Catalytic dehydrogenation of cyclooctane with titanium, zirconium and hafnium metallocene complexes

Metallocene complexes in combination with cocatalysts like methylalumoxane (MAO) are not only excellent catalysts for olefin polymerization but also appropriate catalysts for the activation of alkanes in homogeneous (autoclave) and heterogeneous (fixed bed reactor) reactions. The activities of the catalysts depend on the temperature, the cocatalysts, additives, the central metal and the ligand structure. Generally, complexes with low steric demands and MAO as cocatalyst gave the highest activities. The comparison of different π-ligands resulted in the following activity order: cyclopentadienyl > indenyl > fluorenyl. The influence of σ-ligands and n-donor ligands gave the following activity order: -Cl > -PMe₃ > -CH₂Ph > -(CH₂)₄CH₃ > -NPh₃. The activities depended on the nature of the cocatalyst and decreased in the following order: MAO ? AlMe₃ > AlEt₃. The addition of aluminum powder and the Lewis base NPh₃ increased the activity of the Cp₂ZrCl₂/MAO catalyst. The Cp₂ZrCl₂/MAO/NPh₃ catalyst showed the highest activity in homogeneous reactions with 458 turnovers in 16 h at 300 °C. The Cp₂ZrCl₂/MAO/NPh₃/SI1102 catalyst gave the highest activity in heterogeneous catalysis with 206 turnovers in 5 h at 350 °C. None of the catalysts required a hydrogen acceptor like an external olefin.     

Improved catalysis of nitrone 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions by solving the aggregation issue of the DBFOX/Ph-transition metal complexes

A new method has been demonstrated to solve the aggregation issue of metal complex catalysts; Steric protection of the metal center of catalysts was effective in the cases of DBFOX/Ph-transition metal complexes by structural modification of chiral ligand. The new ligands have been successfully applied to the nitrone cycloadditions to a variety of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes. Excellent enantioselectivities up to 99% ee have been demonstrated in the reactions at room temperature with a catalytic loading of 2 mol %.     

Catalysis of CC-coupling reactions by cyclopropenylidene palladium complexes

Several mixed palladium(II) complexes bearing 2,3-diarylcyclopropenylidene ligands (aryl = phenyl, mesityl, naphthyl) and triaryl- and trialkylphosphines have been prepared. Single crystal structure details of one of the dimeric chloro-bridged complexes as well as of two monomeric phosphine substituted complexes are presented and compared with appropriate structural features of similar 2,3-diaminocyclopropenylidene- and cycloheptatrienylidene complexes. The new complexes were tested as catalysts in Suzuki-Mijaura coupling reactions with bromo- and chloroarenes and their catalytic activity compared with that of analogous NHC- and cycloheptatrienylidene complexes.     

Efficient, recoverable, copper-free Sonogashira reaction under FBS and thermomorphic mode

The solubility property of high fluorine content ligands allows us to report in this article the accomplishment under the fluorous biphasic system (FBS) the Pd-catalyzed Sonogashira reactions using novel recyclable Pd catalysts with fluorous-ponytails in the structure of 2,2′-bpy ligands that are only soluble in perfluorinated solvents at room temperature. Alternatively, without using any fluorous solvent but under the thermomorphic mode, the same Pd catalysts proceed with the Cu-free Sonogashira reactions homogeneously in DMF at 135 ± 5 °C, whereas the product mixtures after reaction remain in solution and the Pd catalysts precipitate from DMF at low temperature.     

The determination of the stability constants of mixed ligand complexes of adenine and amino acids with Ni(II) by potentiometric titration method

A potentiometric titration technique has been used to determine the stability constants for the various complexes of Ni(II) with adenine (A) as primary ligand and selected amino acids (L) as secondary ligands. Ternary complexes of amino acids are formed in a stepwise mechanism, whereby (A) binds to Ni(II), followed by interaction with ligand (L), whereas thiol-containing ligands form ternary complexes through a simultaneous mechanism. The formation constants of the complexes were determined at 25 °C and ionic strength 0.1 M NaNO₃. The relative stabilities of the ternary complexes are compared with those of the corresponding binary complexes in terms of Δlog K values. The concentration distribution of the complexes are evaluated.     

