Bond-formation versus electron transfer: C-C-coupling reactions of hydrocarbon dications with benzene

The bimolecular reactions of several hydrocarbon dications C(m)H(n)(2+) (m = 6-10, n = 4-9) with neutral benzene are investigated by tandem mass spectrometry using a multipole instrument. Not surprisingly, the major reaction of C(m)H(n)(2+) with benzene corresponds to electron transfer from the neutral arene to the dication resulting in the pair of monocationic products C(m)H(n)(+) + C(6)H(6)(+). In addition, also dissociative electron transfer takes place, whereas proton transfer from the C(m)H(n)(2+) dication to neutral benzene is almost negligible. Interestingly, the excess energy liberated upon electron transfer from the neutral arene to the C(m)H(n)(2+) dication is not equally partitioned in the monocationic products in that the cations arising from the dicationic precursor have a higher internal energy content than the monocations formed from the neutral reaction partner. In addition to the reactions leading to monocationic product ions, bond-forming reactions with maintenance of the two-fold charge are observed, which lead to a condensation of the C(m)H(n)(2+) dications with neutral benzene under formation of intermediate C(m+6)H(n+6)(2+) species and then undergo subsequent losses of molecular hydrogen or neutral acetylene. This reaction complements a recently proposed dicationic route for the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons under extreme conditions such as they exist in interstellar environments.     

Bond-forming reactions of molecular dications as a new route to polyaromatic hydrocarbons

Mass-selected CmHn2+ dications of medium size (m = 6-14, n = 6-10) undergo bond-forming reactions in the presence of acetylene with Cm+2Hn2+ + H2 as the major product channel. These unprecedented reactions of organic dications offer a feasible route for the formation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons under extreme conditions, such as in interstellar clouds.     

Competition of proton and electron transfers in gas-phase reactions of hydrogen-containing dications CHX2+ (X = F, Cl, Br, I) with atoms, nonpolar and polar molecules

The competition between proton and electron transfer in reactions of mass-selected dications CHX2+ (X = F, Cl, Br, and I) with rare gas atoms (Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe) and selected molecular reagents (N2, O2, CO, H2O, and HCl) is studied in the gas phase. In the ion-molecule reactions of CHX2+ dications with atoms and nonpolar molecules, it is the energy balance of electron transfer that acts as the decisive factor: when the exothermicity of electron transfer exceeds 2 eV, this process predominates at the expense of bond-forming proton transfer. In marked contrast, the reactions between these triatomic dications and polar molecules are governed for the benefit of the thermochemically more favored products resulting from proton transfer.     

气相质子转移反应中热化学和动力学的关系

质子键合的分子簇的离子－分子反应中的热化学和动力学关系的考察结果表明：对于非烷基锁闭的分子簇,如（C2H5OH）nH＋（5＝1-3）和（CH3OH）3H＋;与中性碱B的质子转移反应,属快速反应,其反应效率r是由总反应的自由能变化△γGm控制,而与反应过渡态的本质无关。那些反应可能存在两个中间体,因电子转移导致质子从分子簇内部转移到中性碱,进而导致二个或三个溶剂分子的直接蒸发;烷基锁闭的质子键合的二聚体,如（CH3CN）2H＋,（CH3OCH3）2H＋,（CH3COCH3）2H＋和（C3COOCH3）2H＋,与中性碱的质子转移反应,其效率远小于1;与总反应的△γGm无关     

Theoretical study of long oligothiophene dications: bipolaron vs polaron pair vs triplet state

A series of oligothiophene dications (from the sexithiophene dication to the 50-mer oligothiophene dication, nT2+, n = 6-50) were studied. Density functional theory (DFT) at the B3LYP/6-31G(d) level and, in some cases, also at BLYP/6-31Gd, was applied to study the singlet and triplet states of the whole series. We found that the singlet state is the ground state for all oligothiophene dications up to the 20-mer, and that the singlet and triplet states are degenerate for longer oligomers. Thus, the triplet state is never a pure ground state for these dications. We found that, for short oligothiophenes dication (e.g., 6T2+), the bipolaron state is the more important state, with only a small contribution made by the polaron pair state. For medium size oligothiophene dications (e.g., 14T2+), both the bipolaron state and the polaron-pair state contribute to the electronic structure. Finally, in long oligothiophene dications, such as 30T2+ and 50T2+, the contribution from the polaron pair state becomes dominant, and these molecules can be considered as consisting of two independent cation radicals or a polaron pair. Results from isodesmic reactions show that the stability of oligothiophene cation radicals over dications is inversely proportional to chain length. Small oligothiophene dications (n = 6-12) were studied at the CASSCF(m,m)/6-31G(d) (m = 4, 6, and 10) level. The major conclusions of this paper regarding the relative energy of the singlet state versus the triplet state and regarding the relative stability of the bipolaron versus the polaron pair were also supported by CASSCF calculations.     

