Cyclopentadienyl ring activation in organometallic chemistry and catalysis.

The cyclopentadienyl (Cp) ligand is a cornerstone of modern organometallic chemistry. Since the discovery of ferrocene, the Cp ligand and its various derivatives have become foundational motifs in catalysis, medicine and materials science. Although largely considered an ancillary ligand for altering the stereoelectronic properties of transition metal centres, there is mounting evidence that the core Cp ring structure also serves as a reservoir for reactive protons (H+), hydrides (H-) or radical hydrogen (H•) atoms. This Review chronicles the field of Cp ring activation, highlighting the pivotal role that Cp ligands can have in electrocatalytic H2 production, N2 reduction, hydride transfer reactions and proton-coupled electron transfer.

Reversible Concerted Metalation-Deprotonation C-H Bond Activation by [Cp*RhCl2]2.

The reversibility of the concerted metalation-deprotonation exchange of eight para-substituted phenylpyridines is examined with the parent Cp*RhCl(κ-C,N-NC5H4-C6H4). Equilibrium constants are determined, and the free energies are used to extract the most important parameters that control the thermodynamics. Keq values are found to correlate best with heterolytic C-H bond strengths but in a way that is not obvious considering the electrophilic nature of these activations.

Crystal structures of two bis-carbamoyl-methyl-phosphine oxide (CMPO) compounds.

Two bis-carbamoyl-methyl-phosphine oxide compounds, namely {[(3-{[2-(di-phen-yl-phosphino-yl)ethanamido]-meth-yl}benz-yl)carbamo-yl]meth-yl}di-phenyl-phos-phine oxide, C36H34N2O4P2, (I), and diethyl [({2-[2-(di-eth-oxy-phosphino-yl)ethanamido]-eth-yl}carbamo-yl)meth-yl]phospho-nate, C14H30N2O8P2, (II), were synthesized via nucleophilic acyl substitution reactions between an ester and a primary amine. Hydrogen-bonding inter-actions are present in both crystals, but these inter-actions are intra-molecular in the case of compound (I) and inter-molecular in compound (II). Intra-molecular π-π stacking inter-actions are also present in the crystal of compound (I) with a centroid-centroid distance of 3.9479 (12) Šand a dihedral angle of 9.56 (12)°. Inter-molecular C-H⋯π inter-actions [C⋯centroid distance of 3.622 (2) Å, C-H⋯centroid angle of 146°] give rise to supra-molecular sheets that lie in the ab plane. Key geometric features for compound (I) involve a nearly planar, trans-amide group with a C-N-C-C torsion angle of 169.12 (17)°, and a torsion angle of -108.39 (15)° between the phosphine oxide phospho-rus atom and the amide nitro-gen atom. For compound (II), the electron density corresponding to the phosphoryl group was disordered, and was modeled as two parts with a 0.7387 (19):0.2613 (19) occupancy ratio. Compound (II) also boasts a trans-amide group that approaches planarity with a C-N-C-C torsion angle of -176.50 (16)°. The hydrogen bonds in this structure are inter-molecular, with a D⋯A distance of 2.883 (2) Šand a D-H⋯A angle of 175.0 (18)° between the amide hydrogen atom and the P=O oxygen atom. These non-covalent inter-actions create ribbons that run along the b-axis direction.