Gregory Leitus

Low‐Pressure Hydrogenation of Carbon Dioxide Catalyzed by an Iron Pincer Complex Exhibiting Noble Metal Activity

A highly active iron catalyst for the hydrogenation of carbon dioxide and bicarbonates works under remarkably low pressures and achieves activities similar to some of the best noble metal catalysts. A mechanism is proposed involving the direct attack of an iron trans-dihydride on carbon dioxide, followed by ligand exchange and dihydrogen coordination.

Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxyselenophene).

The first highly conductive polyselenophene, namely, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxyselenophene) (PEDOS), was synthesized by taking advantage of a novel method for efficiently contracting the selenophene ring. PEDOS shows a relatively low band gap (1.4 eV), very high stability in the oxidized state, and a well-defined spectroelectrochemistry.

Iron Borohydride Pincer Complexes for the Efficient Hydrogenation of Ketones under Mild, Base‐Free Conditions: Synthesis and Mechanistic Insight

The new, structurally characterized hydrido carbonyl tetrahydridoborate iron pincer complex [(iPr-PNP)Fe(H)(CO)(η(1)-BH(4))] (1) catalyzes the base-free hydrogenation of ketones to their corresponding alcohols employing only 4.1 atm hydrogen pressure. Turnover numbers up to 1980 at complete conversion of ketone were reached with this system. Treatment of 1 with aniline (as a BH(3) scavenger) resulted in a mixture of trans-[(iPr-PNP)Fe(H)(2)(CO)] (4a) and cis-[(iPr-PNP)Fe(H)(2)(CO)] (4b). The dihydrido complexes 4a and 4b do not react with acetophenone or benzaldehyde, indicating that these complexes are not intermediates in the catalytic reduction of ketones. NMR studies indicate that the tetrahydridoborate ligand in 1 dissociates prior to ketone reduction. DFT calculations show that the mechanism of the iron-catalyzed hydrogenation of ketones involves alcohol-assisted aromatization of the dearomatized complex [(iPr-PNP*)Fe(H)(CO)] (7) to initially give the Fe(0) complex [(iPr-PNP)Fe(CO)] (21) and subsequently [(iPr-PNP)Fe(CO)(EtOH)] (38). Concerted coordination of acetophenone and dual hydrogen-atom transfer from the PNP arm and the coordinated ethanol to, respectively, the carbonyl carbon and oxygen atoms, leads to the dearomatized complex [(iPr-PNP*)Fe(CO)(EtO)(MeCH(OH)Ph)] (32). The catalyst is regenerated by release of 1-phenylethanol, followed by dihydrogen coordination and proton transfer to the coordinated ethoxide ligand.

Manganese-Catalyzed Environmentally Benign Dehydrogenative Coupling of Alcohols and Amines to Form Aldimines and H2: A Catalytic and Mechanistic Study

The catalytic dehydrogenative coupling of alcohols and amines to form aldimines represents an environmentally benign methodology in organic chemistry. This has been accomplished in recent years mainly with precious-metal-based catalysts. We present the dehydrogenative coupling of alcohols and amines to form imines and H2 that is catalyzed, for the first time, by a complex of the earth-abundant Mn. Detailed mechanistic study was carried out with the aid of NMR spectroscopy, intermediate isolation, and X-ray analysis.

Evidence for a terminal Pt( iv )-oxo complex exhibiting diverse reactivity

Terminal oxo complexes of transition metals have critical roles in various biological and chemical processes. For example, the catalytic oxidation of organic molecules, some oxidative enzymatic transformations, and the activation of dioxygen on metal surfaces are all thought to involve oxo complexes. Moreover, they are believed to be key intermediates in the photocatalytic oxidation of water to give molecular oxygen, a topic of intensive global research aimed at artificial photosynthesis and water splitting. The terminal oxo ligand is a strong π-electron donor, so it readily forms stable complexes with high-valent early transition metals. As the d orbitals are filled up with valence electrons, the terminal oxo ligand becomes destabilized. Here we present evidence for a dn (n > 5) terminal oxo complex that is not stabilized by an electron withdrawing ligand framework. This d6 Pt(iv) complex exhibits reactivity as an inter- and intramolecular oxygen donor and as an electrophile. In addition, it undergoes a water activation process leading to a terminal dihydroxo complex, which may be relevant to the mechanism of catalytic reactions such as water oxidation.