Competition of electron transfer, dissociation, and bond-forming processes in the reaction of the CO(2)(2+) dication with neutral CO(2)

The bimolecular reactivity of the CO(2)(2+) dication with neutral CO(2) is investigated using triple quadrupole and ion-ion coincidence mass spectrometry. Crucial for product analysis is the use of appropriate isotope labelling in the quadrupole experiments in order to distinguish the different reactive pathways. The main reaction corresponds to single-electron transfer from the neutral reagent to the dication, i.e. CO(2)(2+) + CO(2) --> 2CO(2)(+); this process is exothermic by almost 10 eV, if ground state monocations are formed. Interestingly, the results indicate that the CO(2)(+) ion formed when the dication accepts an electron dissociates far more readily than the CO(2)(+) ion formed from the neutral CO(2) molecule. This differentiation of the two CO(2)(+) products is rationalized by showing that the population of the key dissociative states of the CO(2)(+) monocation will be favoured from the CO(2)(2+) dication rather than from neutral CO(2). In addition, two bond-forming reactions are observed as minor channels, one of which leads to CO(+) and O(2)(+) as ionic products and the other affords a long-lived C(2)O(3)(2+) dication.     

Nucleophilic reactions of charge delocalised carotenoid mono- and dications

In the present study insight was gained on the larger complexity of cationic mixtures of diaryl (phi,phi-carotene, isorenieratene) and aliphatic (psi,psi-carotene, lycopene) carotenes, prepared by reaction with BF3-etherate, compared with beta,beta-carotene. Chemical reactions of the mono- and dications prepared in situ from the allylic carotenols beta,beta-caroten-4-ol (isocryptoxanthin) and beta,beta-carotene-4,4'-diol (isozeaxanthin), and from isorenieratene and lycopene were investigated using selected O, N and S nucleophiles; water, methanol, azide and thioacetate. In total 22, including 18 new, neutral carotenoid products were isolated and identified by VIS, MS and NMR (in part) spectroscopy. Their structures were compatible with the structures of the cationic intermediates. The formal addition of hydride to the various dications, required to rationalise minor reaction products, is discussed in terms of more likely hydrogen radical or proton transfer in cationic reactions. Extensive E/Z isomerisation was observed for all quenching products. The potential use of carotenoid cations for the synthesis of 4,(4')-substituted beta,beta-carotenes and 7-oxabicyclo[2,2,1]heptane derivatives is discussed.     

Gas phase ion chemistry of charged silver(I) adenine ions via multistage mass spectrometry experiments and DFT calculations

Electrospray ionization (ESI) of solutions containing adenine and AgNO(3) yields polymeric [Ad(x)+ Ag(y)-zH]((y-z)+) species. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been used to examine potential structures for several of the smaller ions while multistage mass spectrometry experiments have been used to probe their unimolecular reactivity (via collision-induced dissociation (CID)) and bimolecular reactivity (via ion-molecule reactions with the neutral reagents acetonitrile, methanol, butylamine and pyridine). DFT calculations of neutral adenine tautomers and their silver ion adducts provide insights into the binding modes of adenine. We find that the most stable [Ad + Ag](+) ion does not correspond to the most stable neutral adenine tautomer, consistent with previous studies that have shown that transition metal ions can stabilize rare tautomeric forms of nucleobases. Both the charge and the stoichiometry of the [Ad(x)+ Ag(y)-zH]((y-z)+) complexes play pivotal roles in directing the types of fragmentation and ion-molecule reactions observed. Thus, [Ad(2)+ Ag(2)](2+) is observed to dissociate to [Ad + Ag](+) and to react with butylamine via proton transfer, while [Ad(2)+ Ag(2)- H](+) fragments via loss of neutral adenine to form the [Ad + Ag(2)- H](+) ion and does not undergo proton transfer to butylamine. DFT calculations on several isomeric [Ad(2)+ Ag(2)](2+) ions suggest that planar centrosymmetric cations, in which two adjacent silver atoms are bridged by two N7H adenine tautomers via N(3),N(9)-bidentate interactions, are the most stable. The [Ad + Ag(2)-H](+) ion adds two neutral reagents in ion-molecule reactions, consistent with the presence of two vacant coordination sites. It undergoes a silver atom loss to form the [Ad + Ag - H](+) radical cation, which in turn fragments quite differently to the even electron [Ad + Ag](+) ion. Several other pairs of radical cation/even electron adenine-silver complexes were also found to undergo different fragmentation reactions.     

