Synthetic access to optically active isoflavans by using allylic substitution

A general approach to the (S)- and (R)-isoflavans was invented, and efficiency of the method was demonstrated by the synthesis of (S)-equol ((S)-3), (R)-sativan ((R)-4), and (R)-vestitol ((R)-5). The key step is the allylic substitution of (S)-6a (Ar¹=2,4-(MeO)₂C₆H₃) and (R)-6b (Ar¹=2,4-(BnO)₂C₆H₃) with copper reagents derived from CuBr·Me₂S and Ar²-MgBr (7a, Ar²=4-MeOC₆H₄; 7b, 2,4-(MeO)₂C₆H₃; 7c, 2-MOMO-4-MeOC₆H₃), furnishing anti S_N2′ products (R)-8a and (S)-8b,c with 93-97% chirality transfer in 60-75% yields. The olefinic part of the products was oxidatively cleaved and the Me and Bn groups on the Ar¹ moieties was then removed. Finally, phenol bromide 9a and phenol alcohols 9b,c underwent cyclization with K₂CO₃ and the Mitsunobu reagent to afford (S)-3 and (R)-4 and -5, respectively.     

Half-sandwich η-benzene Ru(II) complexes of phenolate-based pyridylalkylamine/alkylamine ligands: Synthesis, structure, and stabilization of one-electron oxidized species

Four half-sandwich ruthenium(II) complexes [(η⁶-C₆H₆)Ru(L¹-O)][PF₆] (1), [(η⁶-C₆H₆)Ru(L²-O)][PF₆] (2), [(η⁶-C₆H₆)Ru(L³-O)][PF₆] (3), [(η⁶-C₆H₆)Ru(L⁴-O)][PF₆] (4a), and [(η⁶-C₆H₆)Ru(L⁴-O)][BPh₄] (4b) [L¹-OH, 4-nitro-6-{[(2′-(pyridin-2-yl)ethyl)methylamino]methyl}-phenol; L²-OH, 2,4-di-tert-butyl-6-{[(2′-(pyridin-2-yl)ethyl)methylamino]methyl}-phenol; L³-OH, 2,4-di-tert-butyl-6-{[2′-((pyridin-2-yl)benzylamino)methyl}-phenol; L⁴-OH, 2,4-di-tert-butyl-6-{[(2′-imethylaminoethyl)methylamino]methyl}-phenol (L⁴-OH)], supported by a systematically varied series of tridentate phenolate-based pyridylalkylamine and alkylamine ligands are reported. The molecular structures of 1-3, 4a, and 4b have been elucidated in solution using ¹H NMR spectroscopy and of 1, 3, and 4b in the solid state by X-ray crystallography. Notably, due to coordination by the ligands the Ru center assumes a chiral center and in turn the central amine nitrogen also becomes chiral. The ¹H NMR spectra exhibit only one set of signals, suggesting that the reaction is completely diastereoselective [1: S_Ru,S_N/R_Ru,R_N; 2: R_Ru,R_N/S_Ru,S_N; 3: S_Ru,R_N/R_Ru,S_N; 4b: S_Ru,R_N/R_Ru,S_N]. The crystal packing in 1 and 3 is stabilized by C-H^…O interactions, in 4b no meaningful secondary interactions are observed. From the standpoint of generating phenoxyl radical, as investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), complex 1 is redox-inactive in MeCN solution. However, 2, 3, and 4a generate a one-electron oxidized phenoxyl radical coordinated species [2]²⁺, [3]²⁺, and [4a]²⁺, respectively. The radical species are characterized by CV, UV-Vis, and EPR spectroscopy. The stability of the radical species has been determined by measuring the decay constant (UV-Vis spectroscopy).     

Synthesis and characterization of a planar chiral and chiral-at-metal ruthenium N-heterocyclic carbene complex

This report describes the conversion of the neutral planar chiral arene-tethered complex [Ru(η⁶:η¹-Me₂NC₆H₄C₆H₄PCy₂)Cl₂ (1), into [Ru(η⁶: η¹-Me₂NC₆H₄C₆H₄PCy₂)(1,3-dibutylimidazol-2-ylidene)Cl]BF₄ (2) via silver transmetallation. The cationic title complex is also chiral-at-metal, and forms stereoselectively as a result of the directing effect of the arene-tethered ligand. The structure in solution and in the solid state was examined; a puckered distortion of the η⁶-arene was noted in the crystal structure, along with a hindered rotation of the NHC in solution. As a comparison to the previously reported phosphine analogues, the dication derived from 2 was used to catalyze the asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction of methacrolein and cyclopentadiene.     

