The influence of N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHC) on the reactivity of [Ru(NHC)(4)H](+) with H(2), N(2), CO and O(2).

The five-coordinate ruthenium N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) hydrido complexes [Ru(IiPr(2)Me(2))(4)H][BAr(F) (4)] (1; IiPr(2)Me(2)=1,3-diisopropyl-4,5-dimethylimidazol-2-ylidene; Ar(F)=3,5-(CF(3))(2)C(6)H(3)), [Ru(IEt(2)Me(2))(4)H][BAr(F) (4)] (2; IEt(2)Me(2)=1,3-diethyl-4,5-dimethylimidazol-2-ylidene) and [Ru(IMe(4))(4)H][BAr(F) (4)] (3; IMe(4)=1,3,4,5-tetramethylimidazol-2-ylidene) have been synthesised following reaction of [Ru(PPh(3))(3)HCl] with 4-8 equivalents of the free carbenes at ambient temperature. Complexes 1-3 have been structurally characterised and show square pyramidal geometries with apical hydride ligands. In both dichloromethane or pyridine solution, 1 and 2 display very low frequency hydride signals at about delta -41. The tetramethyl carbene complex 3 exhibits a similar chemical shift in toluene, but shows a higher frequency signal in acetonitrile arising from the solvent adduct [Ru(IMe(4))(4)(MeCN)H][BAr(F) (4)], 4. The reactivity of 1-3 towards H(2) and N(2) depends on the size of the N-substituent of the NHC ligand. Thus, 1 is unreactive towards both gases, 2 reacts with both H(2) and N(2) only at low temperature and incompletely, while 3 affords [Ru(IMe(4))(4)(eta(2)-H(2))H][BAr(F) (4)] (7) and [Ru(IMe(4))(4)(N(2))H][BAr(F) (4)] (8) in quantitative yield at room temperature. CO shows no selectivity, reacting with 1-3 to give [Ru(NHC)(4)(CO)H][BAr(F) (4)] (9-11). Addition of O(2) to solutions of 2 and 3 leads to rapid oxidation, from which the Ru(III) species [Ru(NHC)(4)(OH)(2)][BAr(F) (4)] and the Ru(IV) oxo chlorido complex [Ru(IEt(2)Me(2))(4)(O)Cl][BAr(F) (4)] were isolated. DFT calculations reproduce the greater ability of 3 to bind small molecules and show relative binding strengths that follow the trend CO >> O(2) > N(2) > H(2).

C-H activation reactions of ruthenium N-heterocyclic carbene complexes: application in a catalytic tandem reaction involving C-C bond formation from alcohols.

A series of ruthenium hydride N-alkyl heterocyclic carbene complexes has been investigated as catalysts for a tandem oxidation/Wittig/reduction reaction to give C-C bonds from alcohols. The C-H-activated carbene complex Ru(IiPr(2)Me(2))'(PPh(3))(2)(CO)H (9) proves to be the most active precursor catalyzing the reaction of PhCH(2)OH and Ph(3)P=CHCN in 3 h at 70 degrees C. These results provide (a) a rare case in which N-alkyl carbenes afford higher catalytic activity than their N-aryl counterparts and (b) a novel example of the importance of NHC C-H activation in a catalytic cycle.

Ruthenium induced C-N bond activation of an N-heterocyclic carbene: isolation of C- and N-bound tautomers.

C-N bond activation of the N-heterocyclic carbene 1,3-diisopropyl-4,5-dimethylimidazol-2-ylidene occurs with Ru(PPh3)3(CO)HCl to give the C-2 bound 1-isopropyl-4,5-dimethylimidazol-2-ylidene complex Ru(C-IiPrHMe2)(PPh3)2(CO)HCl via loss of propene. In the presence of free carbene, this undergoes tautomerism to the corresponding imidazole compound Ru(N-IiPrHMe2)(PPh3)2(CO)HCl.

Photochemical isomerization of N-heterocyclic carbene ruthenium hydride complexes: in situ photolysis, parahydrogen, and computational studies.

Low-temperature UV irradiation of the N-heterocyclic carbene complex Ru(IEt2Me2)(PPh3)2(CO)H2 (IEt2Me2 = 1,3-bis(ethyl)-4,5-dimethylimidazol-2-ylidene) leads to a remarkable photoisomerization reaction. By combining in situ photolysis and parahydrogen experiments to characterize the ultimate photoproducts and DFT calculations to interrogate the structures of the key 16-electron intermediates, the importance of both PPh3 and H2 loss pathways has been established.

C-F Bond activation at Ni(0) and simple reactions of square planar Ni(II) fluoride complexes.

The reaction of Ni(COD)(2)(COD = 1,5-cyclooctadiene) with triethylphosphine and pentafluoropyridine in hexane has been shown previously to yield trans-[NiF(2-C(5)NF(4))(PEt(3))(2)](1a) with a preference for reaction at the 2-position of the heteroaromatic. The corresponding reaction with 2,3,5,6-tetrafluoropyridine was shown to yield trans-[NiF(2-C(5)NF(3)H)(PEt(3))(2)](1b). In this paper, we show that reaction of Ni(COD)(2) with triethylphosphine and pentafluoropyridine in THF yields a mixture of 1a and 1b. Competition reactions of Ni(COD)(2) with triethylphosphine in the presence of mixtures of heteroaromatics in hexane reveal a kinetic preference of k(pentafluoropyridine):k(2,3,5,6-tetrafluoropyridine)= 5.4:1. Treatment of 1a and 1b with Me(3)SiN(3) affords trans-[Ni(N(3))(2-C(5)NF(4))(PEt(3))(2)](2a) and trans-[Ni(N(3))(2-C(5)NHF(3))(PEt(3))(2)](2b), respectively. The complex trans-[Ni(NCO)(2-C(5)NHF(3))(PEt(3))(2)](3b) is obtained on reaction of with Me(3)SiNCO and by photolysis of under CO, while trans-[Ni(eta(1)-C [triple bond CPh)(2-C(5)NF(4))(PEt(3))(2)](4a) is obtained by reaction of phenylacetylene with 1a. Addition of KCN, KI and NaOAc to complex 1a affords trans-[Ni(X)(2-C(5)NF(4))(PEt(3))(2)](5a X = CN, 6a X = I, 7a X = OAc), respectively. The PEt(3) groups of complex are readily replaced by addition of 1,2-bis(dicyclohexylphosphino)ethane (dcpe) to produce [NiF(2-C(5)F(4)N)(dcpe)](8a). Addition of dcpe to trans-[Ni(OTf)(2-C(5)F(4)N)(PEt(3))(2)](10a), however, yields the salt [Ni(2-C(5)F(4)N)(dcpe)(PEt(3))](OTf)(9a) by substitution of only one PEt(3) and displacement of the triflate ligand. The structures of 2b, 4a, 7a and 8a were determined by X-ray crystallography. The influence of different ancillary ligands on the bond lengths and angles of square-planar nickel structures with polyfluoropyridyl ligands is analysed.

Bromobis(triphenylphosphine)(N-succinimide)palladium(II) as a novel catalyst for Stille cross-coupling reactions.

A new palladium catalyst is reported for Stille cross-coupling, namely [Pd(NCOC2H4CO)(PPh3)2Br].