Qianyi Zhao

The Chemistry of Aromatic Osmacycles

Aromatic compounds, such as benzene and its derivatives, porphyrins, fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and graphene, have numerous applications in biomedicine, materials science, energy science, and environmental science. Metalla-aromatics are analogues of conventional organic aromatic molecules in which one of the (hydro)carbon segments is formally replaced by an isolobal transition-metal fragment. Researchers have studied these transition-metal-containing aromatic molecules for the past three decades, particularly the synthesis and reactivity of metallabenzenes. Another focus has been the preparation and characterization of other metalla-aromatics such as metallafurans, metallapyridines, metallabenzynes, and more. Despite significant advances, remaining challenges in this field include the limited number of convenient and versatile synthetic methods to construct stable and fully characterized metalla-aromatics, and the relative shortage of new topologies. To address these challenges, we have developed new methods for preparing metalla-aromatics, especially those possessing new topologies. Our synthetic efforts have led to a large family of closely related metalla-aromatics known as aromatic osmacycles. This Account summarizes the synthesis and reactivity of these compounds, with a focus on features that are different from those of compounds developed by other groups. These osmacycles can be synthesized from simple precursors under mild conditions. Using these efficient methods, we have synthesized aromatic osmacycles such as osmabenzene, osmabenzyne, isoosmabenzene, osmafuran, and osmanaphthalene. Furthermore, these methods have also created a series of new topologies, such as osmabenzothiazole and osmapyridyne. Our studies of the reactivity of these osma-aromatics revealed unprecedented reaction patterns, and we demonstrated the interconversion of several osmacycles. Like other metalla-aromatics, osma-aromatics have spectroscopic features of aromaticity, such as ring planarity and the characteristic bond lengths between a single and double bond, but the osma-aromatics we have prepared also exhibit good stability towards air, water, and heat. Indeed, some seemingly unstable species proved stable, and their stability made it possible to study their optical, electrochemical, and magnetic properties. The stability of these compouds results from their aromaticity and the phosphonium substituents on the aromatic plane: most of our osma-aromatics carry at least one phosphonium group. The phosphonium group offers stability via both electronic and steric mechanisms. The phosphonium acts as an electron reservoir, allowing the circulation of electron pairs along metallacycles and lowering the electron density of the aromatic rings. Meanwhile, the bulky phosphonium groups surrounding the aromatic metallacycle prevent most reactions that could decompose the skeleton.

Synthesis, Characterization and Electrochemical Properties of Stable Osmabenzenes Containing PPh3 Substituents

Treatment of [OsCl(2)(PPh(3))(3)] with HC[triple bond]CCH(OH)C[triple bond]CH/PPh(3) produces the osmabenzene [Os{CHC(PPh(3))CHC(PPh(3))CH}Cl(2)(PPh(3))(2)][OH] (2), which is air stable in both solution and solid state. The key intermediate of the one-pot reaction, [OsCl(2){CH=C(PPh(3))CH(OH)C[triple bond]CH}(PPh(3))(2)] (3), and the related complex [Os(NCS)(2){CHC(PPh(3))CH(OH)C[triple bond]CH}(PPh(3))(2)] (7) have been isolated and characterized, further supporting the proposed mechanisms for the reaction. Reactions of 3 with PPh(3), NaI, and NaSCN give osmabenzene 2, iodo-substituted osmabenzene [Os{CHC(PPh(3))CHCICH}I(2)(PPh(3))(2)] (4), and thiocyanato-substituted osmabenzene [Os{CHC(PPh(3))CHC(SCN)CH}(NCS)(2)(PPh(3))(2)] (5) respectively. Similarly, reaction of [OsBr(2)(PPh(3))(3)] with HC[triple bond]CCH(OH)C[triple bond] CH in THF produces [OsBr(2){CH=C(PPh(3))CH(OH)C[triple bond]CH}(PPh(3))(2)] (9), which reacts with PPh(3)/Bu(4)NBr to give osmabenzene [Os{CHC(PPh(3))CHC(PPh(3))CH}Br(2)(PPh(3))(2)]Br (10). Ligand substitution reactions of 2 produce a series of new stable osmabenzenes 11-17. An electrochemical study shows that osmabenzenes 2, 12, and 14-17 have interesting different electrochemical properties due to the different co-ligand. The oxidation potentials of complexes 2, 12, 16, and 17 with Cl, NCS, and N(CN)(2) ligands gradually positively shift in the sequence of Cl<NCS<N(CN)(2). Among the six compounds, only 12 and 17 undergo a well-behaved, nearly reversible and a quasi-reversible reduction process, respectively, indicating that two NCS or N(CN)(2) ligands contribute to the stabilization of their reduced states.

