Cerium masquerading as a group 4 element: synthesis,structure and computational characterisation of [CeCl(N(SiMe3)2)3

Oxidation of the three-coordinate cerium amide [Ce(N-(SiMe3)2)3] with TeCl4 in toluene solution yields purple, diamagnetic [CeCl(N(SiMe3)2)3], whose structure has been examined by X-ray crystallographic and computational methods.     

Silyl,hydrido-silylene,or other bonding modes: some unusual structures of [(dhpe)Pt(SiHR2)]+ (dhpe = H2P-CH2-CH2-PH2; R = H,Me, SiH3, Cl,OMe, NMe2) and [(dhpe)Pt(SiR3)](+) (R = Me,Cl) from DFT calculations

DFT (B3LYP) calculations have been carried out in order to quantitatively evaluate the energies and stereochemistry of the accessible structures of [(dhpe)Pt(SiHR(2))](+) (dhpe = H(2)P-CH(2)-CH(2)-PH(2); R = H, CH(3), SiH(3), Cl, OMe, SMe, NMe(2)) and of [(dhpe)Pt(SiR(3))](+) (R = CH(3), Cl). A number of different isomers have been located. The expected terminal silyl or hydrido-silylene complexes are often not the most stable complexes. An isomer in which an H or an R group bridges a Pt=SiHR or Pt=SiR(2) bond is found to compete with the terminal silyl or hydrido-silylene isomers. In some cases, isomers derived from cleavage of a C-H bond and formation of a silene or disilene ligand are obtained. The structures of the platinum silyls differ from that of the equivalent alkyl complex, calculated for [(dhpe)Pt(CH(3))](+).     

Semi-empirical study of a reduced rubredoxin analogue

Molecular orbitals were determined for an analogue of reduced rubredoxin in an iterative extended Hückel (self-consistent charge) calculation. Zero field splittings and Mössbauer spectral parameters were then computed. The results are compared with available experimental data.     

Hydrogen for fluorine exchange in CH4-xFx by monomeric [1,2,4-(Me3C)3C5H2]2CeH: experimental and computational studies

The monomeric metallocenecerium hydride, Cp'(2)CeH (Cp' = 1,2,4-tri-tert-butylcyclopentadienyl), reacts instantaneously with CH(3)F, but slower with CH(2)F(2), to give Cp'(2)CeF and CH(4) in each case, a net H for F exchange reaction. The hydride reacts very slowly with CHF(3), and not at all with CF(4), to give Cp'(2)CeF, H(2), and 1,2,4- and 1,3,5-tri-tert-butylbenzene. The substituted benzenes are postulated to result from trapping of a fluorocarbene fragment derived by alpha-fluoride abstraction from Cp'(2)CeCF(3). The fluoroalkyl, Cp'(2)CeCF(3), is generated by reaction of Cp'(2)CeH and Me(3)SiCF(3) or by reaction of the metallacycle, [(Cp')(Me(3)C)(2)C(5)H(2)C(Me(2))CH(2)]Ce, with CHF(3), and its existence is inferred from the products of decomposition, which are Cp'(2)CeF, the isomeric tri-tert-butylbenzenes and in the case of Me(3)SiCF(3), Me(3)SiH. The fluoroalkyls, Cp'(2)CeCH(2)F and Cp'(2)CeCHF(2), generated from the metallacycle and CH(3)F and CH(2)F(2), respectively, are also inferred by their decomposition products, which are Cp'(2)CeF, CH(2), and CHF, respectively, which are trapped. DFT(B3PW91) calculations have been carried out to examine several reaction paths that involve CH and CF bond activation. The calculations show that the CH activation by Cp(2)CeH proceeds with a low barrier. The carbene ejection and trapping by H(2) is the rate-determining step, and the barrier parallels that found for reaction of H(2) with CH(2), CHF, and CF(2). The barrier of the rate-determining step is raised as the number of fluorines increases, while that of the CH activation path is lowered as the number of fluorines increases, which parallels the acidity.     

DFT studies of the methyl exchange reaction between Cp2M-CH3 or Cp*2M-CH3 (Cp = C5H5, Cp* = C5Me5, M = Y, Sc, Ln) and CH4. Does M ionic radius control the reaction?

The activation energies for the methyl exchange reactions between Cp2M-CH3 and H-CH3 have been calculated for M = Sc, Y and representative metals of the lanthanide family (La, Ce, Sm, Ho, Yb and Lu) with DFT(B3PW91) calculations with large-core pseudopotentials for M. The sigma-bond metathesis reactions are calculated to have lower activation energies for early lanthanides than for late lanthanides and any of group 3 metals. The relative activation barriers are analyzed using the NBO charge distributions in the reactant and in the transition states. It is shown that the methane needs to be polarized in the transition state as H((+delta))-CH3((-delta)) by the reactant, because this sigma-bond metathesis is best viewed as heterolytic cleavage of methane, leading to a proton transfer between two methyl groups in the field of an electropositive M metal. Early lanthanides, which are involved in strongly ionic metal-ligands bonds are thus associated with the lowest activation energies. The ionic radius and the steric effects influence the relative rates of reaction for the complexes of Sc, Y and Lu. In agreement with earlier works of Sherer et al., the experimental reactivity trends found by Tilley are reproduced best with Cp*2M-CH3 (Cp* = C5Me5) rather than Cp2M-CH3 (Cp = C5H5) because the steric bulk of C5Me5 deactivates most the complex where the metal has the smallest ionic radius (Sc). While the steric effects and the influence of the metal ionic radius cannot be neglected, these factors are not the only ones involved in determining the activation barriers of the sigma-bond metathesis reaction.