Mono(Lewis Base)-Stabilized Gallium Iodide: An Unexplored Class of Promising Ligands.

Quantum-chemical (DFT) calculations on hitherto unknown base(carbene)-stabilized gallium monoiodides (LB→GaI) suggest that these systems feature one lone pair of electrons and a formally vacant p-orbital - both centered at the central gallium atom - and exhibit metallomimetic behavior. The calculated reaction free energies as well as bond dissociation energies suggest that these LB→GaI systems are capable of forming stable donor-acceptor complexes with group 13 trichlorides. Examination of the ligand exchange reactions with iron and nickel complexes indicates their potential use as ligands in transition metal chemistry. In addition, it is found that the title compounds are also able to activate various enthalpically robust bonds. Further, a detailed mechanistic investigation of these small molecule activation processes reveals the non-innocent behavior of the carbene (base) moiety attached to the GaI fragment, thereby indicating the cooperative nature of these bond activation processes. The energy decomposition analysis (EDA) and activation strain model (ASM) of reactivity were also employed to quantitatively understand and rationalize the different activation processes.

Cooperative Activation of Small Molecules by Base-Stabilized Borylenes.

Computational investigations were carried out using density functional theory (ωB97XD(toluene)/6-311+G*) on a series of base-stabilized borylenes to understand their ligand properties and potential toward the activation of enthalpically strong E-H bonds (E = H, NH2, SiH2Ph, and CH3) as well as binding with small molecules such as CO and CNMe. The calculated reaction free energies and activation barriers suggest the ability of hitherto unexplored carbene-stabilized borylenes to not only split such bonds but also bind with CO and CNMe. A detailed mechanistic study of these bond activation processes reveals the noninnocent behavior of the carbene moiety attached to the boron center, thereby leading to cooperative splitting of the bonds of interest. The binding of CO and CNMe to the base-stabilized borylenes was investigated by energy decomposition analysis (EDA) with natural orbitals for chemical valence (NOCV), which gave appreciable interaction energy (ΔEint) values, thereby indicating strong binding of CO and CNMe to these borylenes.

Skeletally substituted aluminium and gallium carbenoids: a computational exploration.

Comprehensive computational investigations were carried out to understand the electronic and ligand properties of skeletally substituted ß-diketiminate stabilized Al(I) and Ga(I) carbenoids as well as to probe their potential in small molecule activation. All of the proposed group 13 carbenoids possess a stable singlet ground state, and the majority of them have a significantly enhanced electron donation ability compared to the experimentally reported systems. The evaluation of the energetics associated with the splitting of various strong bonds such as H-H, N-H, C-F, and B-H by these carbenoids indicates that many of the proposed Al and Ga carbenoids may be considered as suitable candidates for small molecule activation.

Unravelling the Potential of Ylides in Stabilizing Low-Valent Group 13 Compounds: Theoretical Predictions of Stable, Five-Membered Group 13 (Aluminum and Gallium) Carbenoids Capable of Small-Molecule Activation.

Computational investigations provide evidence toward the remarkable ability of strongly electron-donating ylidic functionalities in stabilizing singlet group 13 carbenoids with promising ligand properties. All of the proposed carbenoids are found to be considerably nucleophilic and possess significant singlet-triplet energy separation values. The calculated activation barriers and reaction free energies obtained for the cleavage of different enthalpically strong bonds by these carbenoids are found to be either comparable to or lower than those of the experimentally evaluated aluminum and gallium carbenoids, thereby indicating their potential in small-molecule activation.

Probing the Potential of Hitherto Unexplored Base-Stabilized Borylenes in Dinitrogen Binding.

Invited for the cover of this issue are Felipe Fantuzzi, Holger Braunschweig, Ashwini K. Phukan and co-workers at the University of Kent, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg and Tezpur University. The image depicts a borylene "fishing" for a molecule of nitrogen. Read the full text of the article at 10.1002/chem.20210123.

Probing the Potential of Hitherto Unexplored Base-Stabilized Borylenes in Dinitrogen Binding.

Computational investigations were carried out to probe the potential of several dicoordinate, singly base-stabilized borylenes of the form [L→BR] (L=neutral Lewis base) in dinitrogen binding. The calculated reaction free energies and activation barriers associated with the formation of mono- and diborylene-N2 adducts suggest the presence of thermally surmountable kinetic barriers towards their possible isolation. Our results show that the exergonicity of dinitrogen activation and fixation is linearly dependent on the natural charge at the boron center, which can be tuned to design novel boron-based compounds with potential applications to small-molecule activation. EDA-NOCV analysis reveals strong binding of dinitrogen to these base-stabilized borylenes.