Ruthenium hydride complexes of chiral and achiral diphosphazane ligands and asymmetric transfer hydrogenation reactions

The half-sandwhich ruthenium chloro complexes bearing chelated diphosphazane ligands, [(η⁵-Cp)RuCl{κ²-P,P-(RO)₂PN(Me)P(OR)₂}] [R = C₆H₃Me₂-2,6] (1) and [(η⁵-Cp^∗)RuCl{κ²-P,P-X₂PN(R)PYY′}] [R = Me, X = Y = Y′ = OC₆H₅ (2); R = CHMe₂, X₂ = C₂₀H₁₂O₂, Y = Y′ = OC₆H₅ (3) or OC₆H₄^tBu-4 (4)] have been prepared by the reaction of CpRu(PPh₃)₂Cl with (RO)₂PN(Me)P(OR)₂ [R = C₆H₃Me₂-2,6 (L¹)] or by the reaction of [Cp^∗RuCl₂]_n with X₂PN(R)PYY′ in the presence of zinc dust. Among the four diastereomers (two enantiomeric pairs) possible for the “chiral at metal” complexes 3 and 4, only two diastereomers (one enantiomeric pair) are formed in these reactions. The complexes 1, 2, 4 and [(η⁵-Cp)RuCl{κ²-P,P-Ph₂PN((S)-^∗CHMePh)PPhY}] [Y = Ph (5) or N₂C₃HMe₂-3,5 (S_CS_PR_Ru)-(6)] react with NaOMe to give the corresponding hydride complexes [(η⁵-Cp)RuH{κ²-P,P-(RO)₂PN(Me)P(OR)₂}] (7), [(η⁵-Cp^∗)RuH{κ²-P,P′-X₂PN(R)PY₂}] [R = Me, X = Y = OC₆H₅ (8); R = CHMe₂, X₂ = C₂₀H₁₂O₂, Y = OC₆H₄^tBu-4 (9)] and [(η⁵-Cp)RuH{κ²-P,P-Ph₂PN((S)-^∗CHMePh)PPhY}][Y = Ph (10) or N₂C₃HMe₂-3,5 (S_CS_PR_Ru)-(11a) and (S_CS_PS_Ru)-(11b)]. Only one enantiomeric pair of the hydride 9 is obtained from the chloro precursor 4 that bears sterically bulky substituents at the phosphorus centers. On the other hand, the optically pure trichiral complex 6 that bears sterically less bulky substituents at the phosphorus gives a mixture of two diastereomers (11a and 11b). Protonation of complex 7 using different acids (HX) gives a mixture of [(η⁵-Cp)Ru(η²-H₂){κ²-P,P-(RO)₂PN(Me)P(OR)₂}]X (12a) and [(η⁵-Cp)Ru(H)₂{κ²-P,P-(RO)₂PN(Me)P(OR)₂}]X (12b) of which 12a is the major product independent of the acid used; the dihydrogen nature of 12a is established by T₁ measurements and also by synthesizing the deuteride analogue 7-D followed by protonation to obtain the D-H isotopomer. Preliminary investigations on asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of 2-acetonaphthone in the presence of a series of chiral diphosphazane ligands show that diphosphazanes in which the phosphorus centers are strong π-acceptor in character and bear sterically bulky substituents impart moderate levels of enantioselectivity. Attempts to identify the hydride intermediate involved in the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation by a model reaction suggests that a complex of the type, [Ru(H)(Cl){κ²-P,P-X₂PN(R)PY₂}(solvent)₂] could be the active species in this transformation.     