Size-restricted proton transfer within toluene-methanol cluster ions

To understand the interaction between toluene and methanol, the chemical reactivity of [(C6H5CH3)(CH3OH) n=1-7](+) cluster ions has been investigated via tandem quadrupole mass spectrometry and through calculations. Collision Induced Dissociation (CID) experiments show that the dissociated intracluster proton transfer reaction from the toluene cation to methanol clusters, forming protonated methanol clusters, only occurs for n = 2-4. For n = 5-7, CID spectra reveal that these larger clusters have to sequentially lose methanol monomers until they reach n = 4 to initiate the deprotonation of the toluene cation. Metastable decay data indicate that for n = 3 and n = 4 (CH3OH)3H(+) is the preferred fragment ion. The calculational results reveal that both the gross proton affinity of the methanol subcluster and the structure of the cluster itself play an important role in driving this proton transfer reaction. When n = 3, the cooperative effect of the methanols in the subcluster provides the most important contribution to allow the intracluster proton transfer reaction to occur with little or no energy barrier. As n >or= 4, the methanol subcluster is able to form ring structures to stabilize the cluster structures so that direct proton transfer is not a favored process. The preferred reaction product, the (CH3OH)3H(+) cluster ion, indicates that this size-restricted reaction is driven by both the proton affinity and the enhanced stability of the resulting product.     

Influence of the structure of medium-sized aromatic precursors on the reactivity of their dications towards rare gases

The gas-phase reactivity of dications generated by dissociative electron ionization of several aromatic C_mH_nN_o precursors with 4 ≤ m ≤ 13, 4 ≤ n ≤ 21, and 0 ≤ o ≤ 2 with rare gases is investigated. Whereas most of these reactions lead to monocations via simple electron transfer, proton transfer, or Coulomb explosion, the formation of organo rare-gas dications is observed in a few cases. Specifically, dications generated from 2,4,6-trimethylpyridine react with krypton and xenon to form organo rare-gas species as major products and under maintenance of the two-fold positive charge. Such a reactivity is not observed in the presence of lighter rare gases. The formation of organo rare-gas dications are also observed for dications generated from 3-vinylpyridine, N,N-dimethylaniline, isopropylbenzene, and 4-ethyltoluene as neutral precursors. In some cases, isomeric dications are characterized by very different reactivity toward rare gases, suggesting that the structure of the precursors is crucial and that electron ionization does not lead to a total scrambling of the structures of the doubly charged ions obtained.     

Dehydrogenation of methanol by vanadium oxide and hydroxide cluster cations in the gas phase

Bare vanadium oxide and hydroxide cluster cations, V(m)O(n)+ and V(m)O(n-1) (OH)+ (m = 1-4, n = 1-10), generated by electrospray ionization, were investigated with respect to their reactivity toward methanol using mass spectrometric techniques. Several reaction channels were observed, such as abstraction of a hydrogen atom, a methyl radical, or a hydroxymethyl radical, elimination of methane, and adduct formation. Moreover, dehydrogenation of methanol to generate formaldehyde was found to occur via four different pathways. Formaldehyde was released as a free molecule either upon transfer of two hydrogen atoms to the cluster or upon transfer of an oxygen atom from the cluster to the neutral alcohol concomitant with elimination of water. Further, formaldehyde was attached to V(m)O(n)+ upon loss of H2 or neutral water to produce the cation V(m)O(n)(OCH(2))+ or V(m)O(n-1) (OCH(2))+, respectively. A reactivity screening revealed that only high-valent vanadium oxide clusters are reactive with respect to H2 uptake, oxygen transfer, and elimination of H2O, whereas smaller and low-valent cluster cations are capable of dehydrogenating methanol via elimination of H2. For comparison, the reactivity of methanol with the corresponding hydroxide cluster ions, V(m)O(n-1) (OH)+, was studied also, for which dominant pathways lead to both condensation and association products, i.e., generation of the ions V(m)O(n-1) (OCH(3))+ and V(m)O(n-1) (OH)(CH(3)OH)+, respectively.     