Hybrid Inorganic-Organic Cross-Metathesis between Diborenes and Acetylene.

The ruthenium-catalyzed cross-metathesis of alkenes and alkynes, which splits the alkene C═C double bond and couples one-half to each carbon of the alkyne C≡C triple bond, is one of the most efficient tools for the synthesis of 1,3-dienes, with wide-ranging applications, including pharmaceutical and polymer chemistry. In contrast, inorganic main-group metathesis reactions are restricted to a handful of examples of heavier p-block multiple bonds (P═P, Ge═Ge, and E≡E, E = Ge, Sn, Pb). We now report the first examples of thermally induced, transition-metal-free cross-metathesis between an organic alkyne and inorganic cyclic alkyl(amino)carbene (CAAC)-stabilized B═B double bonds, which yield fully planar, π-delocalized 1,8-diaza-3,6-diboraoctatetraenes. Density functional theory studies show that these compounds have an open-shell singlet biradical ground state with a thermally accessible closed-shell state. In-depth computational mechanistic analyses show that they are formed via a biradical cycloaddition-cycloreversion mechanism. Finally, unlike their organic counterparts, these B,N-analogues of octatetraene can undergo two-electron chemical reduction to form diamagnetic dianions.

Understanding, Modulating, and Leveraging Transannular M → Z Interactions.

Density functional theory calculations have been performed on metallatranes featuring a group 13 elements at the bridgehead position to understand the factors that influence the nature of the M···Z (M = Fe, Co, Ni; Z = Al, Ga, In) interaction present in these complexes and the resultant reactivity at the metal center. The strength of the M···Z interaction increases with the increase in the size and polarizability of the bridgehead group 13 elements. The calculated reaction free energies (ΔG° values) for binding of different Lewis bases to the metallatranes are found to be significantly more exergonic for the larger In(III) ions. Quantum theory of atoms in molecules calculations reveal the covalent nature of the M···Z interactions, while the EDA-NOCV analysis indicates the strong binding ability of these metallatranes not only to different σ-donor and π-acceptor ligands but also to relatively inert species, such as N2.

Activation of small molecules by cyclic alkyl amino silylenes (CAASis) and germylenes (CAAGes): a theoretical study.

Quantum chemical calculations have been carried out on a series of skeletally modified cyclic alkyl amino silylenes (CAASis) and germylenes (CAAGes) to understand their ligand properties and reactivity towards the activation of a variety of small molecules. The installation of boron or silicon atoms into the ring framework of these silylenes/germylenes led to a dramatic increase in their σ-basicity while the incorporation of ylidic moieties resulted in a sharp reduction of their π-acidity although it did help in increasing the electron donation ability. The calculated values of energy barriers for the activation of H-H, N-H, C-H and Si-H bonds by many of the cyclic silylenes considered here are found to be comparable to those for experimentally evaluated systems, indicating the potential of these computationally designed molecules in small molecule activation and calling for synthetic efforts towards their isolation. Furthermore, activations employing CAAGes are found to be more demanding than those with CAASis which may be attributed to the significantly lower Lewis basicity of the former than the latter.

Chalcogen Stabilized bis-Hydridoborate Complexes of Cobalt: Analogues of Tetracyclo[4.3.0.02,4 .03,5 ]nonane.

Treatment of Li[BH3 ER] (E=Se or Te, R=Ph; E=S, R=CH2 Ph) with [Cp*CoCl]2 led to the formation of hydridoborate complexes, [{CoCp*Ph}{Cp*Co}{µ-EPh}{µ-κ2 -E,H-EBH3 }], 1a and 1 b (1 a: E=Se; 1 b: E=Te) and a bis-hydridoborate species [Cp*Co{µ-κ2 -Se,H-SeBH3 }]2 , 2. All the complexes, 1 a, 1 b and 2 are stabilized by ß-agostic type interaction in which 1 b represents a novel bimetallic borate complex with a rare B-Te bond. QTAIM analysis furnished direct proof for the existence of a shared and dative B-chalcogen and Co-chalcogen interactions, respectively. In parallel to the formation of the hydridoborate complexes, the reactions also yielded tetracyclic species, [Cp*Co{κ3 -E,H,H-E(BH2 )2 -C5 Me5 H3 }], 3 a and 3 b (3 a: E=Se and 3 b: E=S), wherein the bridgehead boron atoms are surrounded by one chalcogen, one cobalt and two carbon atoms of a cyclopentane ring. Molecules 3 a and 3 b are best described as the structural mimic of tetracyclo[4.3.0.02,4 .03,5 ]nonane having identical structure and similar valence electron counts.

