A General Strategy for Increasing the Air Stability of Phosphines Including Primary Phosphines.

A general approach for increasing the air-stability of various primary phosphines in the absence of kinetic stabilization is presented that contrasts with previous interpretations, which were limited to specific phosphines. This contribution shows the synthesis of a series of air-stable primary phosphines Fc(CH2 )n PH2 , where n=0,1,2,3; and Fc=ferrocenyl, and their corresponding isolable primary phosphine oxides. It was demonstrated that the ferrocene moiety exerts an antioxidant effect on the primary phosphine group, which is intermolecular, solvent dependent and increases with the electron density on the ferrocene moiety. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the presence of ferrocene in solution also inhibits the oxidation of other secondary and tertiary phosphines in air. Together our findings suggest that quenching of singlet oxygen is the actual reason for the antioxidant effect; this was experimentally confirmed by using other established singlet oxygen quenchers, thus demonstrating a key role of singlet oxygen in the aerobic oxidation of phosphines.

A Stable Primary Phosphane Oxide and Its Heavier Congeners.

(Ferrocenylmethyl)phosphane (1) oxidation with hydrogen peroxide, elemental sulfur and grey selenium produced (ferrocenylmethyl)phosphane oxide 1O, sulfide 1S and selenide 1Se, respectively, as the first isolable primary phosphane chalcogenides lacking steric protection. At elevated temperatures, compound 1O disproportionated into 1 and (ferrocenylmethyl)phosphinic acid. In reactions with [(η6 -mes)RuCl2 ]2 , 1O underwent tautomerization into a phosphane complex [(η6 -mes)RuCl2 {FcCH2 PH(OH)-κP}], whereas 1S and 1Se lost their P-bound chalcogen atoms, giving rise to the phosphane complex [(η6 -mes)RuCl2 (FcCH2 PH2 -κP)] (Fc=ferrocenyl, mes=mesitylene). No tautomerization was observed in the reaction of 1O with B(C6 F5 )3 , which instead produced a Lewis pair FcCH2 P(O)H2 -B(C6 F5 )3 . Phosphane oxide 1O added to C=O bonds of aldehydes and ketones and even to cumulenes PhNCE (E=O and S). However, both PH hydrogens were only employed in the reactions with aldehydes and cyanates.

Synthesis of Hybrid Ligands with Nitrile and Cage Phosphane Donor Groups and their Applications in Gold-Mediated Reactions.

Altering the donor properties of phosphane ligands through substituent variation is an established tool in coordination chemistry and catalysis. This contribution describes the synthesis of two new hybrid donors (L) combining 1,3,5,7-tetramethyl-2,4,6-trioxa-8-phosphaadamantane-8-yl (PCg) and nitrile donor groups at different molecular scaffolds, viz. ferrocene-1,1'-diyl (fc) and 1,2-phenylene. These ligands were used to prepare dimeric Au(I) complexes [Au2 (µ(P,N)-L)2 ][SbF6 ]2 , which were evaluated as silver-free, preformed catalysts in Au-mediated cycloisomerization of (Z)-3-methylpent-2-en-4-yn-1-ol to 2,3-dimethylfuran. The catalyst featuring the ferrocene-based ligand, viz., [Au2 (µ(P,N)-CgPfcCN)2 ][SbF6 ]2 , showed the best catalytic performance at low catalyst loading (0.5 or 0.15 mol.%), which exceeded that of its diphenylphosphanyl analog [Au2 (µ(P,N)-Ph2 PfcCN)2 ][SbF6 ]2 studied earlier and the prototypical Au(I) precatalyst [Au(PPh3 )(MeCN)][SbF6 ].

Synthesis of functionalised isochromans: epoxides as aldehyde surrogates in hexafluoroisopropanol.

The oxa-Pictet-Spengler reaction is arguably the most straightforward and modular way to construct the privileged isochroman motif, but its scope is largely limited to benzaldehyde derivatives and to electron-rich ß-phenylethanols that lack substitution along the aliphatic chain. Here we describe a variant of this reaction starting from an epoxide, rather than an aldehyde, that greatly expands the scope and rate of the reaction (<1 h, 20 °C). Besides facilitating the initial Meinwald rearrangement, the use of hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) as a solvent expands the electrophile scope to include partners equivalent to ketones, aliphatic aldehydes, and phenylacetyl aldehydes, and the nucleophile scope to include modestly electronically deactivated and highly substituted ß-phenylethanols. The products could be easily further derivatised in the same pot by subsequent ring-opening, reductions, and intra- and intermolecular Friedel-Crafts reactions, also in HFIP. Finally, owing to the high pharmacological relevance of the isochroman motif, the synthesis of drug analogues was demonstrated.

Versatile coordination and C-H activation of a multi-donor phosphinoferrocene carboxamide ligand in Pd(ii) complexes.