Ruthenium-catalyzed generation of hydrogen from iso-propanol

The dehydrogenation reaction of iso-propanol has been investigated in the absence of a hydrogen acceptor. Among different transition metals tested various ruthenium precursors in the presence of phosphine ligands proved to be active catalysts. Best results (turnover frequencies up to 155 h⁻¹ after 2 h) were achieved with RuCl₃·xH₂O and 2-di-tert-butyl-phosphinyl-1-phenyl-1H-pyrrole 4 at low temperature (90 °C).     

New Re(I) tricarbonyl-diimine complexes with N,N′-bis(substituted benzaldehyde)-1,2-diiminoethane Schiff base ligands: Synthesis,spectroscopic and electrochemical studies and crystal structures

The syntheses, structures and spectroscopic properties of tricarbonylrhenium(I) complexes with N,N′-bis(2-bromo, 4-bromo, 4-chloro and 3-methoxybenzaldehyde)-1,2-diiminoethane Schiff base ligands have been investigated in this paper. Characterization of these complexes was carried out with FTIR, NMR, UV–Vis spectroscopy, elemental analysis and X-ray crystallography. The electrochemical behavior of the investigated complexes has been studied by cyclic voltammetry. The crystal structures of the 4-chloro, 4-bromo and 4-methoxy substituted complexes are stabilized by intermolecular C–H?Cl and C–H?O hydrogen bonds. The remarkable features of the 2-bromo, 4-bromo and 4-chloro substituted complexes are short intermolecular halogen–oxygen contacts. In the 4-bromo complex, short intermolecular Br?O and O?O contacts link neighboring molecules along the [1 0 0] direction, which are further stabilized by short intermolecular π?π interactions. In 2-bromo complex, intermolecular Br?O interactions link neighboring molecules into 1D extended chains along the [0 1 0] and [0 0 1] directions, forming a 2D network which is parallel to the bc-plane.     

Lanthanide borohydride complexes with an aryloxide ligand: Synthesis, structural characterization and polymerization activity

Reactions of LnCl₃, NaBH₄ and ArONa (Ar = C₆H₂-t-Bu₃-2,4,6) in a molar ratio of 1:3:1 in THF afforded the aryloxide lanthanide borohydrides of (ArO)Ln(BH₄)₂(THF)₂ (Ln = Yb (1), Er (2)). They were characterized by elemental analysis, infrared spectrum and X-ray crystallography. The two complexes are neutral and isostructural. The lanthanide atom is nine-coordinated by an aryloxide ligand, two borohydride ligands and two THF ligands in a trigonal bipyramidal geometry. Both of the BH₄ ligands in each monomeric complex are η³-coordinated. These complexes displayed moderate high catalytic activities for the polymerization of methyl methacrylate. The polymerization temperature had great influence on the catalysis. At about 0 °C, the catalysts showed the polymerization activity best.     

Palladium(II) complexes bearing methylene and ethylene bridged pyrido-annelated N-heterocyclic carbene ligands as active catalysts for Heck and Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions

The synthesis and characterization of new bidentate N-heterocyclic carbene ligands is described. The ligands are derived from methylene (me) and ethylene (et) bridged imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine-3-ylidenes (impy) and can be synthesized readily from imidazo[1,5-a]pyridine and the respective dihaloalkanes. Palladium(II) dihalide complexes bearing these et(impy)₂ or me(impy)₂ ligands were prepared and also structurally characterized. The angle of the impy plane vs. the C-Pd-C plane is depending on the bridging unit as well as the halide ligands. In the solid state the me(impy)₂PdBr₂ complex forms a dimer by weak intermolecular Pd-hydrogen bridges. The activity of the Pd-complexes as catalysts for the Heck and Suzuki-Miyaura reactions was tested under various conditions. The catalysts show good activity at 120 °C in Heck and at 85 °C in Suzuki-Miyaura reactions.     