General base and general acid catalyzed intramolecular aminolysis of esters. Cyclization of esters of 2-aminomethylbenzoic acid to phthalimidine

Plots of log k(0) vs pH for the cyclization of trifluoroethyl and phenyl 2-aminomethylbenzoate to phthalimidine at 30 degrees C in H(2)O are linear with slopes of 1.0 at pH >3. The values of the second-order rate constants k(OH) for apparent OH(-) catalysis in the cyclization reactions are 1.7 x 10(5) and 5.7 x 10(7) M(-)(1) s(-)(1), respectively. These rate constants are 10(5)- and 10(7)-fold greater than for alkaline hydrolysis of trifluoroethyl and phenyl benzoate. The k(OH) for cyclization of the methyl ester is 7.2 x 10(3) M(-)(1) s(-)(1). Bimolecular general base catalysis occurs in the intramolecular nucleophilic reactions of the neutral species. The value of the Bronsted coefficient beta for the trifluoroethyl ester is 0.7. The rate-limiting step in the general base catalyzed reaction involves proton transfer in concert with leaving group departure. The mechanism involving rate-determining proton transfer exemplified by the methyl ester in this series (beta = 1.0) can then be considered a limiting case of the concerted mechanism. General acid catalysis of the neutral species reaction or a kinetic equivalent also occurs when the leaving group is good (pK(a) 相似文献   

Reactions of the dications C7H6, C7H7, and C7H8 with methane: Predominance of doubly charged intermediates

The reactions of methane with the dications C₇H₆²⁺, C₇H₇²⁺, and C₇H₈²⁺ generated by electron ionization of toluene are studied using mass-spectrometry tools. It is shown that the reactivity is dominated by the formation of doubly charged intermediates, which can either eliminate molecular hydrogen to yield doubly charged products or undergo charge-separation reactions leading to the formation of a methyl cation and the corresponding C₇H_n+1⁺ monocation. Typical processes observed for dications, like electron transfer or proton transfer, are largely suppressed. The theoretically derived mechanism of the reaction between C₇H₆²⁺ and CH₄ indicates that the formation of the doubly charged intermediate is kinetically preferred at low internal energies of the reactants. In agreement, the experimental results show a pronounced hydrogen scrambling and dominant formation of the doubly charged products at low collision energies, whereas direct hydride transfer prevails at larger collision energies.     

Thermochemical properties of the ammonia-water ionized dimer probed by ion-molecule reactions

The thermochemical properties of some small clusters such as the (H2O)2*+ dimer have already been investigated by both experimental and theoretical methods. The recent method to selectively prepare the ammonia-water ionized dimer [NH3, H2O]*+ (and not its proton transfer isomer [NH4+, OH*]) allowed us to study its chemical reactivity. This study focuses on the charge and proton transfer pathways: Ion-molecule reactions in the cell of an FT-ICR mass spectrometer were carried out with a range of organic compounds. Examination of the reactivity of the [NH3, H2O]*+ ionized dimer versus ionization energy and proton affinity of the neutral reagents shows a threshold in the reactivity in both instances. This leads to a bracketing of thermochemical properties related to the dimer. From these experiments and in agreement with ab initio calculations, the adiabatic recombination energy of the [NH3, H2O]*+ dimer was evaluated at -9.38 +/- 0.04 eV. The proton affinity bracketing required the reevaluation of two reference gas-phase basicity values. The results, in good agreement with the calculation, lead to an evaluation of the proton affinity of the [NH2*, H2O] dimer at 204.4 +/- 0.9 kcal mol(-1). These two experimental values are respectively related to the ionization energy of NH3*+ and to the proton affinity of NH2* by the difference in single water molecule solvation energies of ionized ammonia, of neutral ammonia, and of the NH2* radical.     

