ABSTRACT
Fe(III)-meso-tetra(pyridyl)porphyrins are electrocatalysts for the reduction of dioxygen in aqueous acidic solution. The 2-pyridyl derivatives, both the triflate and chloride salts, are more selective for the desired 4e(-) reduction than the isomeric 4-pyridyl complexes. The inward-pointing pyridinium groups influence proton delivery despite their distance from the iron centre.
ABSTRACT
Iron(III) meso-tetra(2-carboxyphenyl)porphine chloride (1) was investigated as a soluble electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in acetonitrile with [H(DMF)(+)]OTf(-). Rotating ring-disk voltammetry, spectroelectrochemistry, and independent reactions with hydrogen peroxide indicate that 1 has very high selectivity for reduction of O(2) to H(2)O, without forming significant amounts of H(2)O(2). Cyclic voltammetric measurements at high substrate/catalyst ratios (high oxygen pressure) allowed the estimation of a turnover frequency (TOF) of 200 s(-1) at -0.4 V vs Cp(2)Fe(+/0). This is, to our knowledge, the first reported TOF for a soluble ORR electrocatalyst under kinetically controlled conditions. The 4-carboxyphenyl isomer of 1, in which the carboxylic acids point away from the iron center, is a much less selective catalyst. This comparison shows that carboxylate groups positioned to act as proton delivery relays can substantially enhance the selectivity of ORR catalysis.
ABSTRACT
Efforts to transfer to aluminum the heterocyclic ligand of a ring-opened imidazole scandium complex, which was previously reported, are presented. A ring-opened imidazole aluminum compound was formed at 50 °C and characterized as a trialuminum complex. At high temperature (85 °C), the formation of an unusual scandium/aluminum methylidene was observed. The reaction products were characterized by standard spectroscopic techniques and X-ray crystallography. Density functional theory calculations were used to understand the electronic structure of the scandium/aluminum methylidene complex.
Subject(s)
Diamide/chemistry , Ferrous Compounds/chemistry , Organometallic Compounds/chemistry , Scandium/chemistry , Aluminum Compounds/chemistry , Crystallography, X-Ray , Imidazoles/chemistry , Ligands , Metallocenes , Models, MolecularABSTRACT
Group 3 (Sc, Y, Lu, La) benzyl complexes supported by a ferrocene diamide ligand are reactive toward aromatic N-heterocycles by mediating their coupling and, in a few cases, the cleavage of their C-N bonds. When these complexes reacted with 2,2'-bipyridine or isoquinoline, they facilitated the alkyl migration of the benzyl ligand onto the pyridine ring, a process accompanied by the dearomatization of the N-heterocycle. The products of the alkyl-transfer reactions act as hydrogen donors in the presence of aromatic N-heterocycles, ketones, and azobenzene. Experimental and computational studies suggest that the hydrogen transfer takes place through a concerted mechanism. An interesting disproportionation reaction of the dearomatized, alkyl-substituted isoquinoline complexes is also reported.
ABSTRACT
Group III alkyl complexes supported by a ferrocene diamide ligand (1,1'-fc(NSi(t)BuMe(2))(2)) have been found to be reactive toward aromatic N-heterocycles such as 1-methylimidazole and pyridines. These reactions were investigated experimentally and computationally. An initial C-H activation event is followed by a coupling reaction to form biheterocyclic complexes, in which one of the rings is dearomatized. In the case of 1-methylimidazole, the biheterocyclic compound could not be isolated and further led to an imidazole ring-opened product; in the case of pyridines, it transformed into an isomer with extended conjugation of double bonds. Mechanisms for both reactions are proposed on the basis of experimental and computational results. DFT calculations were also used to show that an energetically accessible pathway for the ring-opening of pyridines exists.
Subject(s)
Heterocyclic Compounds/chemistry , Metals, Rare Earth/chemistry , Organometallic Compounds/chemical synthesis , Computer Simulation , Crystallography, X-Ray , Ligands , Models, Chemical , Models, Molecular , Molecular Conformation , Organometallic Compounds/chemistry , StereoisomerismABSTRACT
The C-N bond in aromatic N-heterocycles is a strong bond, its cleaving involving mostly examples of metal-element multiple bonds. We report on the C-C coupling of two molecules of an aromatic N-heterocycle mediated by scandium and yttrium benzyl complexes supported by a ferrocene 1,1'-diamide ligand. The reaction with 1-methylimidazole leads, ultimately, to the formation of a ring-opened imidazole coupled to a 1-methylimidazole fragment, a structure showing extended conjugation of double bonds. The experimental evidence agrees with involvement of only sigma bonds in these transformations.
ABSTRACT
Oxidation of a uranium(IV) bis(1,1'-diamidoferrocene) gives a compound which is best described as a mixed-valence bisferrocene complex in which uranium mediates the electronic communication.