Synthesis and properties of cobalt(III) complexes of 3,14-dimethyl-2,6,13,17-tetraazatricyclo[14,4,0,0]docosane

The octahedral cobalt(III) complexes, [Co(L)(int)₂]Cl · 3H₂O (1), [Co(L)(NCS)₂]NCS · H₂O (2) and [Co(L)(NCO)₂]NCO · H₂O (3) (L = 3,14-dimethyl-2,6,13,17-tetraazatricyclo[14,4,0^1.18,0^7.12]docosane, int = isonicotinate) were obtained by the reactions of [Co(L)Cl₂]Cl · 4H₂O with the corresponding ligands. The X-ray analysis of 1 shows that the complex has an octahedral geometry formed by coordination of four secondary amines of the macrocycle and two oxygen atoms of the axial isonicotinate ligands. Complex 2 also has an octahedral geometry with four secondary amines of the macrocycle and two nitrogen atoms of the axial thiocyanate ligands. Electronic spectra of the complexes also exhibit a low-spin octahedral geometry. Cyclic voltammetry of the complexes undergoes a one-electron wave corresponding to a Co^III/Co^II process. The electronic spectra and electrochemical behaviors of the complexes are significantly affected by the nature of the axial ligands.     

Novel iridium complexes as high-efficiency yellow and red phosphorescent light emitters for organic light-emitting diodes

A series of novel biscyclometallated iridium complexes based on spirobifluorene ligands and acetyl acetonate (acac) ancillary ligands have been synthesized and characterized. Their electrochemical properties were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV). HOMO, LUMO, and energy band gaps of all the complexes were calculated by the combination of UV-vis absorption spectra and CV results. TGA and DSC results indicated their excellent thermal stability and amorphous structure. All the iridium complexes were fabricated into organic light-emitting devices with the device configuration of ITO/PEDOT:PSS (50 nm)/PVK (50 wt %):PBD (40 wt %):Ir complex (10 wt %) (45 nm)/TPBI (40 nm)/LiF (0.5 nm)/Ca (20 nm)/Ag (150 nm). Yellow to red light emission has been achieved from the iridium complexes guest materials. Complex C1 (yellow light emission) achieved an efficiency of 36.4 cd/A (10.1%) at 198 cd/m² and complex C4 (red light emission) reached external quantum efficiency of 4.6%. The slight decrease of external quantum efficiency at high current density revealed that the triplet-triplet (T₁-T₁) annihilation was effectively suppressed by the new developed complexes.     

Synthesis and characterization of new Co(III) mixed-ligand complexes,containing 2-hydroxy-aryloximes and α-diimines. Crystal and molecular structure of [Co(saox)(bipy)2]Br

A series of 12 cobalt (III) complexes of 2-hydroxy-aryloximes (H₂oxime) with an α-diimine (enR), under the general formula [Co(oxime)(enR)₂]Br · 2H₂O were synthesized and characterized. The IR and H NMR spectra indicate the bidentate coordination mode of the ligands and the dianionic character of the oxime ligand in the complexes, while the electronic excitation spectra are indicative of an octahedral geometry around cobalt(III). The octahedral environment with CoN₅O chromophore was confirmed by X-ray structure analysis of the solvated [bis(2,2′-bipyridine)-(2-hydroxy-benzaldoximato)cobalt(III)]bromide, [Co(saox)(bipy)₂]Br · 0.166bipy · 0.15CH₃OH · 1.75H₂O. The phenolic oxygen as well as the oximic nitrogen plus two nitrogen atoms, each one from a different bipy molecule, build the equatorial plane. The oximic chelate ring can be described as an extentend delocalized π system. The crystal structure of one of the investigated oxime ligands, the 2-hydroxy-benzophenonoxime (H₂bpox) was also determined by X-ray analysis, verifying the strong intra-and intermolecular hydrogen bonds.     

Imine hydrogenation catalyzed by iridium complexes comprising monodentate chiral phosphoramidites and N-donor ligands

The relatively inexpensive chiral monodentate phosphoramidite (S)-MONOPHOS may be used in combination with pyridines to prepare iridium complexes effective for catalysis of asymmetric imine hydrogenation with comparable enantioselectivity to some of those containing more costly chiral bidentate phosphines. [Ir(cod)((S)-MONOPHOS)(L)]BArF (cod = 1,5-cyclooctadiene; L = 3-methylisoquinoline, acridine, 2,6-lutidine, acetonitrile, or 2,3,3-trimethylindolenine; BArF = tetrakis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate) are efficient catalysts for the asymmetric hydrogenation of 2,3,3-trimethylindolenine. An important observation is that the catalyst containing acridine is more enantioselective than the catalyst derived from 2,3,3-trimethylindolenine which suggests that the other N-donor ligands are not readily displaced by the substrate during the catalytic cycle.     

