[2+2] versus [3+2] addition of metal oxides across C=C double bonds: toward an understanding of the surprising chemo- and periselectivity of transition-metal-oxide additions to ketene.

The peri-, chemo-, stereo-, and regioselectivity of the addition of the transition-metal oxides OsO4 and LReO3 (L = O-, H3PN, Me, Cp) to ketene were systematically investigated using density-functional methods. While metal-oxide additions to ethylene have recently been reported to follow a [3+2] mechanism only, the calculations reveal a strong influence of the metal on the periselectivity of the ketene addition: OsO4 again prefers a [3+2] pathway across the C=C moiety whereas, for the rhenium oxides LReO3, the [2+2] barriers are lowest. Furthermore, a divergent chemoselectivity arising from the ligand L was found: ReO4- and (H3PN)ReO3 add across the C=O bond while MeReO3 and CpReO3 favor the addition across the C=C moiety. The calculated energy profile for the MeReO3 additions differs from the CpReO3 energy profile by up to 45 kcal/mol due to the stereoelectronic flexibility of the Cp ligand adopting eta5, eta3, and eta1 bonding modes. The selectivity of the cycloadditions was rationalized by the analysis of donor-acceptor interactions in the transition states. In contrast, metal-oxide additions to diphenylketene probably follow a different mechanism: We give theoretical evidence for a zwitterionic intermediate that is formed by nucleophilic attack at the carbonyl moiety and undergoes a subsequent cyclization yielding the thermodynamically favored product. This two-step pathway is in agreement with the results of recent experimental work.

In search of catalytically active species in the surfactant-mediated biphasic alkene epoxidation with Mimoun-type complexes.

[figure: see text] A biphasic protocol for the catalytic olefin epoxidation with Mimoun-type complexes [MoO(O2)2(OPR3)] (1) was recently patented by BASF. Density-functional calculations have been carried out to identify potentially active species in addition to the parent complex 1. It has been found that the (mu 2,eta 1:eta 2-O2)-bridged dimer [MoO(O2)2(OPR3)]2 is significantly less reactive than the monomer. The calculations show that the parent complex is strongly activated by protons coordinating with the peroxo functionalities.

Are peroxyformic acid and dioxirane electrophilic or nucleophilic oxidants?

The electronic character of peroxyformic acid and dioxirane has been clarified by the analysis of donor-acceptor interactions in 16 transition states (TS) for the epoxidation of olefins. Is has been shown that the olefins are attacked by peroxyformic acid (PFA) in an electrophilic way. A relation of the electronic character to reactivity has been found: the more electrophilic the attack on the C=C bond is, the faster the reaction. In contrast, dioxirane (DO) has been identified as both an electrophilic and nucleophilic oxidant, depending on the substituents at the C=C double bond. The substrates with electron-withdrawing groups are attacked by DO in a nucleophilic way. These reactions have comparably low activation barriers. For instance, the acrylonitrile epoxidation with dioxirane is significantly faster than the corresponding reaction with PFA and proceeds via a transition state with a smaller extent of reaction and a larger extent of asymmetry.

Thianthrene 5-oxide as a probe for the electronic character of oxygen-transfer reactions: re-interpretation of experiments required.

The electronic character of oxidants, i.e., whether they attack substrates in an electrophilic or nucleophilic way, has extensively been investigated using thianthrene 5-oxide (SSO) as probe. The SSO molecule has a sulfide group, which is attacked by electrophilic oxidants, and a sulfoxide moiety, which is oxidized by nucleophilic oxidants. This density-functional study has been carried out in order to gain insight into the origin of the chemo- and stereoselectivity of SSO oxidation. It has been found that the endo and exo stereoisomers of the thianthrene oxides interconvert via ring-inversion with moderate energy barriers. Thus, the stereoselectivity of SSO oxidation has to be interpreted with caution. Furthermore, a topological electron-density analysis of thianthrene 5-oxide reveals that there is an area of charge depletion at the sulfoxide group. The location of this area indicates that the attack of nucleophilic oxidants on SSO is sterically hindered. Therefore, the SSO probe makes oxidants such as dioxiranes appear to be more electrophilic than they actually are.

Theoretical studies of molybdenum peroxo complexes [MoOn(O2)3-n(OPH3)] as catalysts for olefin epoxidation.

The equilibrium geometries of the molybdenum oxo/peroxo compounds MoOn(O2)3-n and the related complexes [MoOn(O2)3-n(OPH3)] and [MoOn(O2)3-n(OPH3)(H2O)] (n = 0-3) have been calculated using gradient-corrected density-functional theory at the B3LYP level. The structures of the peroxo complexes with ethylene ligands [MoOn(O2)3-n(C2H4)] and [MoOn(O2)3-n(OPH3)(C2H4)] (n = 1, 2) where ethylene is directly bonded to the metal have also been optimized. Calculations of the metal-ligand bond-dissociation energies show that the OPH3 ligand in [MoOn(O2)3-n(OPH3)] is much more strongly bound than the ethylene ligand in [MoOn(O2)3-n(C2H4)]. This makes the substitution of phosphane oxide by olefins in the epoxidation reaction unlikely. An energy-minimum structure is found for [MoO(O2)2(OPH3)(C2H4)], for which the dissociation of C2H4 is exothermic with D0 = -5.2 kcal/mol. The reaction energies for the perhydrolysis of the oxo complexes with H2O2 and the epoxidation of ethylene by the peroxo complexes have also been calculated. The peculiar stability of the diperoxo complex [MoO(O2)2(OPH3)(H2O)] can be explained with the reaction energies for the perhydrolysis of [MoOn(O2)3-n(OPH3)(H2O)]. The first perhydrolysis step yielding the monoperoxo complex is less exothermic than the second perhydrolysis reaction, but the further reaction with H2O2 yielding the unknown triperoxo complex is clearly endothermic. CDA analysis of the metal-ethylene bond shows that the binding interactions are mainly caused by charge donation from the ligand to the metal.