)(p-ClC(6)H(4))(mu-Br)](2)[BAr(F)(4)](2). In contrast, the use of o-BrC(6)H(4)Me leads to a product in which toluene has been eliminated and an isobutyl phosphine has undergone C-H activation: [Rh{PiBu(2)(CH(2)CHCH(3)CH(2))}(PiBu(3))(mu-Br)](2)[BAr(F)(4)](2). Trapping experiments with ortho-bromo anisole or ortho-bromo thioanisole indicate that a possible intermediate for this process is a low-coordinate Rh(III) complex that then undergoes C-H activation. The anisole and thioanisole complexes have been isolated and their structures show OMe or SMe interactions with the metal centre alongside supporting agostic interactions, [Rh(PiBu(3))(2)(C(6)H(4)OMe)Br][BAr(F)(4)] (the solid-state structure of the 5-methyl substituted analogue is reported) and [Rh(PiBu(3))(2)(C(6)H(4)SMe)Br][BAr(F)(4)]. The anisole-derived complex proceeds to give [Rh{PiBu(2)(CH(2)CHCH(3)CH(2))}(PiBu(3))(mu-Br)](2)[BAr(F)(4)](2), whereas the thioanisole complex is unreactive. The isolation of [Rh(PiBu(3))(2)(C(6)H(4)OMe)Br][BAr(F)(4)] and its onward reactivity to give the products of C-H activation and aryl elimination suggest that it is implicated on the pathway of a sigma-bond metathesis reaction, a hypothesis strengthened by DFT calculations. Calculations also suggest that C-H bond cleavage through phosphine-assisted deprotonation of a non-agostic bond is also competitive, although the subsequent protonation of the aryl ligand is too high in energy to account for product formation. C-H activation through oxidative addition is also ruled out on the basis of these calculations. These new complexes have been characterised by solution NMR/ESIMS techniques and in the solid-state by X-ray crystallography.

Dispersion, solvent and metal effects in the binding of gold cations to alkynyl ligands: implications for Au(I) catalysis.

The coordination modes of the [Au(PPh3)](+) cation to metal alkynyl complexes have been investigated. On addition to ruthenium, a vinylidene complex, [Ru(η(5)-C5H5)(PPh3)2([double bond, length as m-dash]C[double bond, length as m-dash]CPh{AuPPh3})](+), is obtained while addition to a gold(iii) compound gives di- and trinuclear gold complexes depending on the conditions employed. In the trinuclear species, a gold(i) cation is sandwiched between two gold(iii) alkynyl complexes, suggesting that coordination of multiple C-C triple bonds to gold is facile.