Making the unconventional µ2-P bridging binding mode more conventional in phosphinine complexes.

Phosphinines, as aromatic heterocycles, usually engage in coordination as η1-P σ-complexes or η6-phosphinine π-complexes. The µ2-P bridging coordination mode is rarely observed. With the aim to study the effect of different electronic configurations of phosphinines on the coordination modes, a series of anionic phosphinin-2-olates and neutral phosphinin-2-ols were prepared with moderate to high yield. Then the coordination chemistry of these two series was studied in detail towards coinage metals (Au(i) and Cu(i)). It is observed that the anionic phosphinin-2-olates possess a higher tendency to take a bridging position between two metal centers compared to the neutral phosphinin-2-ols. Based on these experimental findings bolstered by DFT calculations, some insight is gained on how the unconventional µ2-P phosphinine bridging coordination mode can be made more conventional and used for the synthesis of polynuclear complexes.

Sodium phosphaethynolate as a building block for heterocycles.

Phosphorus-containing heterocycles have evolved from laboratory curiosities to functional components, such as ligands in catalytically active metal complexes or molecular constituents in electronic devices. The straightforward synthesis of functionalized heterocycles on a larger scale remains a challenge. Herein, we report the use of the phosphaethynolate (OCP)(-) anion as a building block for various sterically unprotected and functionalized hydroxy substituted phosphorus heterocycles. Because the resulting heterocycles are themselves anions, they are building blocks in their own right and allow further facile functionalization. This property may be of interest in coordination chemistry and material science.

Rhodium(0) metalloradicals in binuclear C-H activation.

A reactive rhodium(0) metalloradical capable of binuclear activation of an aromatic C-H bond of PPh(3) is disclosed. Kinetic measurements and density functional theory calculations reveal a binuclear mechanism: two metalloradicals add to a 'double bond' of the aromatic substrate while approaching the rate limiting C-H activation step (TS). Such aromatic C-H bond activation with Rh(0) metalloradicals potentially produces kinetically labile Rh(I)-aryl and Rh(I)-H species, and thus, this could become a viable new approach to hydrocarbon functionalization.

Organometallic chemistry of amidate complexes. accelerating effect of bidentate ligands on the reductive elimination of N-aryl amidates from palladium(II).

We report a series of arylpalladium complexes of acetamidate, sulfonamidate, and deprotonated oxazolidinone ligands that undergo reductive elimination with rates and yields that depend on the binding mode of the ancillary and amidate ligands. Complexes of the acetamidate ligands containing the bidentate phosphines DPPF and Xantphos as ancillary ligands undergo reductive elimination. The rate and yield were higher from the complex ligated by Xantphos, which contains a larger bite angle. In contrast, the analogous amidate complex containing a single sterically hindered monodentate ligand and a kappa2-bound amidate ligand does not undergo reductive elimination. This trend of faster reductive elimination from complexes containing bidentate ancillary ligands than from a complex with a single monodentate ancillary ligand is unusual and is consistent with an effect of the denticity of the ancillary ligand on the binding mode of the amidate. Complexes of sulfonamidate ligands underwent reductive elimination faster than complexes of acetamidates, and reductive elimination occurred from complexes containing both bidentate and monodentate ancillary ligands. Like reductive elimination from the acetamidate complexes, reductive eliminations from the sulfonamidate complexes were faster when the complexes possessed bidentate Xantphos and kappa1-sulfonamidate ligands.