Electronic structure of axially ligated rhodium carboxylates: π back-bonding revisited

Fenske-Hall molecular orbital calculations have been applied to a new, structurally isolable analog of the intermediate involved in catalytic rhodium carboxylate carbenoid transformations. Results from the structural characterization of axially ligated rhodium acetate phenylisonitrile complexes have been utilized in approximate molecular orbital calculations. The results from the calculations suggest that a significant degree of π back-bonding exists between the metal and isonitrile fragments which, by analogy, implies that π back-bonding should also exist in the rhodium carbenoid intermediate. Sensitivity of the Fenske-Hall method to the magnitude of π back-donation in these complexes was gauged through calculations involving different phenylisonitrile groups in which the π back-bonding ability was modulated through derivativization. The reliability of the Fenske-Hall method was evaluated through a comparison to a high-level calculation. Received: 13 December 1996 / Accepted: 18 March 1997