Robert J. Thatcher

Ruthenium-mediated C-H functionalization of pyridine: the role of vinylidene and pyridylidene ligands.

A combined experimental and theoretical study has demonstrated that [Ru(η(5)-C(5)H(5))(py)(2)(PPh(3))](+) is a key intermediate, and active catalyst for, the formation of 2-substituted E-styrylpyridines from pyridine and terminal alkynes HC≡CR (R = Ph, C(6)H(4)-4-CF(3)) in a 100% atom efficient manner under mild conditions. A catalyst deactivation pathway involving formation of the pyridylidene-containing complex [Ru(η(5)-C(5)H(5))(κ(3)-C(3)-C(5)H(4)NCH═CHR)(PPh(3))](+) and subsequently a 1-ruthanaindolizine complex has been identified. Mechanistic studies using (13)C- and D-labeling and DFT calculations suggest that a vinylidene-containing intermediate [Ru(η(5)-C(5)H(5))(py)(═C═CHR)(PPh(3))](+) is formed, which can then proceed to the pyridylidene-containing deactivation product or the desired product depending on the reaction conditions. Nucleophilic attack by free pyridine at the α-carbon in this complex subsequently leads to formation of a C-H agostic complex that is the branching point for the productive and unproductive pathways. The formation of the desired products relies on C-H bond cleavage from this agostic complex in the presence of free pyridine to give the pyridyl complex [Ru(η(5)-C(5)H(5))(C(5)H(4)N)(═C═CHR)(PPh(3))]. Migration of the pyridyl ligand (or its pyridylidene tautomer) to the α-carbon of the vinylidene, followed by protonation, results in the formation of the 2-styrylpyridine. These studies demonstrate that pyridylidene ligands play an important role in both the productive and nonproductive pathways in this catalyst system.

Diversity and design of metal-based carbon monoxide-releasing molecules (CO-RMs) in aqueous systems: revealing the essential trends

The CO-releasing ability of a diverse library of primary metal carbonyl complexes has been assessed using a deoxymyoglobin-carbonmonoxymyglobin assay. A wide spectrum of rates for the CO-release process was observed in aqueous systems. For octahedral d(6) complexes, the rate was found to decrease in the sequence FeI(2)(CO)(4) > [NEt(4)][V(CO)(6)] > MnBr(CO)(5) > Cr(CO)(6) implying that CO-release is not controlled by the metal-carbon bond strengths. Within the series, [NEt(4)][MX(CO)(5)] (M = Cr, Mo, W; X =Cl, Br, I), the rate of CO-release was found to decrease down the group (Cr > Mo > W), whilst within the chromium series a similar trend was observed for the halide (Cl > Br > I). The d(4) complexes [NEt(4)][MI(3)(CO)(4)] (M = Mo, W) exhibit faster release than their d(6) congeners. A mechanistic investigation into the [NEt(4)][MX(CO)(5)] series revealed the intermediacy of [[M(CO)(5)](2)(mu-X)](-) in the CO-release process and that the hydrolysis of the M-X bond, rather than the intrinsic strength of M-CO bonds, controls the rate of CO-release in aqueous systems.

Selective photochemistry at stereogenic metal and ligand centers of cis-[Ru(diphosphine)2(H)2]: preparative, NMR, solid state, and laser flash studies.

