Martin Diefenbach

Ammonia formation by metal–ligand cooperative hydrogenolysis of a nitrido ligand

Bioinspired hydrogenation of N(2) to ammonia at ambient conditions by stepwise nitrogen protonation/reduction with metal complexes in solution has experienced remarkable progress. In contrast, the highly desirable direct hydrogenation with H(2) remains difficult. In analogy to the heterogeneously catalysed Haber-Bosch process, such a reaction is conceivable via metal-centred N(2) splitting and unprecedented hydrogenolysis of the nitrido ligands to ammonia. We report the synthesis of a ruthenium(IV) nitrido complex. The high nucleophilicity of the nitrido ligand is demonstrated by unusual N-C coupling with π-acidic CO. Furthermore, the terminal nitrido ligand undergoes facile hydrogenolysis with H(2) at ambient conditions to produce ammonia in high yield. Kinetic and quantum chemical examinations of this reaction suggest cooperative behaviour of a phosphorus-nitrogen-phosphorus pincer ligand in rate-determining heterolytic hydrogen splitting.

Confirmed by X‐ray Crystallography: The B⋅B One‐Electron σ Bond

Is one electron sufficient to bring about significant σ bonding between two atoms? The chemists view on the chemical bond is usually tied to the concept of shared electron pairs, and not too much experimental evidence exists to challenge this firm belief. Whilst species with the unusual one-electron σ-bonding motif between homonuclear atoms have so far been identified mainly by spectroscopic evidence, we present herein the first crystallographic characterization, augmented by a detailed quantum-chemical validation, for a radical anion featuring a B⋅B one-electron-two-center σ bond.

A Gas‐Phase Model for the Pt+‐Catalyzed Coupling of Methane and Ammonia

What exactly are the elementary steps in the Pt-catalyzed coupling of methane and ammonia (Degussa process) shown on the right? Mass spectrometry and ab initio theory have been used to probe the mechanistic details of this technically important synthesis of hydrogen cyanide.

A preorganized ditopic borane as highly efficient one- or two-electron trap.

Reduction of the bis(9-borafluorenyl)methane 1 with excess lithium furnishes the red dianion salt Li2[1]. The corresponding dark green monoanion radical Li[1] is accessible through the comproportionation reaction between 1 and Li2[1]. EPR spectroscopy on Li[1] reveals hyperfine coupling of the unpaired electron to two magnetically equivalent boron nuclei (a((11)B) = 5.1 ± 0.1 G, a((10)B) = 1.7 ± 0.2 G). Further coupling is observed to the unique B-CH-B bridgehead proton (a((1)H) = 7.2 ± 0.2 G) and to eight aromatic protons (a((1)H) = 1.4 ± 0.1 G). According to X-ray crystallography, the B···B distances continuously decrease along the sequence 1 → [1](•-) → [1](2-) with values of 2.534(2), 2.166(4), and 1.906(3) Å, respectively. Protonation of Li2[1] leads to the cyclic borohydride species Li[1H] featuring a B-H-B two-electron-three-center bond. This result strongly indicates a nucleophilic character of the boron atoms; the reaction can also be viewed as rare example of the protonation of an element-element σ bond. According to NMR spectroscopy, EPR spectroscopy, and quantum-chemical calculations, [1](2-) represents a closed-shell singlet without any spin contamination. Detailed wave function analyses of [1](•-) and [1](2-) reveal strongly localized interactions of the two boron pz-type orbitals, with small delocalized contributions of the 9-borafluorenyl π systems. Overall, our results provide evidence for a direct B-B one-electron and two-electron bonding interaction in [1](•-) and [1](2-), respectively.

Confirmation of an Early Postulate: BCB Two‐Electron–Three‐Center Bonding in Organo(hydro)boranes

Finally, boron did it too: The first example of a dimeric organyl(hydro)borane with a B-B-bridging aryl ring has been elucidated (see picture; B green/blue, C black/gray). It features a B-C-B two-electron-three-center bond and a largely unperturbed aromatic π-electron system.

Reversible Dihydrogen Activation by Reduced Aryl Boranes as Main‐Group Ambiphiles

A new approach to main-group H2 activation combining concepts of transition-metal and frustrated Lewis pair chemistry is reported. Ambiphilic, metal-like reactivity toward H2 can be conferred to 9,10-dihydro-9,10-diboraanthracene (DBA) acceptors by the injection of two electrons. The resulting [DBA]2- ions cleave the H-H bond with the formation of hydridoborates under moderate conditions (T=50-100 °C; p<1 atm). Depending on the boron-bonded substituents R, the addition is either reversible (R=C≡CtBu) or irreversible (R=H). The reaction rate is strongly influenced by the nature and the coordination behavior of the countercation (Li+ slower than K+ ). Quantum-chemical calculations support the experimental observations and suggest a concerted, homolytic addition of H2 across both boron atoms. As proven by the successful conversion of Me3 SiCl into Me3 SiH, the system Li2 [DBA]/H2 appears generally relevant for the hydrogenation of element-halide bonds.

