Metathesis of alkanes and related reactions.

The transformation of alkanes remains a difficult challenge because of the relative inertness of the C-H and C-C bonds. The rewards for asserting synthetic control over unfunctionalized, saturated hydrocarbons are considerable, however, because converting short alkanes into longer chain analogues is usually a value-adding process. Alkane metathesis is a novel catalytic and direct transformation of two molecules of a given alkane into its lower and higher homologues; moreover, the process proceeds at relatively low temperature (ambient conditions or higher). It was discovered through the use of a silica-supported tantalum hydride, ([triple bond]SiO)(2)TaH, a multifunctional catalyst with a single site of action. This reaction completes the story of the metathesis reactions discovered over the past 40 years: olefin metathesis, alkyne metathesis, and ene-yne cyclizations. In this Account, we examine the fundamental mechanistic aspects of alkane metathesis as well as the novel reactions that have been derived from its study. The silica-supported tantalum hydride catalyst was developed as the result of systematic and meticulous studies of the interaction between oxide supports and organometallic complexes, a field of study denoted surface organometallic chemistry (SOMC). A careful examination of this surface-supported tantalum hydride led to the later discovery of alumina-supported tungsten hydride, W(H)(3)/Al(2)O(3), which proved to be an even better catalyst for alkane metathesis. Supported tantalum and tungsten hydrides are highly unsaturated, electron-deficient species that are very reactive toward the C-H and C-C bonds of alkanes. They show a great versatility in various other reactions, such as cross-metathesis between methane and alkanes, cross-metathesis between toluene and ethane, or even methane nonoxidative coupling. Moreover, tungsten hydride exhibits a specific ability in the transformation of isobutane into 2,3-dimethylbutane as well as in the metathesis of olefins or the selective transformation of ethylene into propylene. Alkane metathesis represents a powerful tool for making progress in a variety of areas, perhaps most notably in the petroleum and petrochemical fields. Modern civilization is currently confronting a host of problems that relate to energy production and its effects on the environment, and judicious application of alkane metathesis to the processing of fuels such as crude oil and natural gas may well afford solutions to these difficulties.

Beta-H transfer from the metallacyclobutane: a key step in the deactivation and byproduct formation for the well-defined silica-supported rhenium alkylidene alkene metathesis catalyst.

The surface complex [([triple bond]SiO)Re([triple bond]CtBu)(=CHtBu)(CH2tBu)] (1) is a highly efficient propene metathesis catalyst with high initial activities and a good productivity. However, it undergoes a fast deactivation process with time on stream, which is first order in active sites and ethene. Noteworthy, 1-butene and pentenes, unexpected products in the metathesis of propene, are formed as primary products, in large amount relative to Re (>>1 equiv/Re), showing that their formation is not associated with the formation of inactive species. DFT calculations on molecular model systems show that byproduct formation and deactivation start by a beta-H transfer trans to the weak sigma-donor ligand (siloxy) at the metallacyclobutane intermediate having a square-based pyramid geometry. This key step has an energy barrier slightly higher than that calculated for olefin metathesis. After beta-H transfer, the most accessible pathway is the insertion of ethene in the Re-H bond. The resulting pentacoordinated trisperhydrocarbyl complex rearranges via either (1) alpha-H abstraction yielding the unexpected 1-butene byproduct and the regeneration of the catalyst or (2) beta-H abstraction leading to degrafting. These deactivation and byproduct formation pathways are in full agreement with the experimental data.

Non-oxidative coupling reaction of methane to ethane and hydrogen catalyzed by the silica-supported tantalum hydride: ([triple bond]SiO)2Ta-H.

Silica-supported tantalum hydride, (SiO)2Ta-H (1), proves to be the first single-site catalyst for the direct non-oxidative coupling transformation of methane into ethane and hydrogen at moderate temperatures, with a high selectivity (>98%). The reaction likely involves the tantalum-methyl-methylidene species as a key intermediate, where the methyl ligand can migrate onto the tantalum-methylidene affording the tantalum-ethyl.

Modifying the reactivity in the homologation of propane by introducing aryloxide ligands on a silica supported zirconium alkyl system.

Grafting the well-defined molecular complexes [(ArO)Zr(CH2tBu)3], , and [(ArO)2Zr(CH2tBu)2], , on SiO2-(700) (ArO=2,6-Ph2C6H3O) gives the corresponding monosiloxy surface complexes [([TRIPLE BOND]SiO)Zr(CH2tBu)2(OAr)] and [([TRIPLE BOND]SiO)Zr(CH2tBu)(OAr)2] as major surface species as evidenced by mass balance analysis, IR and NMR spectroscopies. In both cases, minor cyclometallated species (ca. 20%) are also probably formed during the grafting process. While /SiO2-(700) catalytically transforms propane into its lower and higher homologues, /SiO2-(700) remains inactive. Moreover, the formation of butane as the major higher homologues is consistent with the formation of metallocarbene intermediates in this system in contrast to what was observed for the corresponding homologation reaction on silica supported zirconium hydrides.

Primary products and mechanistic considerations in alkane metathesis.

Alkane metathesis, a reaction catalyzed by the silica-supported tantalum hydride [(SiO)2Ta-H], 1, which transforms acyclic alkanes into their higher and lower homologues, was reported in 1997. New studies conducted in a continuous flow reactor in the case of propane indicate that, by varying the contact time, hydrogen and olefins are primary products. This crucial observation, as well as the known properties of tantalum alkyls to perform alpha-H or beta-H eliminations, supports the proposition of a new mechanism involving metallacyclobutane intermediates just like in olefin metathesis. The observed selectivities for linear and branched Cn+1 and Cn+2 products as well as the linear/branched ratio can be well-explained on the basis of the minimization of steric interactions between 1,2- or 1,3-substituents in the various tantallacyclobutane intermediates or during their formation. Hydrogen plays a specific role in the cleavage of metal alkyls to complete the catalytic cycle.

A New Route to Heterosilsesquioxane Frameworks.

The substitution of an O atom in the Cy8 Si8 O12 framework by a heteroatom or a heteroatom-containing group (Z) provides a simple route to discrete heterosilsesquioxane frameworks 1. In this reaction the Cy8 Si8 O12 framework is initially opened with triflic acid and then treated with different nucleophiles (Cy=cyclohexyl; Z=NPh, SO4 , nBuBO2 , CrO4 ).