Anissa Bendjeriou-Sedjerari

Synergy between Two Metal Catalysts: A Highly Active Silica-Supported Bimetallic W/Zr Catalyst for Metathesis of n-Decane

A well-defined, silica-supported bimetallic precatalyst [≡Si-O-W(Me)5≡Si-O-Zr(Np)3] (4) has been synthesized for the first time by successively grafting two organometallic complexes [W(Me)6 (1) followed by ZrNp4 (2)] on a single silica support. Surprisingly, multiple-quantum NMR characterization demonstrates that W and Zr species are in close proximity to each other. Hydrogenation of this bimetallic catalyst at room temperature showed the easy formation of zirconium hydride, probably facilitated by tungsten hydride which was formed at this temperature. This bimetallic W/Zr hydride precatalyst proved to be more efficient (TON = 1436) than the monometallic W hydride (TON = 650) in the metathesis of n-decane at 150 °C. This synergy between Zr and W suggests that the slow step of alkane metathesis is the C-H bond activation that occurs on Zr. The produced olefin resulting from a β-H elimination undergoes easy metathesis on W.

Tungsten(VI) Carbyne/Bis(carbene) Tautomerization Enabled by N-Donor SBA15 Surface Ligands: A Solid-State NMR and DFT Study.

Designing supported well-defined bis(carbene) complexes remains a key challenge in heterogeneous catalysis. The reaction of W(≡CtBu)(CH2 tBu)3 with amine-modified mesoporous SBA15 silica, which has vicinal silanol/silylamine pairs [(≡SiOH)(≡SiNH2 )], leads to [(≡SiNH2 -)(≡SiO-)W(≡CHtBu)(CH2 tBu)2 ] and [(≡SiNH2 -)(≡SiO-)W(=CHtBu)2 (CH2 tBu). Variable temperature, (1) H-(1) H 2D double-quantum, (1) H-(13) C HETCOR, and HETCOR with spin diffusion solid-state NMR spectroscopy demonstrate tautomerization between the alkyl alkylidyne and the bis(alkylidene) on the SBA15 surface. Such equilibrium is possible through the coordination of W to the surface [(≡Si-OH)(≡Si-NH2 )] groups, which act as a [N,O] pincer ligand. DFT calculations provide a rationalization for the surface-complex tautomerization and support the experimental results. This direct observation of such a process shows the strong similarity between molecular mechanisms in homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis. In propane metathesis (at 150 °C), the tungsten bis(carbene) tautomer is favorable, with a turnover number (TON) of 262. It is the highest TON among all the tungsten alkyl-supported catalysts.

Exploiting the interactions between the ruthenium Hoveyda–Grubbs catalyst and Al-modified mesoporous silica: the case of SBA15 vs. KCC-1

2nd generation Hoveyda–Grubbs catalyst immobilized onto well-ordered 2D hexagonal (SBA15) and 3D fibrous (KCC-1) mesostructured silica displaying tetra-coordinated Al–H via Surface Organometallic Chemistry (SOMC).