Mono and dinuclear arene ruthenium complexes containing 6,7-dimethyl-2,3-di(pyridine-2-yl)quinoxaline as chelating ligand: Synthesis and molecular structure

The mononuclear cations of the general formula [(η⁶-arene)RuCl(dpqMe₂)]⁺ (dpqMe₂ = 6,7-dimethyl-2,3-di(pyridine-2-yl)quinoxaline; arene = C₆H₆, 1; C₆H₅Me, 2; p-PrⁱC₆H₄Me, 3; C₆Me₆, 4) as well as the dinuclear dications [(η⁶-arene)₂Ru₂Cl₂(μ-dpqMe₂)]²⁺ (arene = C₆H₆, 5; C₆H₅Me, 6; p-PrⁱC₆H₄Me, 7; C₆Me₆, 8) have been synthesised from 6,7-dimethyl-2,3-di(pyridine-2-yl)quinoxaline (dpqMe₂) and the corresponding chloro complexes [(η⁶-C₆H₆)Ru(μ-Cl)Cl]₂, [(η⁶-C₆H₅Me)Ru(μ-Cl)Cl]₂, [(η⁶-p-PrⁱC₆H₄Me)Ru(μ-Cl)Cl]₂ and [(η⁶-C₆Me₆)Ru(μ-Cl)Cl]₂, respectively. The X-ray crystal structure analyses of [1][PF₆], [3][PF₆] and [6][PF₆]₂ reveal a typical piano-stool geometry around the metal centre; in the dinuclear complexes the two chloro ligands, with respect to each other, are found to be trans oriented.     

Triphenylpyrylium salt-sensitized photoreactions of 1,4-diaryl-2,3-dioxabicyclo[2.2.2]octanes through competitive single electron-transfer pathway and proton-catalyzed pathway

2,4,6-Triphenylpyrylium tetrafluoroborate (TPPBF₄)-sensitized photoinduced electron-transfer (PET) reactions of 1,4-diaryl-2,3-dioxabicyclo[2.2.2]octanes 5 (a: Ar¹ = Ar² = p-MeOC₆H₄, b: Ar¹ = Ar² = p-MeC₆H₄, c: Ar¹ = Ar² = Ph) underwent novel fragmentation through their radical cations to give 1,4-diarylbutan-1,4-diones 6 accompanied by elimination of ethylene. On the other hand, 4-aryl-cyclohex-3-en-1-ones 7, p-substituted phenols 8, and 4-aryl-4-aryloxycyclohexanones 9 were produced through proton-catalyzed pathways when the PET reactions of 5 were performed in the absence of a certain base such as 2,6-di-tert-butylpyridine (DTBP). Particularly, the formation of 9 is consistent with the novel cationic rearrangement involving nucleophilic O-1,2-aryl shifts and C-1,4-aryl shifts.     

(+)-Neomenthyl- and (−)-phenylmenthyl-substituted cyclopentadienyl and indenyl yttrocenes as catalysts in asymmetric hydroamination/cyclization of aminoalkenes (AHA)

The chiral, terpenoid-substituted yttrocene [(η⁵-neomenthylCp)₂Y{o-C₆H₄CH₂NMe₂}] (1) can be prepared via facile arene elimination starting from [Y(o-C₆H₄CH₂NMe₂)₃]. Compound 1 retains a C₁-symmetric structure in solution on the NMR time scale, due to tight binding of the amine donor. The (−)-phenylmenthyl-substituted complexes [(η⁵-(−)-phenylmenthylCp)₂Y(μ-Cl)₂Li(OEt₂)₂] (5) and [(η⁵-(−)-phenylmenthylCp)₂YN(SiMe₃)₂] (6) were prepared via salt metathesis. Reaction of YCl₃ with the planar chiral (1-neomenthylindenyl)lithium predominantly produced a single, C₂-symmetric, racemic-like diastereomer. The X-ray crystal structure analysis confirmed that [(η⁵-(+)-NMInd)₂Y(μ-Cl)₂Li(Et₂O)₂] (7) represents the same p-S, p-S metallocene diastereomer and adopts a very similar conformation as observed by Erker in his zirconocene complexes. Complex 7 reacts with LiN(SiMe₃)₂ to form [(η⁵-(+)-NMInd)₂YN(SiMe₃)₂] (8) with retention of configuration. Complexes 1, 6 and 8 showed moderate to good catalytic activity in asymmetric hydroamination/cyclizations of aminoalkenes, but enantioselectivities were limited to a maximum of 38% ee for the sterically most hindered catalyst 8. The indenyl complex 8 is prone to protolytic loss of an indenyl ligand at low (?0.5%) catalyst loading, if sterically undemanding aminoalkene substrates are applied.     