Three ruthenium complexes Λ-[cis-Ru((R,R)-Me-BPE)(2)(H)(2)] Λ-R,R-Ru1H(2), Δ-[cis-Ru((S,S)-Me-DuPHOS)(2)(H)(2)] Δ-S,S-Ru2H(2), and Λ-[cis-Ru((R,R)-Me-DuPHOS)(2)(H)(2)] Λ-R,R-Ru2H(2) (1 = (Me-BPE)(2), 2 = (Me-DuPHOS)(2)) were characterized by multinuclear NMR and CD spectroscopy in solution and by X-ray crystallography. The chiral ligands allow the full control of stereochemistry and enable mechanistic studies not otherwise available. Oxidative addition of E-H bonds (E = H, B, Si, C) was studied by steady state and laser flash photolysis in the presence of substrates. Steady state photolysis shows formation of single products with one stereoisomer. Solid state structures and circular dichroism spectra reveal a change in configuration at ruthenium for some Δ-S,S-Ru2H(2)/Λ-R,R-Ru2H(2) photoproducts from Λ to Δ (or vice versa) while the configuration for Λ-R,R-Ru1H(2) products remains unchanged as Λ. The X-ray structure of silyl hydride photoproducts suggests a residual H(1)···Si(1) interaction for Δ-[cis-Ru((R,R)-Me-DuPHOS)(2)(Et(2)SiH)(H)] and Δ-[cis-Ru((R,R)-Me-DuPHOS)(2)(PhSiH(2))(H)] but not for their Ru(R,R-BPE)(2) analogues. Molecular structures were also determined for Λ-[cis-Ru((R,R)-Me-BPE)(2)(Bpin)(H)], Λ-[Ru((S,S)-Me-DuPHOS)(2)(η(2)-C(2)H(4))], Δ-[Ru((R,R)-Me-DuPHOS)(2)(η(2)-C(2)H(4))], and trans-[Ru((R,R)-Me-DuPHOS)(2)(C(6)F(5))(H)]. In situ laser photolysis in the presence of p-H(2) generates hyperpolarized NMR spectra because of magnetically inequivalent hydrides; these experiments and low temperature photolysis with D(2) reveal that the loss of hydride ligands is concerted. The reaction intermediates [Ru(DuPHOS)(2)] and [Ru(BPE)(2)] were detected by laser flash photolysis and have spectra consistent with approximate square-planar Ru(0) structures. The rates of their reactions with H(2), D(2), HBpin, and PhSiH(3) were measured by transient kinetics. Rate constants are significantly faster for [Ru(BPE)(2)] than for [Ru(DuPHOS)(2)] and follow the substrate order H(2) > D(2) > PhSiH(3) > HBpin.

Comparison of donor properties of N-heterocyclic carbenes and N-donors containing the 1H-pyridin-(2E)-ylidene motif

IR spectroscopic and X-ray structural data of rhodium and palladium complexes of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) and 1H-pyridin-(2E)-ylidene (PYE) ligands indicate that both ligand classes exhibit similar electron-donating properties. However, catalytic application of palladium PYE complexes appears to be limited by PYE ligand loss. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations show that the Pd–CNHC σ-bond is very low-lying in energy (HOMO-14 and 15, ca. –11 eV) and a π-backbonding contribution is also present, whereas the Pd-NPYE σ-bond is comparatively high-lying (HOMO-9 and 10, ca. –8 eV) and the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO)–lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) gap is also significantly less (4.0 vs. 5.6 eV). Essentially, electronegativity differences between Pd, C, and N render the Pd–N bond much more polarized and susceptible to electrophilic and nucleophilic attack and hence ligand substitution.

Synthesis, Coordination Chemistry and Bonding of Strong N‐Donor Ligands Incorporating the 1H‐Pyridin‐(2E)‐Ylidene (PYE) Motif

A range of N-donor ligands based on the 1H-pyridin-(2E)-ylidene (PYE) motif have been prepared, including achiral and chiral examples. The ligands incorporate one to three PYE groups that coordinate to a metal through the exocyclic nitrogen atom of each PYE moiety, and the resulting metal complexes have been characterised by methods including single-crystal X-ray diffraction and NMR spectroscopy to examine metal-ligand bonding and ligand dynamics. Upon coordination of a PYE ligand to a proton or metal-complex fragment, the solid-state structures, NMR spectroscopy and DFT studies indicate that charge redistribution occurs within the PYE heterocyclic ring to give a contribution from a pyridinium-amido-type resonance structure. Additional IR spectroscopy and computational studies suggest that PYE ligands are strong donor ligands. NMR spectroscopy shows that for metal complexes there is restricted motion about the exocyclic C-N bond, which projects the heterocyclic N-substituent in the vicinity of the metal atom causing restricted motion in chelating-ligand derivatives. Solid-state structures and DFT calculations also show significant steric congestion and secondary metal-ligand interactions between the metal and ligand C-H bonds.

