Mixed Ligated Tris(amidinate)dimolybdenum Complexes as Catalysts for Radical Addition of CCl4 to 1-Hexene: Leaving Ligand Lability Controls Catalyst Activity.

We synthesized a series of mixed ligated tris(amidinate)dimolybdenum complexes, namely, [Mo2(DAniF)3(L)] [DAniF = N,N'-di(p-anisyl)formamidinate; L = acetate (OAc; 1a), m-diphenylphosphino benzoate (m-PPh2Bz; 1b), nicotinate (Nico; 1c), benzoate (Bz; 1d), 3-furoate (3-Furo; 1e), isonicotinate (IsoNico; 1f), and trifluoromethanesulfonate (OTf; 1g)], which served as catalysts for radical addition of CCl4 to 1-hexene to give 1,1,1,3-tetrachloroheptane. These mixed ligated complexes 1a-g afforded the higher yield of the radical addition product than a homoleptic DAniF complex, [Mo2(DAniF)4] (2). Among them, complexes 1a and 1g gave the radical addition product quantitatively after 9 h with a short induction period. When complexes 1a and 1g were treated with CCl4, we detected the mixed-valence Mo2(II/III) complex, [Mo2(DAniF)3Cl2] (4), in electrospray ionization mass spectrometry measurements, indicating that the leaving nature of the L ligands was a crucial factor for initiating the catalytic reaction: the catalytic activity of the carboxylate-bridged complex 1a and the triflate-bridged complex 1g in the initial 30 min highly depended on the ligand-exchange rate of L, as estimated by monitoring the reaction with CCl4 in pyridine, giving the pyridine adduct complex, [Mo2(DAniF)3Cl(py)] (3).

Mixed-ligand complexes of paddlewheel dinuclear molybdenum as hydrodehalogenation catalysts for polyhaloalkanes.

We developed a hydrodehalogenation reaction of polyhaloalkanes catalyzed by paddlewheel dimolybdenum complexes in combination with 1-methyl-3,6-bis(trimethylsilyl)-1,4-cyclohexadiene (MBTCD) as a non-toxic H-atom source as well as a salt-free reductant. A mixed-ligated dimolybdenum complex Mo2(OAc)2[CH(NAr)2]2 (3a, Ar = 4-MeOC6H4) having two acetates and two amidinates exhibited high catalytic activity in the presence of n Bu4NCl, in which [ n Bu4N]2[Mo2{CH(NAr)2}2Cl4] (9a), derived by treating 3a with ClSiMe3 and n Bu4NCl, was generated as a catalytically-active species in the hydrodehalogenation. All reaction processes, oxidation and reduction of the dimolybdenum complex, were clarified by control experiments, and the oxidized product, [ n Bu4N][Mo2{CH(NAr)2}2Cl4] (10a), was characterized by EPR and X-ray diffraction studies. Kinetic analysis of the hydrodehalogenation reaction as well as a deuterium-labelling experiment using MBTCD-d8 suggested that the H-abstraction was the rate-determining step for the catalytic reaction.

Dinuclear molybdenum cluster-catalyzed radical addition and polymerization reactions by tuning the redox potential of a quadruple bonded Mo2 core.

We developed dinuclear molybdenum cluster-catalyzed radical addition and polymerization reactions by tuning the redox potential of the Mo(2) core. A 2,4,6-triisopropylbenzoate-supported Mo(2) complex acts as a catalyst for radical addition reactions of polyhaloalkanes to 1-alkenes and cyclopentene, while amidinate- and guanidinate-supported Mo(2) clusters are effective catalysts for the radical polymerization reaction of methyl methacrylate.