Synthesis, electrochemistry, and crystal and molecular structures of some molybdenum(0) arene derivatives with fluorinated and phenyl-substituted arene ligands

Compounds of general formula Mo(η⁶-arene)(CO)₃, arene=diphenyl, 1; 1,3,5-triphenylbenzene, 2; C₆H₅F, 3; C₆H₅CF₃, 4, have been prepared in good yields by reacting fac-Mo(CO)₃(DMF)₃, DMF=N,N-dimethylformamide, with BF₃ · OEt₂ and the appropriate arene. The crystal and molecular structures of 1, 3, and 4, are reported. The dinuclear derivative Mo₂(η⁶:η⁶-C₆H₅-C₆H₅)(CO)₆, 5, was obtained by thermal reaction of Mo(η⁶-toluene)(CO)₃ with Mo(η⁶-diphenyl)(CO)₃. An electrochemical study has been performed on the new complexes, showing that the dimolybdenum complex undergoes a single two-electron reduction at about the same potential as the corresponding dichromium complex, the molybdenum dianion being less stable than the chromium analogue.     

Study of complexes of platinum group metals containing nitrogen bases derived from pyridine aldehydes: Interesting molecular structures with unpredicted bonding modes of the ligands

A series of mono-cationic dinuclear half sandwich ruthenium, rhodium and iridium metal complexes have been synthesized using ((pyridin-2-yl)methylimino)nicotinamide (L1) and ((picolinamido)phenyl)picolinamide (L2) ligands: [(η⁶-arene)₂Ru₂(μ-L1)Cl₃]⁺ (arene = C₆H₆, 1; p-ⁱPrC₆H₄Me, 2; C₆Me₆, 3), [(η⁵-C₅Me₅)₂M₂(μ-L1)Cl₃]⁺ (M = Rh, 4; Ir, 5), and [(η⁶-arene)₂Ru₂(μ-L2)(μ-Cl)]⁺ (arene = C₆H₆, 6; p-ⁱPrC₆H₄Me, 7; C₆Me₆, 8), [(η⁵-C₅Me₅)₂M₂(μ-L2)Cl₂]⁺ (M = Rh, 9; Ir, 10). All the complexes have been isolated as their hexafluorophosphate salts and fully characterized by use of a combination of NMR and IR spectroscopy. The solid state structure of three representatives 4, 6 and 9 has been determined by X-ray crystallographic studies. Interestingly, in the molecular structure of 4, the first metal is bonded to two nitrogen atoms whereas the second metal center is coordinated to only one nitrogen atom with two terminal chloride ligands. Fascinatingly in the case of the complexes with the symmetrical ligand L2, both ruthenium centers having η⁶-arene groups are bonded to nitrogen atoms with a bridging chloride atom between the two metal centers, whereas the metals with η⁵-Cp∗ groups are bonded to the ligand N,O and N,N fashion.     

Planar chiral alkenylferrocene phosphanes: Preparation, structural characterisation and catalytic use in asymmetric allylic alkylation

Planar chiral alkenylferrocene phosphanes, viz. (S_p)-[Fe(η⁵-C₅H₃-1-PPh₂-2-CHCR₂)(η⁵-C₅H₅)] (R = H, (S_p)-2; Ph, (S_p)-5) and (S_p)-[Fe(η⁵-C₅H₃-1-PPh₂-2-(E)-CHCHR)(η⁵-C₅H₅)] (R = Ph, (S_p)-3; C(O)CH₃, (S_p)-6; and CO₂CH₂CH₃, (S_p)-7) have been prepared by alkenylation of (S_p)-2-(diphenylphosphanyl)ferrocenecarboxaldehyde and tested as ligands for enantioselective palladium-catalysed allylic alkylation of 1,3-diphenyprop-2-en-1-yl acetate with dimethyl malonate. All phosphanylalkenes formed active catalysts. However, the induced enantioselectivity was only poor to moderate [12-43% ee after 20 h at room temperature], with the ee’s and configuration of the preferred product strongly depending on the ligand structure. The catalytic results have been related to solution properties (NMR, ESI MS) and the solid-state structural data (X-ray diffraction) of [Pd(η³-1,3-Ph₂C₃H₃){(S_p)-2-η²:κP}]ClO₄ ((S_p)-12), which represent a model of the plausible reaction intermediate.     

