Christophe Fliedel

Functional Short-Bite Ligands: Synthesis, Coordination Chemistry, and Applications of N-Functionalized Bis(diaryl/dialkylphosphino)amine-type Ligands

The aim of this review is to highlight how the diversity generated by N-substitution in the well-known short-bite ligand bis(diphenylphosphino)amine (DPPA) allows a fine-tuning of the ligand properties and offers a considerable scope for tailoring the properties and applications of their corresponding metal complexes. The various N-substituents include nitrogen-, oxygen-, phosphorus-, sulfur-, halogen-, and silicon-based functionalities and directly N-bound metals. Multiple DPPA-type ligands linked through an organic spacer and N-functionalized DRPA-type ligands, in which the PPh2 substituents are replaced by PR2 (R = alkyl, benzyl) groups, are also discussed. Owing to the considerable diversity of N-functionalized DPPA-type ligands available, the applications of their mono- and polynuclear metal complexes are very diverse and range from homogeneous catalysis with well-defined or in situ generated (pre)catalysts to heterogeneous catalysis and materials science. In particular, sustained interest for DPPA-type ligands has been motivated, at least in part, by their ability to promote selective ethylene tri- or tetramerization in combination with chromium. Ligands and metal complexes where the N-substituent is a pure hydrocarbon group (as opposed to N-functionalization) are outside the scope of this review. However, when possible, a comparison between the catalytic performances of N-functionalized systems with those of their N-substituted analogs will be provided.

Janus Microspheres for Visual Assessment of Molecular Interconnects

A rigid S-functionalized metalloligand is used to pair Janus Au-coated silica microspheres and the resulting assemblies are assessed with optical microscopy. New Pd complexes provide stable molecular interconnects, and the metal centre controls the structure of the linker and provides the desired rigidity, by virtue of its well-established coordination chemistry.

Unsymmetrical Chelation of N-Thioether-Functionalized Bis(diphenylphosphino)amine-Type Ligands and Substituent Effects on the Nuclearity of Iron(II) Complexes: Structures, Magnetism, and Bonding.

Starting from the short-bite ligands N-thioether-functionalized bis(diphenylphosphino)amine-type (Ph2P)2N(CH2)3SMe (1) and (Ph2P)2N(p-C6H4)SMe (2), the Fe(II) complexes [FeCl2(1)]n (3), [FeCl2(2)]2 (4), [Fe(OAc)(1)2]PF6 (5), and [Fe(OAc)(2)2]PF6 (6) were synthesized and characterized by Fourier transform IR, mass spectrometry, elemental analysis, and also by X-ray diffraction for 3, 4, and 6. Complex 3 is a coordination polymer in which 1 acts as a P,P-pseudochelate and a (P,P),S-bridge, whereas 4 has a chlorido-bridged dinuclear structure in which 2 acts only as a P,P-pseudochelate. Since these complexes were obtained under strictly similar synthetic and crystallization conditions, these unexpected differences were ascribed to the different spacer between the nitrogen atom and the −SMe group. In both compounds, one Fe–P bond was found to be unusually long, and a theoretical analysis was performed to unravel the electronic or steric reasons for this difference. Density functional theory calculations were performed for a set of complexes of general formula [FeCl2(SR2){R21PN(R2)P′R23}] (R = H, Me; R1, R2, and R3 = H, Me, Ph), to understand the reasons for the significant deviation of the iron coordination sphere away from tetrahedral as well as from trigonal bipyramidal and the varying degree of unsymmetry of the two Fe–P bonds involving pseudochelating PN(R)P ligands. Electronic factors nicely explain the observed structures, and steric reasons were further ruled out by the structural analysis in the solid-state of the bis-chelated complex 6, which displays usual and equivalent Fe–P bond lengths. Magnetic susceptibility studies were performed to examine how the structural differences between 3 and 4 would affect the interactions between the iron centers, and it was concluded that 3 behaves as an isolated high-spin Fe(II) mononuclear complex, while significant intra- and intermolecular ferromagnetic interactions were evidenced for 4 at low temperatures. Complexes 3 and 4 were also tested in catalytic ethylene oligomerization but did not exhibit any significant activity under the studied conditions.

Accessing Two-Coordinate ZnII Organocations by NHC Coordination: Synthesis, Structure, and Use as π-Lewis Acids in Alkene, Alkyne, and CO2 Hydrosilylation

Discrete two-coordinate ZnII organocations of the type (NHC)Zn-R+ are reported, thanks to NHC stabilization. In preliminary reactivity studies, such entities, which are direct cationic analogues of long-known ZnR2 species, act as effective and tunable π-Lewis acid catalysts in alkene, alkyne, and CO2 hydrosilylation.

Fluoroalkyl radical generation by homolytic bond dissociation in pentacarbonylmanganese derivatives

Thermal decarbonylation of the acyl compounds [Mn(CO)5 (CORF )] (RF =CF3 , CHF2 , CH2 CF3 , CF2 CH3 ) yielded the corresponding alkyl derivatives [Mn(CO)5 (RF )], some of which have not been previously reported. The compounds were fully characterized by analytical and spectroscopic methods and by several single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. The solution-phase IR characterization in the CO stretching region, with the assistance of DFT calculations, has allowed the assignment of several weak bands to vibrations of the [Mn(12 CO)4 (eq-13 CO)(RF )] and [Mn(12 CO)4 (ax-13 CO)(RF )] isotopomers and a ranking of the RF donor power in the order CF3 <CHF2 <CH2 CF3 ≈CF2 CH3 . The homolytic Mn-RF bond cleavage in [Mn(CO)5 (RF )] at various temperatures under saturation conditions with trapping of the generated RF radicals by excess tris(trimethylsilyl)silane yielded activation parameters ΔH≠ and ΔS≠ that are believed to represent close estimates of the homolytic bond dissociation thermodynamic parameters. These values are in close agreement with those calculated in a recent DFT study (J. Organomet. Chem. 2018, 864, 12-18). The ability of these complexes to undergo homolytic Mn-RF bond cleavage was further demonstrated by the observation that [Mn(CO)5 (CF3 )] (the compound with the strongest Mn-RF bond) initiated the radical polymerization of vinylidene fluoride (CH2 =CF2 ) to produce poly(vinylidene fluoride) in good yields by either thermal (100 °C) or photochemical (UV or visible light) activation.