On the gas-phase reactivity of complexed OH+ with halogenated alkanes

OH(+) is an extraordinarily strong oxidant. Complexed forms (L--OH(+)), such as H(2)OOH(+), H(3)NOH(+), or iron-porphyrin-OH(+) are the anticipated oxidants in many chemical reactions. While these molecules are typically not stable in solution, their isolation can be achieved in the gas phase. We report a systematic survey of the influence on L on the reactivity of L--OH(+) towards alkanes and halogenated alkanes, showing the tremendous influence of L on the reactivity of L--OH(+). With the help of with quantum chemical calculations, detailed mechanistic insights on these very general reactions are gained. The gas-phase pseudo-first-order reaction rates of H(2)OOH(+), H(3)NOH(+), and protonated 4-picoline-N-oxide towards isobutane and different halogenated alkanes C(n)H(2n+1)Cl (n=1-4), HCF(3), CF(4), and CF(2)Cl(2) have been determined by means of Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance measurements. Reaction rates for H(2)OOH(+) are generally fast (7.2x10(-10)-3.0x10(-9) cm(3) mol(-1) s(-1)) and only in the cases HCF(3) and CF(4) no reactivity is observed. In contrast to this H(3)NOH(+) only reacts with tC(4)H(9)Cl (k(obs)=9.2x10(-10)), while 4-CH(3)-C(5)H(4)N-OH(+) is completely unreactive. While H(2)OOH(+) oxidizes alkanes by an initial hydride abstraction upon formation of a carbocation, it reacts with halogenated alkanes at the chlorine atom. Two mechanistic scenarios, namely oxidation at the halogen atom or proton transfer are found. Accurate proton affinities for HOOH, NH(2)OH, a series of alkanes C(n)H(2n+2) (n=1-4), and halogenated alkanes C(n)H(2n+1)Cl (n=1-4), HCF(3), CF(4), and CF(2)Cl(2), were calculated by using the G3 method and are in excellent agreement with experimental values, where available. The G3 enthalpies of reaction are also consistent with the observed products. The tendency for oxidation of alkanes by hydride abstraction is expressed in terms of G3 hydride affinities of the corresponding cationic products C(n)H(2n+1) (+) (n=1-4) and C(n)H(2n)Cl(+) (n=1-4). The hypersurface for the reaction of H(2)OOH(+) with CH(3)Cl and C(2)H(5)Cl was calculated at the B3 LYP, MP2, and G3(m*) level, underlining the three mechanistic scenarios in which the reaction is either induced by oxidation at the hydrogen or the halogen atom, or by proton transfer.     

On the formation of radical dications of protonated amino acids in a "microsolution" of water or acetonitrile and their reactivity towards the solvent

In high-energy collisions (50 keV) between O2 and protonated amino acids AH+, radical dications AH2+* are formed for A = Phe, His, Met, Tyr, and Trp. When solvated by water or acetonitrile (S), AH2+*(S)1,2 are formed for A = Arg, His, Met, Tyr, and Trp. The stability of the hydrogen-deficient AH2+* in the "microsolution" depends on the energetics of the electron transfer reaction AH2+* +S --> AH++S+*, the hydrogen abstraction reaction AH2+*+S --> AH2(2+)+[S-H]*, and the proton transfer reaction AH2+* + S --> A+*+SH+. Using B3LYP/ 6-311+G(2d,p)//B3LYP/6-31+G(d) model chemistry, we describe these three reactions in detail for A=Tyr and find that the first two reactions are unfavorable whereas the third one is favorable. However, energy is required for the formation of Tyr+* and SH+ from TyrH2+*(S) to overcome the Coulomb barrier, which renders the complex observable with a life-time larger than 5 micros. The ionization energy, IE, of TyrH+ is calculated to be 11.1 eV in agreement with an experimental measurement of 10.1+/-2.1 eV ([IE(CH3CN)+IE(Tyr)]/ 2); hydration further lowers the IE by 0.3 eV [IE(TyrH+(H2O) = 10.8 eV, calculated]. We estimate the ionization energies of TrpH+, HisH+, and MetH+ to be 10.1+/-2.1 eV, 12.4+/-0.2 eV, and 12.4+/-0.2 eV, and that of PheH+ to be larger than 12.6 eV.     

Geometries, thermodynamic properties and reactions of methylzinc alkoxide clusters studied by density functional theory calculations