Carbon-rich organometallic materials derived from 4-ethynylphenylferrocene

Using 4-ethynylphenylferrocene (1) as the building block, a new series of rigid-rod alkynylferrocenyl precursors consisting of fluoren-9-one unit, 2-bromo-7-(4-ferrocenylphenylethynyl)fluoren-9-one (2a), 2,7-bis(4-ferrocenylphenylethynyl)fluoren-9-one (2b), 2-trimethylsilylethynyl-7-(4-ferrocenylphenylethynyl)fluoren-9-one (3) and 2-ethynyl-7-(4-ferrocenylphenylethynyl)fluoren-9-one (4) have been prepared in moderate to good yields. The acetylene complex 4 is a useful precursor for the synthesis of well-defined carbon-rich ferrocenyl heterometallic complexes, trans-[(η⁵-C₅H₅)Fe(η⁵-C₅H₄)C₆H₄CCRCCPt(PEt₃)₂Ph] (5), trans-[(η⁵-C₅H₅)Fe(η⁵-C₅H₄)C₆H₄CCRCCPt(PBu₃)₂CCRC≡CC₆H₄(η⁵-C₅H₄)Fe(η⁵-C₅H₅)] (6), trans-[(η⁵-C₅H₅)Fe(η⁵-C₅H₄)C₆H₄CCRCCM(dppm)₂Cl] (M=Ru (7), Os (8)) (R=fluoren-9-one-2,7-diyl). All new complexes have been characterized by FTIR, NMR and UV-Vis spectroscopies and fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry (FABMS). The molecular structures of 1, 2a, 4, 6 and 8 have been determined by single-crystal X-ray studies where an ironiron through-space distance of nanosized dimension (ca. 42 Å) is observed in the trimetallic molecular rod 6. The electronic absorption, luminescence and electrochemical properties of these carbon-rich molecules were investigated and the data were correlated with the theoretical results obtained by the method of density functional theory.     

Arene ruthenium complexes incorporating immine/azine hybrid-chelating N-N donor ligands: synthetic, spectral, structural aspects and DFT studies

New series of mono and binuclear arene ruthenium complexes [{(η⁶-arene)RuCl(L)}]⁺ and [{(η⁶-arene)RuCl}₂(μ-L)₂]²⁺ (arene=benzene, p-cymene or hexamethylbenzene), {L=pyridine-2-carbaldehyde azine (paa), p-phenylene-bis(picoline)-aldimine (pbp) and p-bi-phenylene-bis(picoline)-aldimine (bbp)} are reported. The complexes have been fully characterized and molecular structure of the representative mononuclear complex [(η⁶-C₆Me₆)RuCl(paa)]BF₄ (1), binuclear complexes [{(η⁶-C₁₀H₁₄)RuCl}₂(μ-paa)](BF₄)₂ (3) and [{(η⁶-C₁₀H₁₄)RuCl}₂(μ-pbp)](BF₄)₂ (6) have been determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. Single crystal X-ray structure determination revealed that in the binuclear complexes the [(η⁶-C₁₀H₁₄)RuCl]⁺ units are trans disposed. Further, the crystal packing in the complexes 1, 3 and 6 is stabilized by C-H?X type (X=Cl, F) inter, intramolecular hydrogen bonding and π-π stacking (3). To explore the ambiguous nature of the bonding between pyridine-2-carbaldehyde azine (paa) with ruthenium containing units [(η⁶-arene)RuCl]⁺, DFT/B3LYP calculations have been performed on the complexes [(η⁶-arene)RuCl(paa)]⁺ (arene=C₆H₆, I; C₆Me₆, II; C₁₀H₁₄, III).     

