C−N Bond Formation from a Masked High‐Valent Copper Complex Stabilized by Redox Non‐Innocent Ligands

The reactivity of a stable copper(II) complex bearing fully oxidized iminobenzoquinone redox ligands towards nucleophiles is described. In sharp contrast with its genuine low‐valent counterpart bearing reduced ligands, this complex performs high‐yielding C?N bond formations. Mechanistic studies suggest that this behavior could stem from a mechanism akin to reductive elimination occurring at the metal center but facilitated by the ligand: it is proposed that a masked high oxidation state of the metal can be stabilized as a lower copper(II) oxidation state by the redox ligands without forfeiting its ability to behave as a high‐valent copper(III) center. These observations are substantiated by a combination of advanced EPR spectroscopy techniques with DFT studies. This work sheds light on the potential of redox ligands as promoters of unusual reactivities at metal centers and illustrates the concept of masked high‐valent metallic species.     

Mechanistic Insights into the Rhenium‐Catalyzed Alcohol‐To‐Olefin Dehydration Reaction

Rhenium‐based complexes are powerful catalysts for the dehydration of various alcohols to the corresponding olefins. Here, we report on both experimental and theoretical (DFT) studies into the mechanism of the rhenium‐catalyzed dehydration of alcohols to olefins in general, and the methyltrioxorhenium‐catalyzed dehydration of 1‐phenylethanol to styrene in particular. The experimental and theoretical studies are in good agreement, both showing the involvement of several proton transfers, and of a carbenium ion intermediate in the catalytic cycle.     

Mechanistic Insight into the Copper‐Catalyzed Regiodivergent Silacarboxylation of Allenes with CO2

DFT calculations were performed to investigate the detailed reaction mechanisms in the copper‐catalyzed regiodivergent silacarboxylation of allenes. According to our calculations, the catalysis would bifurcate at the allene silylcupration step, followed by CO₂ insertion, eventually leading to the carboxylated vinylsilane or allylsilane products. The gaps between the two silylcupration barriers were predicted to be ?2.3, ?0.4, and 2.2 kcal mol^?1 when using (rac)‐Me‐DuPhos, dcpe, and PCy₃ (+H₂O) as the ligands, which nicely accounted for the experimental vinylsilane/allylsilane ratios of 93:7, 50:50, and 15:85, respectively. By means of transition‐state‐energy decomposition, we found that the energy penalty of catalyst deformation into its transition‐state geometry was the key factor in determining the direction of the reaction. The switchable regioselectivity by using different P ligands could be ascribed to structural changes of the Cu?Si and Cu?P bonds during the silylcupration process.     

Base‐Free Non‐Noble‐Metal‐Catalyzed Hydrogen Generation from Formic Acid: Scope and Mechanistic Insights

The iron‐catalyzed dehydrogenation of formic acid has been studied both experimentally and mechanistically. The most active catalysts were generated in situ from cationic Fe^II/Fe^III precursors and tris[2‐(diphenylphosphino)ethyl]phosphine ( 1 , PP₃). In contrast to most known noble‐metal catalysts used for this transformation, no additional base was necessary. The activity of the iron catalyst depended highly on the solvent used, the presence of halide ions, the water content, and the ligand‐to‐metal ratio. The optimal catalytic performance was achieved by using [FeH(PP₃)]BF₄/PP₃ in propylene carbonate in the presence of traces of water. With the exception of fluoride, the presence of halide ions in solution inhibited the catalytic activity. IR, Raman, UV/Vis, and EXAFS/XANES analyses gave detailed insights into the mechanism of hydrogen generation from formic acid at low temperature, supported by DFT calculations. In situ transmission FTIR measurements revealed the formation of an active iron formate species by the band observed at 1543 cm^?1, which could be correlated with the evolution of gas. This active species was deactivated in the presence of chloride ions due to the formation of a chloro species (UV/Vis, Raman, IR, and XAS). In addition, XAS measurements demonstrated the importance of the solvent for the coordination of the PP₃ ligand.     