Methylzinc alkoxide complexes are precursors for the preparation of nanosized zinc oxide particles, which in turn are catalysts or reagents in important industrial processes such as methanol synthesis and rubber vulcanization. We report for the first time the structures, energies, atomic charges, dipole moments, and vibrational spectra of more than 20 species of the type [(MeZnOR')n] with R' = H, Me, tBu and n = 1-6, calculated by density functional theory methods, mostly at the B3LYP/6-31+G* level of theory. For R' = Me, the global minimum structure of the tetramer (n = 4) is a highly symmetrical heterocubane but a ladder-type isomer is by only 70.9 kJ mol(-1) less stable. The corresponding trimer is most stable as a rooflike structure; a planar six-membered ring of relative energy 13.5 kJ mol(-1) corresponds to a saddle point connecting two equivalent rooflike trimer structures. All dimers form planar four-membered Zn2O2 rings whereas the monomer has a planar CZnOC backbone. A hexameric drumlike structure represents the global minimum on the potential energy hypersurface of [(MeZnOMe)6]. The enthalpies and Gibbs energies of the related dissociation reactions hexamer --> tetramer --> trimer --> dimer --> monomer as well as of a number of isomerization reactions have been calculated. The complexes [(MeZnOMe)n] (n = 1-3) form adducts with Lewis bases such as tetrahydrofuran (thf) and pyridine (py). The binding energy of py to the zinc atoms is about 65% larger than that of thf but is not large enough to break up the larger clusters. The bimolecular disproportionation of [(MeZnOMe)4] with formation of the dicubane [Zn{(MeZn)3(OMe)4}2] and Me2Zn is less endothermic than any isomerization or dissociation reaction of the heterocubane, but for steric reasons this reaction is not possible if R' = tBu. A novel reaction mechanism for the reported interconversion, disproportionation and ligand exchange reactions of zinc alkoxide complexes is proposed.     

Kinetics of the interaction of ketyl and semiquinone radicals with dioxygen. Concerted electron and proton transfer involving ketyl and semiquinone radicals

Kinetics of the interaction of ketyl and neutral semiquinone radicals with dioxygen was studied by the flash photolysis technique. The reactivity of neutral semiquinone radicals in the transfer of a hydrogen atom to O₂ is lower than that of ketyl radicals and increases as the reduction ability of the radicals increases, which give evidence for the charge transfer from the radicals to O₂ in the transition state of the reaction. The deuterium kinetic isotope effect of the reaction (up to 2.6) suggests considerable weakening of the O−H bond of the seminquinone radical in the transition state. A cyclic structure of the transition state similar to that in the reactions of ketyl radicals with hydrogen atom acceptors is proposed. In aprotic volvents, solvation has essentially no effect on the reactivity of neutral anthrasemiquinone radicals up to solvent nucleophilicityB≈240. In solvents with higher nucleophilicity and in protic solvents, their reactivity drops sharply. Hydrogen atom transfer reactions involving ketyl and neutral semiquinone radicals are shown to involve concerted electron and proton transfers, and to have transition states in which the partial transfer of an electron and a proton from the ketyl or semiquinone radical to an acceptor occurs. Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 6, pp. 1131–1137, June, 1997.     

Gas-phase oxidation of isomeric butenes and small alkanes by vanadium-oxide and -hydroxide cluster cations

Bare vanadium-oxide and -hydroxide cluster cations (V(m)O(n)H(o)+, m = 2-4, n = 1-10, o = 0, 1) were generated by electrospray ionization in order to examine their intrinsic reactivity toward isomeric butenes and small alkanes using mass spectrometric techniques. Two of the major reactions described here concern the activation of C-H bonds of the alkene/alkane substrates resulting in the transfer of two hydrogen atoms and/or attachment of the dehydrogenated hydrocarbon to the cluster cations; these processes are classified as oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) and dehydrogenation, respectively. For the dehydrogenation of butene, it evolved as a general trend that high-valent clusters prefer ODH resulting in the addition of two hydrogen atoms to the cluster concomitant with elimination of neutral butadiene, whereas low-valent clusters tend to add the diene with parallel loss of molecular hydrogen. Deuterium labeling experiments suggest the operation of a different reaction mechanism for V2O2(+) and V4O10(+) compared to the other cluster cations investigated, and these two cluster cations also are the only ones of the vanadium-oxide ions examined here that are able to dehydrogenate small alkanes. The kinetic isotope effects observed experimentally imply an electron transfer mechanism for the ion-molecule reactions of the alkanes with V4O10(+).     

Reactions of diiminopyridine ligands with chalcogen halides

The reactions of the chalcogen halides (Ch = S, Se, Te) with a series of diiminopyridine (DIMPY) ligands were explored. It was determined through these studies that varying both the substitution on the α-carbon and the chalcogen halide reagent afforded different products. If methyl groups were present on the α-carbon, reactivity was observed through the eneamine tautomer to yield N,N',C-bound neutral chalcogen complexes. In the cases where H and C(6)H(5) groups were in the same position, N,N',N″-chelated chalcogen cations or dications were produced. Many of the reactions resulted in complex mixtures postulated to occur by the release of halogen decomposing the product or, for reactions with the CH(3) substituted ligand, uncontrollable reactivity with the eneamine tautomer. This is the first report of reactions of sulfur and selenium halides with the ubiquitous diiminopyridine ligands and only the second example for a tellurium halide.