Synthesis, characterization, and applications in Heck and Suzuki coupling reactions of amphiphilic cyclopalladated ferrocenylimines

A series of novel amphiphilic ferrocenylimines and their cyclopalladated complexes of general formula [Fe(η⁵-C₅H₅)(η⁵-C₅H₄CR₁NR₂)] (R₁=H, R₂=C₁₂H₂₅-n4a, R₁=H, R₂=C₁₆H₃₃-n4b, R₁=CH₃, R₂=C₁₂H₂₅-n4c, R₁=CH₃, R₂=C₁₆H₃₃-n4d), [PdCl{[(η⁵-C₅H₅)]Fe[(η⁵-C₅H₃)CR₁NR₂]}]₂ (5a-d), [PdCl{[(η⁵-C₅H₅)]Fe[(η⁵-C₅H₃)-CR₁NR₂]}(PPh₃)] (6a-d), were prepared and characterized by ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, ³¹P NMR, IR, HRMS, and elemental analysis. The crystal structures of 5c,d were determined by X-ray crystallography. These amphiphilic cyclopalladated complexes are thermally stable and insensitive to oxygen and moisture. The redox properties of 4a-d, 5a-d, 6a-d were also investigated using cyclic voltammetric technique. Compounds 5a-d, 6a-d displayed good activity in the Heck reaction of a variety of aryl halides with ethyl acrylate or styrene and the Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction of aryl bromides with phenylboronic acid in bulk solution. They are also suitable for formation of Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films.     

Mono and dinuclear rhodium, iridium and ruthenium complexes containing chelating 2,2′-bipyrimidine ligands: Synthesis, molecular structure, electrochemistry and catalytic properties

The mononuclear cations [(η⁵-C₅Me₅)RhCl(bpym)]⁺ (1), [(η⁵-C₅Me₅)IrCl(bpym)]⁺ (2), [(η⁶-p-PrⁱC₆H₄Me)RuCl(bpym)]⁺ (3) and [(η⁶-C₆Me₆)RuCl(bpym)]⁺ (4) as well as the dinuclear dications [{(η⁵-C₅Me₅)RhCl}₂(bpym)]²⁺ (5), [{(η⁵-C₅Me₅)IrCl}₂(bpym)]²⁺ (6), [{(η⁶-p-PrⁱC₆H₄Me)RuCl}₂(bpym)]²⁺ (7) and [{(η⁶-C₆Me₆)RuCl}₂(bpym)]²⁺ (8) have been synthesised from 2,2′-bipyrimidine (bpym) and the corresponding chloro complexes [(η⁵-C₅Me₅)RhCl₂]₂, [(η⁵-C₅Me₅)IrCl₂]₂, [(η⁶-PrⁱC₆H₄Me)RuCl₂]₂ and [(η⁶-C₆Me₆)RuCl₂]₂, respectively. The X-ray crystal structure analyses of [3][PF₆], [5][PF₆]₂, [6][CF₃SO₃]₂ and [7][PF₆]₂ reveal a typical piano-stool geometry around the metal centres; in the dinuclear complexes the chloro ligands attached to the two metal centres are found to be, with respect to each other, cis oriented for 5 and 6 but trans for 7. The electrochemical behaviour of 1-8 has been studied by voltammetric methods. In addition, the catalytic potential of 1-8 for transfer hydrogenation reactions in aqueous solution has been evaluated: All complexes catalyse the reaction of acetophenone with formic acid to give phenylethanol and carbon dioxide. For both the mononuclear and dinuclear series the best results were obtained (50 °C, pH 4) with rhodium complexes, giving turnover frequencies of 10.5 h⁻¹ for 1 and 19 h⁻¹ for 5.     

Synthesis and characterization of the first transition-metal fullerene complexes containing bis(η-benzene)chromium moieties

While photochemical reaction of C₆₀ with an equimolar amount of Mo(CO)₄(η⁶-Ph₂PC₆H₅)₂Cr (1) in toluene at room temperature produced bimetallic Mo/Cr fullerene complex fac/mer-(η²-C₆₀)Mo(CO)₃[(η⁶-Ph₂PC₆H₅)₂Cr] (2) in 87% yield, the thermal reaction of an equimolar mixture of C₆₀, M(dba)₂ (M = Pd, Pt; dba = dibenzylideneacetone) and (η⁶-Ph₂PC₆H₅)₂Cr (3) in toluene at room temperature afforded bimetallic M/Cr fullerene complexes (η²-C₆₀)M[(η⁶-Ph₂PC₆H₅)₂Cr] (4, M = Pd; 5, M = Pt) in 88% and 92% yields, respectively. Products 2, 4 and 5 are the first transition-metal fullerene complexes containing bis(η⁶-benzene)chromium moieties. While 2, 4 and 5 were characterized by elemental analysis and spectroscopy, the crystal molecular structures of 4 along with the starting materials 1 and 3 have been determined by X-ray diffraction techniques.     