Charged Behaviour from Neutral Ligands: Synthesis and Properties of N-Heterocyclic Pseudo-amides

Deprotonation of the 1-isopropyl-3-(phenylamino)pyridin-1-ium iodide gives the corresponding neutral betaine, which is formalised as a pyridinium-amido ligand when coordinated to a metal. Spectroscopic, structural and theoretical methods have been used to investigate the metal-ligand bonding, ligand dynamics and electron distribution. Collectively, the data show that the ligand can be characterised as a pseudo-amide and is a strong donor akin to alkyl phosphines and N-heterocyclic carbenes. Furthermore, rotation about both N substituent C-N bonds occurs, which is in contrast to the two alternative pyridinium positional isomers that exhibit neutral resonance structures. For comparison, compounds and complexes derived from norharman were prepared, which contain an additional C-C bond supporting conjugation and the accessibility of a neutral resonance structure. Notwithstanding the formal neutral structure, norharman-derived ligands are comparably strong donors, and have the additional advantage of exhibiting stability to dioxygen and water.

Structure of Amido-Pyridinium Betaines : Persistent Intermolecular C-H•••N Hydrogen Bonding in Solution

A hydrogen bond of the type C-H⋅⋅⋅X (X=O or N) is known to influence the structure and function of chemical and biological systems in solution. C-H⋅⋅⋅O hydrogen bonding in solution has been extensively studied, both experimentally and computationally, whereas the equivalent thermodynamic parameters have not been enumerated experimentally for C-H⋅⋅⋅N hydrogen bonds. This is, in part, due to the lack of systems that exhibit persistent C-H⋅⋅⋅N hydrogen bonds in solution. Herein, a class of molecule based on a biologically active norharman motif that exhibits unsupported intermolecular C-H⋅⋅⋅N hydrogen bonds in solution has been described. A pairwise interaction leads to dimerisation to give bond strengths of about 7 kJ mol-1 per hydrogen bond, which is similar to chemically and biologically relevant C-H⋅⋅⋅O hydrogen bonding. The experimental data is supported by computational work, which provides additional insight into the hydrogen bonding by consideration of electrostatic and orbital interactions and allowed a comparison between calculated and extrapolated NMR chemical shifts.

cis-1,3,5-Triaminocyclohexane as a facially capping ligand for ruthenium(II).

Reaction of cis-[RuCl2(DMSO-S)3(DMSO-O)] with cis-1,3,5-triaminocyclohexane (tach) results in the formation of [RuCl(tach)(DMSO-S)2]Cl, a valuable precursor for a wide range of other tach-containing Ru complexes. Reaction of [RuCl(tach)(DMSO-S)2]Cl with the chelating nitrogen-based ligands (N-N = bipyridine, phenanthroline, and ethylenediamine) affords [Ru(N-N)(DMSO-S)2(tach)][Cl]2. A similar reaction between [RuCl(tach)(DMSO-S)]Cl with the chelating phosphorus-based ligands (P-P = dppm, dppe, dppp, dppb, dppv, and dppben) leads to the formation of [RuCl(P-P)(tach)]Cl. The structures of 10 examples of the tach-containing complexes have been determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. An examination of the structural metrics obtained from these studies indicates that the tach ligand is a strong sigma donor. In addition, the presence of the NH2 groups in the tach ligand allow for participation in hydrogen bonding further modulating the coordinative properties of the ligand.

β-Carboline (norharman)

The structure of β-carboline, also called norharman (systematic name: 9H-pyrido[3,4-b]indole), C(11)H(8)N(2), has been determined at 110 K. Norharman is prevalent in the environment and the human body and is of wide biological interest. The structure exhibits intermolecular N-H···N hydrogen bonding, which results in a one-dimensional herringbone motif. The three rings of the norharman molecule collectively result in a C-shaped curvature of 3.19 (13)° parallel to the long axis. The diffraction data show shorter pyridyl C-C bonds than those reported at the STO-3G level of theory.

Tetra-μ2-acetato-diacetatodi-μ3-hydroxido-tetrakis[piperidinecopper(II)] dihydrate.

The title complex, [Cu(4)(C(2)H(3)O(2))(6)(OH)(2)(C(5)H(11)N)(4)]·2H(2)O, possesses an unusual inversion-symmetric tetranuclear copper framework, with each Cu(II) atom displaying a square-pyramidal geometry and one additional long Cu···O contact. The four piperidine ligands are terminal, one at each Cu(II) atom, and the two hydroxide ligands are triply bridging. The six acetate ligands exhibit two distinct coordination modes, namely as two monodentate acetates and four bridging acetates that bridge the two inequivalent copper centres. The noncoordinating acetate O atom is involved in intramolecular hydrogen bonding with H atoms from the hydroxide and one piperidine ligand. In addition, extensive intermolecular hydrogen bonding involving the solvent water molecules is observed.