A Dinuclear Ruthenium‐Based Water Oxidation Catalyst: Use of Non‐Innocent Ligand Frameworks for Promoting Multi‐Electron Reactions

Insight into how H₂O is oxidized to O₂ is envisioned to facilitate the rational design of artificial water oxidation catalysts, which is a vital component in solar‐to‐fuel conversion schemes. Herein, we report on the mechanistic features associated with a dinuclear Ru‐based water oxidation catalyst. The catalytic action of the designed Ru complex was studied by the combined use of high‐resolution mass spectrometry, electrochemistry, and quantum chemical calculations. Based on the obtained results, it is suggested that the designed ligand scaffold in Ru complex 1 has a non‐innocent behavior, in which metal–ligand cooperation is an important part during the four‐electron oxidation of H₂O. This feature is vital for the observed catalytic efficiency and highlights that the preparation of catalysts housing non‐innocent molecular frameworks could be a general strategy for accessing efficient catalysts for activation of H₂O.     

Mechanistic Insights into Palladium‐Catalyzed Silylation of Aryl Iodides with Hydrosilanes through a DFT Study

The catalytic cycles of palladium‐catalyzed silylation of aryl iodides, which are initiated by oxidative addition of hydrosilane or aryl iodide through three different mechanisms characterized by intermediates R₃Si−Pd^II−H (Cycle A), Ar−Pd^II−I (Cycle B), and Pd^IV (Cycle C), have been explored in detail by hybrid DFT. Calculations suggest that the chemical selectivity and reactivity of the reaction depend on the ligation state of the catalyst and specific reaction conditions, including feeding order of substrates and the presence of base. For less bulky biligated catalyst, Cycle C is energetically favored over Cycle A, through which the silylation process is slightly favored over the reduction process. Interestingly, for bulky monoligated catalyst, Cycle B is energetically more favored over generally accepted Cycle A, in which the silylation channel is slightly disfavored in comparison to that of the reduction channel. Moreover, the inclusion of base in this channel allows the silylated product become dominant. These findings offer a good explanation for the complex experimental observations. Designing a reaction process that allows the oxidative addition of palladium(0) complex to aryl iodide to occur prior to that with hydrosilane is thus suggested to improve the reactivity and chemoselectivity for the silylated product by encouraging the catalytic cycle to proceed through Cycles B (monoligated Pd⁰ catalyst) or C (biligated Pd⁰ catalyst), instead of Cycle A.     

Mechanistic Insights into the Formation of Lithium Fluoride Nanotubes

Born–Oppenheimer molecular dynamics (BOMD) and periodic density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been applied for describing the mechanism of formation of lithium fluoride (LiF) nanotubes with cubic, hexagonal, octagonal, decagonal, dodecagonal, and tetradecagonal cross-sections. It has been shown that high energy structures, such as nanowires, nanorings, nanosheets, and nanopolyhedra are transient species for the formation of stable nanotubes. Unprecedented (LiF)_n clusters (n≤12) were also identified, some of them lying less than 10 kcal mol^−[1] above their respective global minima. Such findings indicate that stochastic synthetic techniques, such as laser ablation and chemical vapor deposition, should be combined with a template-driven procedure in order to generate the nanotubes with adequate efficiency. Apart from the stepwise growth of LiF units, the formation of nanotubes was also studied by rolling up a planar square sheet monolayer, which could be hypothetically produced from the exfoliation of the FCC crystal structure. It was shown that both pathways could lead to the formation of alkali halide nanotubes, a still unprecedented set of one-dimensional materials.     

Mechanistic Insights into Copper‐Catalyzed Sonogashira–Hagihara‐Type Cross‐Coupling Reactions: Sub‐Mol % Catalyst Loadings and Ligand Effects

An efficient catalytic system for Sonogashira–Hagihara‐type reactions displaying ligand acceleration in the copper‐catalyzed formation of C(sp²)? C(sp) bonds is described. The structure of the ligand plays a key role for the coupling efficiency. Various copper sources show excellent catalytic activity, even in sub‐mol % quantities. A wide variety of substituents is tolerated in the substrates. Mechanistic details have been revealed by kinetic measurements and DFT calculations.     