Effects of boron doping on the structural and optoelectronic properties of 9,10-diarylanthracenes

Key structural and optoelectronic properties of 9,10-dihydro-9,10-diboraanthracene (DBA) derivatives carrying mesityl (2a), 2-methylnaphthyl- (2b) and 9-phenyl-2,7-di-tert-butylanthryl (2c) substituents at the boron atoms have systematically been compared with the properties of their all-carbon congeners 4a-c. The experimental investigations have been augmented by quantum-chemical calculations. Steric repulsion leads to large dihedral angles between the aryl substituents and the DBA (2a-c) or anthrylene (4a-c) cores; as a result, the B-C bonds of 2a-c are kinetically shielded from hydrolysis and oxidative degradation. Lithium metal reduces the mesityl derivative 2a to the inverse sandwich complexes [Li(OR2)n]2[2a] (X-ray crystallography; OR2 = THF, n = 2; Et2O, n = 1). In line with the nodal structures of the LUMO of 2a/HOMO of [Li(THF)2]2[2a], the C-C bond lengths of the anionic fragment [2a](2-) show characteristic differences to those of 2a and come close to the C-C bond lengths of the isoelectronic species 4a. X-ray crystallography on anti-2b × 2 C6H6 and anti-4b × 2 C6H6 reveals an essentially identical packing of the main molecules. The benzene solvate molecules, however, interact in a very different manner with anti-2b or anti-4b, which can be traced down to subtle disparities between the electron density distributions of the two compounds. 2a-c undergo a photoinduced aryl-to-DBA charge transfer; the back electron transfer results in blue (2a), green (2b) and red (2c) emission, albeit with low quantum yields. 4a-c are characterised by a local π-π* photoexcitation of the central 9,10-anthrylene fragments and corresponding blue emission. Each of the compounds 2a-c gives rise to two reversible DBA-centred one-electron transitions in the cyclic voltammogram.

Quantum chemical assessment of the binding energy of CuO

We present a detailed theoretical investigation on the dissociation energy of CuO(+), carried out by means of coupled cluster theory, the multireference averaged coupled pair functional (MR-ACPF) approach, diffusion quantum Monte Carlo (DMC), and density functional theory (DFT). At the respective extrapolated basis set limits, most post-Hartree-Fock approaches agree within a narrow error margin on a D(e) value of 26.0 kcal mol(-1) [coupled-cluster singles and doubles level augmented by perturbative triples corrections, CCSD(T)], 25.8 kcal mol(-1) (CCSDTQ via the high accuracy extrapolated ab initio thermochemistry protocol), and 25.6 kcal mol(-1) (DMC), which is encouraging in view of the disaccording data published thus far. The configuration-interaction based MR-ACPF expansion, which includes single and double excitations only, gives a slightly lower value of 24.1 kcal mol(-1), indicating that large basis sets and triple excitation patterns are necessary ingredients for a quantitative assessment. Our best estimate for D(0) at the CCSD(T) level is 25.3 kcal mol(-1), which is somewhat lower than the latest experimental value (D(0) = 31.1 ± 2.8 kcal mol(-1)[semicolon] reported by the Armentrout group) [Int. J. Mass Spectrom. 182/183, 99 (1999)]. These highly correlated methods are, however, computationally very demanding, and the results are therefore supplemented with those of more affordable DFT calculations. If used in combination with moderately-sized basis sets, the M05 and M06 hybrid functionals turn out to be promising candidates for studies on much larger systems containing a [CuO](+) core.

A disilene base adduct with a dative Si–Si single bond.

An experimental and theoretical study of the base-stabilized disilene 1 is reported, which forms at low temperatures in the disproportionation reaction of Si2 Cl6 or neo-Si5 Cl12 with equimolar amounts of NMe2 Et. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction and quantum-chemical bonding analysis disclose an unprecedented structure in silicon chemistry featuring a dative Si→Si single bond between two silylene moieties, Me2 EtN→SiCl2 →Si(SiCl3 )2 . The central ambiphilic SiCl2 group is linked by dative bonds to the amine donor and the bis(trichlorosilyl)silylene acceptor, which leads to push-pull stabilization. Based on experimental and theoretical examinations a formation mechanism is presented that involves an autocatalytic reaction of the intermediately formed anion Si(SiCl3 )3 (-) with neo-Si5 Cl12 to yield 1.

Insight into the Oriented Growth of Surface-Attached Metal-Organic Frameworks: Surface Functionality, Deposition Temperature, and First Layer Order.

The layer-by-layer growth of a surface-attached metal-organic framework (SURMOF), [Cu2(F4bdc)2(dabco)] (F4bdc = tetrafluorobenzene-1,4-dicarboxylate and dabco = 1,4-diazabicyclo-[2.2.2]octane), on carboxylate- and pyridine-terminated surfaces has been investigated by various surface characterization techniques. Particular attention was paid to the dependency of the crystal orientation and morphology on surface functionality, deposition temperature, and first layer order. For the fully oriented deposition of SURMOFs, not only a suitable surface chemistry but also the appropriate temperature has to be chosen. In the case of carboxylate-terminated surfaces, the expected [100] oriented [Cu2(F4bdc)2(dabco)] SURMOF can be achieved at low temperatures (5 °C). In contrast, the predicted [001] oriented SURMOF on pyridine-terminated surface was obtained only at high deposition temperatures (60 °C). Interestingly, we found that rearrangement processes in the very first layer determine the final orientation (distribution) of the growing crystals. These effects could be explained by a surprisingly hampered substitution at the apical position of the Cu2-paddle wheel units, which requires significant thermal activation, as supported by quantum-chemical calculations.