Probing the potential of metalla-N-heterocyclic carbenes towards activation of enthalpically strong bonds.

Density functional theory calculations are employed to explore the reactivity of metalla-N-heterocyclic carbenes (MNHCs) towards activation of a variety of small molecules (H2, NH3, PH3, SiH3Ph and CH4). All the MNHCs considered are found to have a stable singlet ground state and possess suitable electronic properties for their application in small molecule activation. The calculated energy barriers of E-H (E = H, C, N, Si, P) activation for the MNHCs are found to be in agreement with those of the experimentally evaluated cyclic alkyl(amino)carbene (CAAC) and diamidocarbenes (DACs), thereby indicating the activating effect of the incorporation of an ancillary metal center within a cyclic NHC, and highlighting a new, underexplored strategy in achieving difficult bond activations with carbenes.

Phosphinoborylenes as stable sources of fleeting borylenes.

Base-stabilised borylenes that mimic the ability of transition metals to bind and activate inert substrates have attracted significant attention in recent years. However, such species are typically highly reactive and fleeting, and often cannot be isolated at ambient temperature. Herein, we describe a readily accessible trimethylphosphine-stabilised borylborylene which was found to possess a labile P-B bond that reversibly cleaves upon gentle heating. Exchange of the labile phosphine with other nucleophiles (CO, isocyanide, 4-dimethylaminopyridine) was investigated, and the binding strength of a range of potential borylene "ligands" has been evaluated computationally. The room-temperature-stable PMe3-bound borylenes were subsequently applied to novel bond activations including [2 + 2] cycloaddition with carbodiimides and the reduction of dichalcogenides, revealing that PMe3-stabilised borylenes can effectively behave as stable sources of the analogous fleeting dicoordinate species under mild conditions.

Hydroboration of Alkynes: η4-Alkene-Borane versus η4-E-Boratabutadiene.

A series of hydroborated η4-σ,π-alkene-borane complexes have been synthesized from the reaction of ruthenium-bis(σ)borate complex [Cp*Ru(µ-H)2BH(S-CH═S)] (1) and terminal as well as internal alkynes. Likewise, the reactions of manganese-bis(σ)borate complexes [Mn(CO)3(µ-H)2BHNCSC6H4(NL)] (L = NCSC6H4 or H) were explored with terminal alkynes that yielded boratabutadiene complexes [Mn(CO)3{(NCSC6H4)2N}{(R1MeC)═B(HC═CHR1)}] [R1 = phenyl (4a) or p-tolyl (4b)] via triple hydroboration of alkynes. These complexes feature a boratabutadiene ligand that is coordinated to a metal through the η4-CBCC mode. To the best of our knowledge, these are the first examples of η4-E-boratabutadiene-coordinated manganese complexes generated by the trans-hydroboration of alkynes. The steric and electronic effects of the borate ligands have been demonstrated using a less sterically hindered manganese-bis(σ)borate complex, [Mn(CO)3(µ-H)2BH(HN2CSC6H4)], that generated monohydroborated complexes [(CO)3Mn(µ-H)2(HN2CSC6H4)B(R1C═CHR2)] (for 6, R1 = Ph and R2 = H; for 7, R1 = p-Tol and R2 = H; for 8, R1 = R2 = Ph). Theoretical studies using density functional theory methods and chemical bonding analyses established the bonding and stability of these species.

In search of stable singlet metalla-N-heterocyclic carbenes (MNHCs): a contribution from theory.

Theoretical studies predict that the stability of the singlet state of metalla-N-heterocyclic carbenes (MNHCs) is strongly influenced not only by the substituents at the α-nitrogen atoms and the nature of ligands at the transition metal center but also by the substituents at the carbenic backbone. All the MNHCs were found to have a stable singlet ground state and the computed ΔES-T values for some of the MNHCs were found to be significantly large and lie within the range of experimentally known carbenes (31.0-84.0 kcal mol-1). Furthermore, they were found to have superior σ-donation ability to conventional NHCs. The calculated proton affinities, gallium pyramidalization, pKa and nucleophilicity index values for the MNHCs were found to be in good agreement with their calculated electron donation ability.

Can carbene decorated [FeFe]-hydrogenase model complexes catalytically produce dihydrogen? An insight from theory.