Mechanistic Insights into the Oxidative Coupling of N‐Heterocyclic Carbenes within the Coordination Sphere of Copper Complexes

The behavior of N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligands in organometallic chemistry is hugely important for catalysis, due to the effect of these ligands on catalytic pathways and their involvement in catalyst decomposition. In this report, a combined experimental and computational study is presented, which provides mechanistic understanding of the unprecedented oxidative coupling of NHCs at Cu. The presence of Cu^I–, Cu^II–, and Cu^III–NHC complexes during the process is postulated, with the unusual C_carbene–C_carbene oxidative coupling reaction occurring under extremely mild reaction conditions. This process may represent a novel pathway for the decomposition of Cu–NHC complexes.     

New Insights into the Redox Properties of Pyridinium Appended 1,2-Dithienylcyclopentenes

The optical and redox properties of a methyl pyridinium appended 1,2-dithienylethene photochromic derivative have been thoroughly investigated. A complex multi-step photo/redox mechanism is proposed for the closed isomer on the ground of spectro-electrochemical and theoretical data. The generated compounds are not stable over the time because of chemical reactions associated to the redox processes and a new dithienylethene derivative incorporating a seven-membered ring has been isolated and characterized.     

Mechanistic Insight into Peroxo‐Shunt Formation of Biomimetic Models for Compound II,Their Reactivity toward Organic Substrates,and the Influence of N‐Methylimidazole Axial Ligation

High‐valent iron‐oxo species have been invoked as reactive intermediates in catalytic cycles of heme and nonheme enzymes. The studies presented herein are devoted to the formation of compound II model complexes, with the application of a water soluble (TMPS)Fe^III(OH) porphyrin ([meso‐tetrakis(2,4,6‐trimethyl‐3‐sulfonatophenyl)porphinato]iron(III) hydroxide) and hydrogen peroxide as oxidant, and their reactivity toward selected organic substrates. The kinetics of the reaction of H₂O₂ with (TMPS)Fe^III(OH) was studied as a function of temperature and pressure. The negative values of the activation entropy and activation volume for the formation of (TMPS)Fe^IV?O(OH) point to the overall associative nature of the process. A pH‐dependence study on the formation of (TMPS)Fe^IV?O(OH) revealed a very high reactivity of OOH^? toward (TMPS)Fe^III(OH) in comparison to H₂O₂. The influence of N‐methylimidazole (N‐MeIm) ligation on both the formation of iron(IV)‐oxo species and their oxidising properties in the reactions with 4‐methoxybenzyl alcohol or 4‐methoxybenzaldehyde, was investigated in detail. Combined experimental and theoretical studies revealed that among the studied complexes, (TMPS)Fe^III(H₂O)(N‐MeIm) is highly reactive toward H₂O₂ to form the iron(IV)‐oxo species, (TMPS)Fe^IV?O(N‐MeIm). The latter species can also be formed in the reaction of (TMPS)Fe^III(N‐MeIm)₂ with H₂O₂ or in the direct reaction of (TMPS)Fe^IV?O(OH) with N‐MeIm. Interestingly, the kinetic studies involving substrate oxidation by (TMPS)Fe^IV?O(OH) and (TMPS)Fe^IV?O(N‐MeIm) do not display a pronounced effect of the N‐MeIm axial ligand on the reactivity of the compound II mimic in comparison to the OH^? substituted analogue. Similarly, DFT computations revealed that the presence of an axial ligand (OH^? or N‐MeIm) in the trans position to the oxo group in the iron(IV)‐oxo species does not significantly affect the activation barriers calculated for C?H dehydrogenation of the selected organic substrates.     

