Rhenium carbonyl complexes with monodentate-coordinated diphosphines: activation of terminal phosphino groups towards amine-oxide oxidation

Terminal phosphino groups of [Re₂(CO)₉(η¹-P-P)] (P-P = diphosphines) are activated towards oxidation by Me₃NO. The respective reactions of Me₃NO with [Re₂(CO)₉{η¹-P(o-anisyl)₂(CH₂)₃PPh₂}], [Re₂(CO)₉{η¹-PPh₂(CH₂)₃P(o-anisyl)₂}] and [Re₂(CO)₉(η¹-trans-PPh₂CHCHPPh₂)] were studied to investigate the mechanism of this oxidation. The results are consistent with an intramolecular pathway involving a cyclic intermediate, without exchange of the coordinated and terminal phosphino groups. A mechanism which involves an interaction of the terminal phosphino group with a carbonyl ligand is proposed. In sharp contrast to eq-[Re₂(CO)₉(η¹-P-P)] (P-P = Ph₂P(CH₂)_nPPh₂, n = 1-6), eq-[Re₂(CO)₉(η¹-trans-PPh₂CHCHPPh₂)] appears to be indefinitely stable towards equatorial → axial isomerization at room temperature, thus, allowing its crystal structure to be determined.