Cobalt complexes of terpyridine ligands: Crystal structure and nuclease activity

Cobalt(II) (1) and cobalt(III) (2) complexes of tridentate ligand, imidazole terpyridine (Itpy), have been synthesized and characterized by both spectroscopic and electrochemical techniques. Single crystal X-ray diffraction studies of complexes 1 and 2 shows that the complexes belong to monoclinic crystal system, with the two Itpy ligands coordinated to the central metal ion. The binding behavior of both the cobalt complexes to calf thymus DNA has been investigated by UV–Vis, fluorescence spectroscopy, viscosity and electrochemical measurements. The results suggest that complexes 1 and 2 bind to DNA through intercalation. The intrinsic DNA binding constant values obtained from absorption spectral titration studies were found to be (5.07 ± 0.12) × 10³ M⁻¹ and (7.46 ± 0.16) × 10³ M⁻¹, respectively, for complexes 1 and 2. Gel electrophoresis studies with the cobalt complexes show that while complex 1 cleaves DNA in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, complex 2 cleaves DNA in the presence of ascorbic acid and hydrogen peroxide.     

The CO/PC analogy in coordination chemistry and catalysis

This short account summarizes recent results obtained in the coordination chemistry of phosphinines and emphasizes their analogy with CO ligands. Reduced complexes can be easily assembled through the reaction of reduced 2,2′-biphosphinine dianions with transition metal fragments. Theoretical calculations were performed to establish the oxidation state of the metal in these complexes. Though many reduced complexes are available, phosphinines proved to be too sensitive toward nucleophiles to be used as efficient ligands in most catalytic processes. However, the high electrophilicity of the phosphorus atom can be exploited to synthesize phosphacylohexadienyl anions which exhibit a surprising coordination chemistry. When phosphino sulfide groups are incorporated as ancillary tridentate anionic SPS ligands can be easily produced. These ligands can bind different transition metal fragments such as M-X (M = group 10 metal, X = halogen), Rh-L (L = 2 electron donor ligand), Cu-X and Au-X (X = halogen). Palladium(II) complexes proved to be active catalyst in the Miyaura cross-coupling reaction. Bidentate anionic PS ligands were also synthesized following a similar approach. Their Pd(II) (allyl) derivatives showed a very good activity in the Suzuki catalyzed cross-coupling process that allows the synthesis of biphenyl derivatives through the reaction of phenylboronic acid with bromoarenes.     

Synthesis,spectroscopic characterization and thermal behavior of cadmium(II) complexes of S-methyldithiocarbazate (SMDTC) and S-benzyldithiocarbazate (SBDTC): X-ray crystal structure of [Cd(SMDTC)3] · 2NO3

Two new cadmium(II) complexes of the empirical formulae [Cd(SMDTC)₃] · 2NO₃ (1) and [Cd(SBDTC)₂] · 2NO₃ (2) have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, UV–Vis, IR, ¹H NMR and TGA techniques. In complex 1, the six coordination sites around cadmium are occupied by three neutral SMDTC molecules with N and S donor atoms from each ligand molecule, whereas in complex 2 the cadmium center is four coordinated with two relatively larger SBDTC ligands chelating with N and S donor atoms in the neutral thione form. In the solid state, thermal gravimetric analysis shows that both complexes are relatively volatile in nature and undergo facile thermal decomposition above 120 °C to form the metal sulfide followed by stepwise loss of ligand molecules. The crystal and molecular structure of complex 1 has been established by the X-ray diffraction method. The central cadmium(II) atom has an octahedral geometry with three five-membered chelate rings formed by SMDTC ligands. The crystal structure consists of parallel layers of cations and anions. The SMDTC molecules in cations are arranged with their N donor groups directed towards the anion layer in an alternating fashion and form hydrogen bonds with the O atoms of the anion.     

‘Click’ silica immobilisation of metallo-porphyrin complexes and their application in epoxidation catalysis