Oxygen‐Assisted Hydroxymatairesinol Dehydrogenation: A Selective Secondary‐Alcohol Oxidation over a Gold Catalyst

Selective dehydrogenation of the biomass‐derived lignan hydroxymatairesinol (HMR) to oxomatairesinol (oxoMAT) was studied over an Au/Al₂O₃ catalyst. The reaction was carried out in a semi‐batch glass reactor at 343 K under two different gas atmospheres, namely produced through synthetic air or nitrogen. The studied reaction is, in fact, an example of secondary‐alcohol oxidation over an Au catalyst. Thus, the investigated reaction mechanism of HMR oxidative dehydrogenation is useful for the fundamental understanding of other secondary‐alcohol dehydrogenation over Au surfaces. To investigate the elementary catalytic steps ruling both oxygen‐free‐ and oxygen‐assisted dehydrogenation of HMR to oxoMAT, the reactions were mimicked in a vacuum over an Au₂₈ cluster. Adsorption of the involved molecular species—O₂, three different HMR diastereomers (namely, one SRR and two RRR forms), and the oxoMAT derivative—were also studied at the DFT level. In particular, the energetic and structural differences between SRR‐HMR and RRR‐HMR diastereomers on the Au₂₈ cluster were analyzed, following different reaction pathways for the HMR dehydrogenation that occur in presence or absence of oxygen. The corresponding mechanisms explain the higher rates of the experimentally observed oxygen‐assisted reaction, mostly depending on the involved HMR diastereomer surface conformations. The role of the support was also elucidated, considering a very simple Au₂₈ charged model that explains the experimentally observed high reactivity of the Au/Al₂O₃ catalyst.     

Theoretical Studies on the Asymmetric Baeyer–Villiger Oxidation Reaction of 4‐Phenylcyclohexanone with m‐Chloroperoxobenzoic Acid Catalyzed by Chiral Scandium(III)–N,N′‐Dioxide Complexes

The mechanism and enantioselectivity of the asymmetric Baeyer–Villiger oxidation reaction between 4‐phenylcyclohexanone and m‐chloroperoxobenzoic acid ( m ‐CPBA ) catalyzed by Sc^III–N,N′‐dioxide complexes were investigated theoretically. The calculations indicated that the first step, corresponding to the addition of m ‐CPBA to the carbonyl group of 4‐phenylcyclohexanone, is the rate‐determining step (RDS) for all the pathways studied. The activation barrier of the RDS for the uncatalyzed reaction was predicted to be 189.8 kJ mol^?1. The combination of an Sc^III–N,N′‐dioxide complex and the m ‐CBA molecule can construct a bifunctional catalyst in which the Lewis acidic Sc^III center activates the carbonyl group of 4‐phenylcyclohexanone while m ‐CBA transfers a proton, which lowers the activation barrier of the addition step (RDS) to 86.7 kJ mol^?1. The repulsion between the m‐chlorophenyl group of m ‐CPBA and the 2,4,6‐iPr₃C₆H₂ group of the N,N′‐dioxide ligand, as well as the steric hindrance between the phenyl group of 4‐phenylcyclohexanone and the amino acid skeleton of the N,N′‐dioxide ligand, play important roles in the control of the enantioselectivity.     

Theoretical insights into enantioselective catalysis: the mechanism of the Kharasch-Sosnovsky reaction

The mechanism of the Kharasch-Sosnovsky reaction has been investigated using B3 LYP/6-31G* calculations on a chiral reaction model [cyclohexene+tert-butyl perbenzoate-->cyclohex-2-enyl benzoate+tert-butyl alcohol, catalyzed by a chiral bisoxazoline-copper(I) complex]. Although two previous reaction mechanisms have been considered, the results are consistent with a new mechanistic pathway. This path involves ligand exchange between the catalyst-cyclohexene complex with tert-butyl perbenzoate to give a catalyst-perester complex, which undergoes an (either one- or two-step) oxidative addition reaction to yield a copper(III) complex. The limiting step of the Kharasch-Sosnovsky reaction consists of an intramolecular step involving the abstraction of an allylic hydrogen from cyclohexene [which is pi-bound to the copper(III) complex]. The resulting allyl-copper(III) complex (subsequent to the loss of tert-butanol) can undergo a haptotropic rearrangement by means of an eta1-allyl/eta3-allyl equilibrium, leading to scrambling between vinylic and allylic positions when an isotopically labeled substrate is used. The allyl-copper(III) ion undergoes a stereospecific reductive elimination involving the pi-bond migration to yield a reaction product-catalyst complex, which can regenerate the alkene-copper(I) complex by ligand exchange. The proposed reaction mechanism is consistent with all known experimental results (including enantioselectivity data).     