Cationic olefin Pd(II) complexes bearing α-iminoketone N,O-ligands: synthesis, intramolecular and interionic characterization and reactivity with olefins and alkynes

Complexes [Pd(η¹, η²-5-OMe-C₈H₁₂)(N,O)]BF₄ (N,O=2,6-(i-Pr)₂(C₆H₃)NC(Ph)-C(Ph)O, 1; 2,6-(i-Pr)₂(C₆H₃)NC(Me)-C(Ph)O, 2; 2-benzoylpyridine, 3) were synthesized by the reactions of [Pd(η¹,η²-5-OMe-C₈H₁₂)Cl]₂ with the suitable N,O-ligand. They were tested as catalysts for olefin or alkyne polymerizations. During such reactions 1-3 quantitatively transformed into their η¹,η²-1-OMe-C₈H₁₂ isomers (1a-3a). The same isomerization occurred in methylene chloride, even in the absence of olefins or alkynes, with a much slower rate. All complexes were fully characterized in solution by multinuclear and multidimensional low temperature NMR spectroscopy. The solid state structures of complexes 1 and 1a were investigated by X-ray single crystal studies. ¹⁹F, ¹H-HOESY NMR experiments carried out in methylene chloride-d₂ at 217 K indicated that the anion prefers to locate on the side of N,O-ligand shifted toward the O-arm in 1-1a and 2-2a while it approaches the N-arm in 3 and 3a compounds.     

Synthesis,crystal structure and spectroscopic characterization of new neutral and cationic (η-p-cymene)–ruthenium(II) complexes with phosphine–amide ligands

The dimeric starting material [Ru(η⁶-p-cymene)(μ-Cl)Cl]₂ reacts with the phosphino-amides o-Ph₂P–C₆H₄CO–NH–R [R = ⁱPr (a), Ph (b), 4-MeC₆H₄ (c), 4-FC₆H₄ (d)] to give the mononuclear compounds 1a–d [RuCl(η⁶-p-cymene)(o-Ph₂P–C₆H₄–CO–NH–R)]Cl. The subsequent reaction of these complexes with KPF₆ produced the cationic species 2a–d [RuCl(η⁶-p-cymene)(o-Ph₂P–C₆H₄–CO–NH–R)][PF₆] in which phosphino-amides also act as rigid P,O-chelating ligands. The molecular structures of 2b–d were determined crystallographically. Amide deprotonation is achieved when complexes 2a–d were made react with 1 M aqueous solution of KOH, affording the corresponding neutral species 3a–d [RuCl(η⁶-p-cymene)(o-Ph₂P–C₆H₄–CO–N–R)] in which a P,N-coordination mode is suggested.     

Structural investigations on new iron-acyl derivatives of B(C6F5)3

Reactions between [Fe(η-C₅H₅)(MeCO)(CO)(L)], L = PPh₃ (1), PMe₃ (2), PPhMe₂ (3), PCy₃ (4), CO (5), and B(C₆F₅)₃ give new complexes [Fe(η-C₅H₅){MeCOB(C₆F₅)₃}(CO)(L)] L = PPh₃ (7), PMe₃ (8), PPhMe₂ (9), PCy₃ (10), CO (11), where B(C₆F₅)₃ coordinates selectively to the O-acyl groups. Hydrolysis of 7 gives [Fe(η-C₅H₅){HOB(C₆F₅)₃}(CO)(PPh₃)] (6). The X-ray structures of 6, 8 and 11 have been determined. Calculations, using density functional theory, demonstrate that the charge transfer to the acyl group on Lewis acid coordination is more significant in the σ than the π system. Both effects lead to a lengthening of the acyl C-O bond thus π populations cannot be inferred from the distance changes.