ABSTRACT
An anionic Rh-Ga complex catalyzed the hydrodefluorination of challenging C-F bonds in electron-rich aryl fluorides and trifluoromethylarenes when irradiated with violet light in the presence of H2 , a stoichiometric alkoxide base, and a crown-ether additive. Based on theoretical calculations, the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO), which is delocalized across both the Rh and Ga atoms, becomes singly occupied upon excitation, thereby poising the Rh-Ga complex for photoinduced single-electron transfer (SET). Stoichiometric and control reactions support that the C-F activation is mediated by the excited anionic Rh-Ga complex. After SET, the proposed neutral Rh0 intermediate was detected by EPR spectroscopy, which matched the spectrum of an independently synthesized sample. Deuterium-labeling studies corroborate the generation of aryl radicals during catalysis and their subsequent hydrogen-atom abstraction from the THF solvent to generate the hydrodefluorinated arene products. Altogether, the combined experimental and theoretical data support an unconventional bimetallic excitation that achieves the activation of strong C-F bonds and uses H2 and base as the terminal reductant.
ABSTRACT
Odd-electron bonds have unique electronic structures and are often encountered as transiently stable, homonuclear species. In this study, a pair of copper complexes supported by Group 13 metalloligands, M[N((o-C6H4)NCH2PiPr2)3] (M = Al or Ga), featuring two-center/one-electron (2c/1e) σ-bonds were synthesized by one-electron reduction of the corresponding Cu(i) ⢠M(III) counterparts. The copper bimetallic complexes were investigated by X-ray diffraction, cyclic voltammetry, electron paramagnetic spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations. The combined experimental and theoretical data corroborate that the unpaired spin is delocalized across Cu, M, and ancillary atoms, and the singly occupied molecular orbital (SOMO) corresponds to a σ-(Cu-M) bond involving the Cu 4pz and M ns/npz atomic orbitals. Collectively, the data suggest the covalent nature of these interactions, which represent the first examples of odd-electron σ-bonds for the heavier Group 13 elements Al and Ga.
ABSTRACT
A tin-supported iron catalyst produces 5.9 turnovers of NH3 from N2, using [Ph2NH2]OTf as the acid and CoCp2* as the reductant. Two redox states of the Fe(N2) adduct and an Fe silyldiazenido complex were characterized using X-ray crystallography along with NMR and Mössbauer spectroscopies. Density functional theory calculations reveal that the charge on the Sn center correlates strongly with both the polarization of the N2 moiety and the charge on the distal N atom.