Unprecedented Solvent‐Assisted Reactivity of Hydrido W3CuS4 Cubane Clusters: The Non‐Innocent Behaviour of the Cluster‐Core Unit

Opening the cluster core : Substitution of the chloride ligand in the novel cationic cluster [W₃CuS₄H₃Cl(dmpe)₃]⁺ (see figure; dmpe=1,2‐bis(dimethylphosphino)ethane) by acetonitrile is promoted by water addition. Kinetic and density functional theory studies lead to a mechanistic proposal in which acetonitrile or water attack causes the opening of the cluster core with dissociation of one of the Cu? S bonds to accommodate the entering ligand.

     

Diruthenium Complexes of p‐Benzoquinone–Imidazole Hybrid Ligands: Innocent or Noninnocent Behavior of the Quinone Moiety

After double deprotonation, 2,6‐diaryl‐p‐benzoquinonodiimidazoles (aryl=4‐tolyl ( I ) or 2‐pyridyl ( II )) were shown to bridge two [Ru(bpy)₂]²⁺ (bpy=2,2′‐bipyridine) complex fragments through the imidazolate N and p‐quinone O ( I → 1 ²⁺) or through the imidazolate N and pyridyl N donor atoms ( II → 2 ²⁺). Characterization by crystal structure analysis, ¹H/¹³C NMR spectroscopy, cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry, and spectroelectrochemistry (UV/Vis/NIR, IR, EPR) in combination with TD‐DFT calculations revealed surprisingly different electronic structures for redox systems 1 ⁿ and 2 ⁿ. Whereas 1 ²⁺ is reduced to a radical complex with considerable semiquinone character, the reduction of 2 ²⁺ with its exclusive N coordination exhibits little spin on the now redox‐innocent quinone moiety, compared with the electron uptake by the pyridyl–imidazolate chelating site. The first of two close‐lying oxidation processes occurs at the bridging heteroquinone ligand, whereas the second oxidation is partly ( 1 ⁴⁺) or predominantly ( 2 ⁴⁺) centered on the metal atoms.     

Mechanistic Origin of Chemoselectivity in Thiolate‐Catalyzed Tishchenko Reactions

The thiolate‐catalyzed Tishchenko reaction has shown high chemoselectivity for the formation of double aromatic‐substituted esters. In the present study, the detailed reaction mechanism and, in particular, the origin of the observed high chemoselectivity, have been studied with DFT calculations. The catalytic cycle mainly consisted of three steps: 1,2‐addition, hydride transfer, and acyl transfer steps. The calculation results reproduce the experimental observations that 4‐chlorobenzaldehyde acts as the hydrogen donor (carbonyl part in the ester product), while 2‐methoxybenzaldehyde acts as the hydrogen acceptor (alcohol part in the product). The two main factors are responsible for such chemoselectivity: 1) in the rate‐determining hydride transfer step, the para‐chloride substituent facilitates the hydride‐donating process by weakening the steric hindrance, and 2) the ortho‐methoxy substituent facilitates the hydride‐accepting process by stabilizing the magnesium center (by compensating for the electron deficiency).     

Mechanistic Origin of Cross‐Coupling Selectivity in Ni‐Catalysed Tishchenko Reactions

Mechanistic studies have been performed for the recently developed, Ni‐catalysed selective cross‐coupling reaction between aryl and alkyl aldehydes. A mono‐carbonyl activation (MCA) mechanism (in which one of the carbonyl groups is activated by oxidative addition) was found to be the most favourable pathway, and the rate‐determining step is oxidative addition. Analysing the origin of the observed cross‐coupling selectivity, we found the most favourable carbonyl activation step requires both coordination of the aryl aldehyde and oxidative addition of the alkyl aldehyde. Therefore, the stronger π‐accepting ability of the aryl aldehyde (relative to alkyl aldehyde) and the ease of oxidative addition of the alkyl aldehyde (relative to aryl aldehyde) are responsible for the cross‐coupling selectivity.