Magnetism induced by the organization of self-assembled monolayers

Unique occurrence of magnetism is shown, in which magnetism appears ex nihilo, when organic molecules are self-assembled as monolayers on gold substrate. The molecules as well as the substrate, when they stand alone, are diamagnetic. Using a superconducting quantum interference device type magnetometer we obtained direct evidence that close-packed organized thio-organic films adsorbed on gold substrates possess magnetic properties at room temperature. The films studied show very high specific magnetization, up to many tens Bohr magnetons per adsorbed molecule, with a very small hysteresis. It is highly anisotropic and shows almost no temperature dependence. The magnetism observed is related to charge transfer between the organic layer and the metal substrate. Yet, the uniqueness here is that many spins are polarized per adsorbed molecules. The magnetic effect is related to the two dimensional organization of the organic molecules on the metal substrate which might explain the high anisotropy.

Rubrenes: Planar and Twisted

Surprisingly, despite its very high mobility in a single crystal, rubrene shows very low mobility in vacuum-sublimed or solution-processed organic thin-film transistors. We synthesized several rubrene analogues with electron-withdrawing and electron-donating substituents and found that most of the substituted rubrenes are not planar in the solid state. Moreover, we conclude (based on experimental and calculated data) that even parent rubrene is not planar in solution and in thin films. This discovery explains why high mobility is reported in rubrene single crystals, but rubrene shows very low field-effect mobility in thin films. The substituted rubrenes obtained in this work have significantly better solubility than parent rubrene and some even form films and not crystals after evaporation of the solvent. Thus, substituted rubrenes are promising materials for organic light-emitting diode (OLED) applications.

Electron Transfer−Oxygen Transfer Oxygenation of Sulfides Catalyzed by the H5PV2Mo10O40 Polyoxometalate

The oxygenation of sulfides to the corresponding sulfoxides catalyzed by H(5)PV(2)Mo(10)O(40) and other acidic vanadomolybdates has been shown to proceed by a low-temperature electron transfer-oxygen transfer (ET-OT) mechanism. First, a sulfide reacts with H(5)PV(2)Mo(10)O(40) to yield a cation radical-reduced polyoxometalate ion pair, R(2)(+*),H(5)PV(IV)V(V)Mo(10)O(40), that was identified by UV-vis spectroscopy (absorptions at 650 and 887 nm for PhSMe(+*) and H(5)PV(IV)V(V)Mo(10)O(40)) and EPR spectroscopy (quintet at g = 2.0079, A = 1.34 G for the thianthrene cation radical and the typical eight-line spectrum for V(IV)). Next, a precipitate is formed that shows by IR the incipient formation of the sulfoxide and by EPR a VO(2+) moiety supported on the polyoxometalate. Dissolution of this precipitate releases the sulfoxide product. ET-OT oxidation of diethylsulfide yielded crystals containing [V(O)(OSEt(2))(x)(solv)(5-x)](2+) cations and polyoxometalate anions. Under aerobic conditions, catalytic cycles can be realized with formation of mostly sulfoxide (90%) but also some disulfide (10%) via carbon-sulfide bond cleavage.

Cobalt-Catalyzed Hydrogenation of Esters to Alcohols: Unexpected Reactivity Trend Indicates Ester Enolate Intermediacy†

The atom-efficient and environmentally benign catalytic hydrogenation of carboxylic acid esters to alcohols has been accomplished in recent years mainly with precious-metal-based catalysts, with few exceptions. Presented here is the first cobalt-catalyzed hydrogenation of esters to the corresponding alcohols. Unexpectedly, the evidence indicates the unprecedented involvement of ester enolate intermediates.

Dual‐Responsive Nanoparticles and their Self‐Assembly

Dual-responsive nanoparticles are designed by functionalizing magnetic cores with light-responsive ligands. These materials respond to both light and magnetic fields and can be assembled into various higher-order structures, depending on the relative contributions of these two stimuli.