Cyclic alkyl amino carbene (CAAC) anchored [FeFe]-hydrogenase model complex featuring rotated conformation at one of the iron centers are found to be promising candidate for effective production of dihydrogen. A stepwise comparison of the complete mechanism using the CAAC stabilized model complex [1]0 has been performed with that of an experimentally isolated one ([2]0). Interestingly, the reduction events involved in the catalytic cycles are found to be more favorable than those previously reported for a similar experimentally known system. Furthermore, the computed ΔpKa values indicate that the distal iron center with a vacant coordination site is more basic compared to the amino nitrogen atom of the azadithiolate bridge. We also made an attempt to determine the oxidation states of the iron centers for the intermediates involved in the catalytic cycles on the basis of the computed Mössbauer isomer shift and Mulliken spin density values.

First Bis(σ)-borane Complexes of Group†6 Transition Metals: Experimental and Theoretical Studies.

A series of bis(σ)-borane complexes of Group 6 transition metals were prepared by direct dihydroborane coordination to the metal center. Reaction of [M(CO)3 (PCy3 )2 ] and two dihydroboranes [DurBH2 ] and [(Me3 Si)2 NBH2 ] (Dur=2,3,5,6-Me4 C6 H) yielded bis(σ)-borane complexes fac-[M(CO)3 (PCy3 ){η2 -(H2 BR)}] (R=Dur; 1: M=Cr, 2: M=W; R=N(SiMe3 )2 ; 3: M=Cr, 4: M=W). In the case of molybdenum, we have isolated an arene complex (5) with [DurBH2 ] in which the Dur group acts as a η6 -bound ligand, and with [(Me3 Si)2 NBH2 ] a similar bis(σ)-borane complex was isolated, cis,trans-[Mo(CO)2 (PCy3 )2 {η2 -(H2 BN(SiMe3 )2 }] (6), with a different pattern of auxiliary ligands. The complexes were investigated by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, X-ray diffraction analysis, and computational methods. Quantum theory of atoms in molecules (QTAIM) calculations demonstrated that the borane complexes may be described as pure bis(σ)-borane complexes rather than elongated or stretched examples given that the calculations do not show the presence of a ring-critical point (RCP) at the ring formed by the interactions of the B-H with metal center.

Introducing N-Heterocyclic Borylenes: Theoretical Prediction of Stable, Neutral, Monomeric Boron(I) Carbenoids.

Quantum-chemical calculations predict that synthetically accessible cyclic four-membered, four-π-electron ylides could be used as building blocks for the realization of hitherto unknown N-heterocyclic boron(I) carbenoids. The boron(I) carbenoids proposed in this work possess the largest computed singlet-triplet separations known to date, which are comparable to those of the corresponding aluminum(I) analogue computed at the same level of theory. Furthermore, they owe their stability not only to the substantial transfer of electron density from nitrogen to boron atoms but also to the presence of thermodynamically robust ylidic bonds. On the basis of their computed proton affinity and carbonyl stretching frequencies, they may be considered as promising ligands for transition-metal complexes.

Strategies toward realization of unsupported transition metal-boron donor-acceptor complexes: an insight from theory.

Pre-pyramidalization of the boron centre in the Lewis acidic groups is a prerequisite for the formation of unsupported donor-acceptor complexes with Lewis basic metal fragments such as [Pt(NHC)2].

Release of Isonitrile- and NHC-Stabilized Borylenes from Group†VI Terminal Borylene Complexes.

A family of doubly isonitrile-stabilized terphenyl borylenes could be obtained by addition of three equivalents of isonitrile to the corresponding Cr and W terminal terphenyl-borylene complexes. The mechanism of isonitrile- and carbon-monoxide-induced borylene liberation was investigated computationally and found to be significantly exergonic in both cases. Furthermore, addition of a small N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) to a terminal Cr borylene complex results in release of an NHC-stabilized borylene carbonyl species, whereas the analogous reaction with bulkier phosphines results in metal-centered substitution.

Synthesis and Trapping of Iminoboranes by M=B/C=N Bond Metathesis.

Although the metathesis of metal-boron double bonds with elemental chalcogenides is an established process, no similar reactivity has been observed with element-nitrogen bonds. Such a reaction would provide a new route to iminoborane compounds (RB≡NR'), which have recently experienced renewed synthetic interest. Herein, we present the first observation of M=B/C=N metathesis reactions, which led to the isolation of a stable iminoborane in addition to further iminoborane cycloaddition products.