We present the synthesis, via Adler condensation reactions, of mono- and tetrakis-4-(ethynyl-phenyl)porphyrin ligands and the zinc and manganese complexes thereof. The formed complexes were immobilised on silica by reacting the ethynyl groups with azide-functionalised silica in a copper(I) catalysed Huisgens 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction. The synthesised metallo-porphyrin containing materials were thoroughly characterised using various solid-state techniques (NMR, IR, UV-Vis, elemental content analysis). The manganese containing materials were applied as catalysts in the epoxidation of various alkenes (cyclooctene, cyclohexene, styrene) with various oxidants (iodosylbenzene, tert-butylperoxide). The heterogenised homogeneous catalysts show diminished activity and yields compared to the analogous homogeneous catalysts (71% yield cf. 92% for cyclooctene epoxidation, TOF 82 h⁻¹ cf. 230 h⁻¹). Upon recycling, the heterogenised catalysts become gradually less active over five cycles until they are catalytically inactive. The deactivation process is discussed, with spectroscopy suggesting that the catalysts themselves are intact and thus stable to the reaction conditions and recycling, however there is likely some decomplexation, and also both chemical and mechanical decomposition of the silica support resulting in inaccessibility to the catalytic site.     

A new kind of intermolecular stacking interaction between copper (II) mixed chelate complex (Casiopeína III-ia) and adenine

Casiopeínas® are Cu (II) mixed chelate complexes that have shown cytotoxic, genotoxic and antineoplastic activity. In order to understand the interaction of these complexes with biomolecules, we have studied in this work the interaction of Casiopeína III-ia [CAS 223930-33-4] with adenine, cytosine, thymine and guanine. X-ray diffraction analysis shown the molecular structure of an adduct {[Cu(dmbipy)(acac)(H₂O)]NO₃(adenine)₂·2H₂O} where dmbipy = 4,4′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridyne and acac = acetylacetonate, which is an example of intermolecular interaction between a ternary Cu (II) compound and adenine. Adduct is stabilized by hydrogen bonds, which include water molecules and adenines, and by π-π and C-H?π interactions between the ligands attached to the copper ion and the adenines. DFT calculations shown charge transfer between complex ligands and adenines being the former the acceptor and the latter the donor; these results reproduce very well the weak interactions found in the crystalline structure. DFT results shown the same behavior for thymine and guanine, meanwhile, cytosine has shown a direct coordination to metal center.     

Triazole-bridged magnetic M(II) assemblies (M = Co,Ni) capped with the end-on terephthalate dianion involving multi-intermolecular contacts

Two dimeric complexes [M₂(atrz)₃(H₂O)₄(tp)₂] · 11H₂O [M = Co(1 · 11H₂O), Ni(2 · 11H₂O); tp = terephthalate, atrz = 4-aminotriazole] were constructed from triply-bridged triazole ligands and terminal tp groups. Interestingly tp behaves as a capping group in an end-on fashion, which is a rare example for tp-related systems. Among the dinuclear assemblies, three types of intermolecular interactions (hydrogen bond, face-to-face π–π and edge-to-face CH–π contacts) as well as intramolecular hydrogen bonding are observed, eventually leading to the formation of a 3D network. Magnetic data show that moderate antiferromagnetic interactions between the two metal centers communicate through triazole groups, and non-negligible interdimer antiferromagnetic couplings are also involved in this system.     

Synthesis, spectroscopic and electrochemical studies of a series of transition metal complexes with amino- or bis(bromomethyl)-substituted dppz-ligands: Building blocks for fullerene-based donor-bridge-acceptor dyads

Transition metal complexes with ligands based on dipyrido[3,2-a:2′,3′-c]phenazine (dppz) have been synthesized. As metal fragments the [Ru(bpy)₂]⁺, Re(CO)₃Cl and the [Cu(PPh₃)₂]⁺ moieties have been used. The complexes containing amino- or bis(bromomethyl) substituted dppz ligands can be used for fullerene-based donor-bridge-acceptor dyads. The electronic absorption spectra of these complexes and of the dppz ligands were investigated. The dppz ligands show strong absorptions in the 300 and 390 nm region. An additional absorption band in the visible region (∼440 nm) is observed for the amino-substituted dppz-ligands. Ruthenium complexes exhibited broad absorption bands at 350-500 nm arising from intraligand-based transitions and the MLCT transition. MLCT transitions of the Re(I) and Cu(I) complexes are observed as shoulders of the stronger ligand-based absorption band tailing out to 400-500 nm. The electrochemically active complexes and ligands were studied by cyclic voltammetry and square-wave voltammetry. All ligands show one first reversible one-electron reduction located at the phenazine portion. These reductions are shifted to more positive redox potentials upon complexation. Oxidation potentials for reversible processes could be determined for the Ru²⁺/Ru³⁺ couple. For rhenium(I) and copper(I) complexes one irreversible oxidation process is observed.