Stable Iso‐osmabenzenes from a Formal [3+3] Cycloaddition Reaction of Metal Vinylidene with Alkynols

The investigation on the synthesis and reactivity of metal vinylidene complexes has always been an active area, especially given their applications as well-known catalysts for metathesis and carbon–carbon and carbon–heteroatom coupling reactions. 2] Compared with other reactions of metal vinylidenes, the cyclization reactions are underdeveloped. Previous studies showed that the vinylidene M=Ca bond participated in cycloadditions (see a) as key steps in carbon– carbon coupling reactions, and some cycloaddition products have also been isolated. Interestingly, similar reactions of the metal vinylidene Ca=Cb bond (see b) have been realized as well. [5] However, cyclizations of the skeleton of metal vinylidene (M=Ca=Cb) as a unit (see c) remain scarce. In fact, the reported cyclization is a formal [3+2] cycloaddition reaction. To the best of our knowledge, the [3+3] cyclization reactions of metal vinylidene to construct six-membered rings have not been reported. Moreover, since the first isolation of metallabenzene was achieved by Roper and co-workers, considerable research interest has been attracted in this field. Nevertheless, the metallabenzene analogue isometallabenzene, which can be seen as a metal-containing 1,2,4-cyclohexatriene, has not been thoroughly explored. Until now, only the 16e isometallabenzene [Os{=C=C(Ph) CH(Ph) CH=C(CH2Ph)}Cl(PiPr3)2], prepared by double coupling reactions, was reported by Esteruelas and co-workers in 2004. Herein, we report an unprecedented formal [3+3] cycloaddition reaction between the hydride vinylidene complex [OsHCl2{=C=CH(PPh3)}(PPh3)2] (2) and alkynols under mild conditions to give stable 18e iso-osmabenzenes. The origin of the unexpected stability of these iso-osmabenzene complexes and their isomerization into h-cyclopentadienyl complexes through metalated cyclopentadiene intermediates is also described. Stirring of the osmium hydride alkenylcarbyne complex [OsHCl2( C C(PPh3)=CHPh)(PPh3)2]BF4 (1) in a mixture of H2O/CH3OH (3:2 v/v) at reflux produced the osmium hydride vinylidene complex 2, which was isolated as a lightyellow solid in 60% yield (Scheme 1). The other product, PhCHO, was detected by H NMR (d= 9.3 ppm; PhCHO) and GC analysis of the reaction mixture (see Figure S1 in the Supporting Information). Complex 2 was characterized by NMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis, and the structure was additionally confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (Figure S2).

Conversions of osmabenzyne and isoosmabenzene.

We report herein the first example of the conversion of metallabenzyne II and isometallabenzene III. The osmium hydride vinylidene complex 1 reacts with HC≡CCH(OEt)(2) to give osmabenzyne 3 via isoosmabenzene 2. Compound 3 exhibits high thermal stability in air. Nonetheless, nucleophilic attack at 3 provides isoosmabenzenes 4 a and 4 b, or opens the ring to produce 5 a and 5 b. We propose mechanisms to disclose the intrinsic connection between the six-membered metallacycles, and carry out DFT calculations to rationalize the regioselectivity of the nucleophilic addition reactions.

Reactivity study of a hydroxyl coordinated osmium vinyl complex OsCl2(PPh3)2[CH=C(PPh3)CHPh(OH)]

We studied the reactivity of an osmium vinyl complex containing a coordinated hydroxyl group OsCl2(PPh3)2[CH=C(PPh3)-CHPh(OH)] (1) toward bidentate ligand 1,4-bis(diphenylphosphino)butane (DPPB), π acid ligand (CO), base (Cs2CO3) and heat. Two osmium vinyl complexes OsCl2(dppb)[CH=C(PPh3)CHPh(OH)] (2) and OsCl2(CO)2(PPh3)[CH=C(PPh3)CHPh(OH)] (3), as well as two relatively rare phosphonium-containing osmafuran complexes Os(η2-OCOO)(PPh3)2[CHC(PPh3)CPhO] (4) and OsCl2(PPh3)2[CHC(PPh3)CPhO] (5), were obtained in high yields from these reactions. All products were characterized by NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, and their structures were further confirmed by single crystal X-ray diffraction.