A multi-donor phosphinoferrocene carboxamide, FcCONHCH2CH2PPh2 (1, Fc = ferrocenyl), was prepared, converted into the corresponding phosphine oxide 1O and phosphine selenide 1Se and, mainly, studied as a ligand in Pd(ii) complexes. In its native form, amide 1 preferentially coordinated soft Pd(ii) as a simple phosphine, giving rise to mixtures of cis and trans-[PdX2(1-κP)2] (2; X = Cl (a), Br (b), and I (c)), wherein the isomer ratios depended on the auxiliary halide ligand or, alternatively, to the complex [(LNC)PdCl(1-κP)] (6, LNC = 2-[(dimethylamino)methyl-κN]phenyl-κC1). This coordination mode was nevertheless easily changed when creating a vacant coordination site at the palladium. Thus, treatment of 2a with NH4[PF6] in the presence of free 1 produced [PdCl(1-κP)3][PF6] (3), while complete halogen removal with a Ag(i) salt led to cationic complexes cis-[Pd(1-κ2O,P)2]X2 (4, X = CF3SO3 (a), ClO4 (b), BF4 (c)) or [(LNC)Pd(1-κ2O,P)]X (7a and 7b), containing seven-membered O,P-chelate rings. In contrast, amide nitrogen deprotonation with KOt-Bu followed by spontaneous intramolecular halogen substitution resulted in the transformation of 6 into the chelate complex [(LNC)Pd{(1- H)-κ2N,P}] (8) featuring a five-membered N,P-chelate ring, and in the conversion of 2a and 2b into the product of C-H bond activation [Pd{Fe(η5-C5H3CONCH2CH2PPh2-κ3C,N,P)(η5-C5H5)}(1-κP)] (5), with doubly chelating deprotonated 1. Importantly, complexes 2-4-5 and 6-7-8 were mutually interconverted in triads (by protonation/deprotonation and by halide addition/abstraction), which highlights the flexible coordination and chemical stability of ligand 1. The crystal structures of 1O·½H2O, trans-2a·MeCN, trans-2b·3C2H4Cl2, trans-2c·2.5C2H4Cl2, 4a·CH2Cl2, 5·3CHCl3·Et2O, and 8 were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, and the representative compounds were studied by cyclic voltammetry.

Facile activation of alkynes with a boraguanidinato-stabilized germylene: a combined experimental and theoretical study.

A boraguanidinato-stabilized germylene, [(i-Pr)2NB(N-2,6-Me2C6H3)2]Ge, reacts with alkynes RC[triple bond, length as m-dash]CR selectively in a 2 : 1 molar ratio to afford 3,4-R,R'-1,2-digermacyclobut-3-enes 1a-e as the products of formal [2 + 2 + 2] cyclization [R/R' = Me/Me (1a), Ph/Ph (1b), Ph/H (1c), t-Bu/H (1d) and Cy/H (1e)]. Ferrocenyl-substituted alkynes react similarly, yielding the corresponding ferrocenylated 3,4-R,R'-1,2-digermacyclobut-3-enes 2a-d [where R/R' = Fc/H (2a), Fc/Me (2b), Fc/Ph (2c), and Fc/Fc (2d); Fc = ferrocenyl]. By contrast, only one of the triple bonds available in conjugated diynes RC[triple bond, length as m-dash]CC[triple bond, length as m-dash]CR is activated with the germylene, while the second one remains intact even in the presence of an excess of the germylene. The exclusive formation of 3,4-R,(C[triple bond, length as m-dash]CR)-1,2-digermacyclobut-3-enes 3a-c [R = Ph (3a), t-Bu(3b), and Fc (3c)] was ascribed to a steric repulsion around the second triple bond. On the other hand, the reaction of the germylene with more flexible dialkyne fc(C[triple bond, length as m-dash]CPh)2 (fc = ferrocene-1,1'-diyl) proceeded in the expected manner, producing compound 4, where both triple bonds are transformed into 1,2-digermacyclobut-3-ene rings by reaction with four equivalents of the germylene. All compounds were characterized by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, Raman and IR spectroscopy, and in the case of 1a-c, 2a, 2c, 3a, 3b and 4, also by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The ferrocenyl substituted compounds were studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV). Finally, the plausible reaction pathway was studied for a model reaction of [(i-Pr)2NB(N-2,6-Me2C6H3)2]Ge with MeC[triple bond, length as m-dash]CMe using DFT computations.

Catalytic Activity of Gold(I) Complexes with Hemilabile P,N†Ligands.

Two new cationic dinuclear gold(I) complexes, [Au2 {µ(P,N)-5}2 ]X2 -in which X=NTf2 (7; Tf=trifluoromethanesulfonate) or SbF6 (8) and 2-(diphenylphosphanyl)benzonitrile (5) is a P,N-bridging donor-have been synthesized and structurally characterized. These air-stable species and their dimeric and polymeric analogues possessing 1'-(diphenylphosphanyl)-1-cyanoferrocene (1) as the bridging ligand, [Au2 {µ(P,N)-1}2 ](NTf2 )2 and [Au{µ(P,N)-1}]n [SbF6 ]n , were used as precatalysts in various Au-mediated C-C and C-O bond-forming reactions. The reactivity of these complexes revealed the hemilabile nature of their P,N ligands. In the series of tested precatalysts, complex 8 exerted particularly high catalytic activity at low Au loading, even in reactions that usually require high amounts of gold catalyst to proceed efficiently under standard reaction conditions.