Coordinated carbenes from electron-rich olefins on RuHCl(PPr3i)2†
Abstract
Dehydrohalogenation
of RuH2Cl2L2
(L=PPr3i) gives (RuHClL2)2, shown to be a halide-bridged dimer by X-ray crystallography;
the fluoride analog is also a dimer. (RuHClL2)2 reacts with N2, pyridine and C2H4 (L′) to give RuHClL′L2, but with vinyl ether and vinyl amides, H2CCH(E) [E=OR, NRC(O)R′] such olefin binding is followed by isomerization to the heteroatom-substituted carbene complex L2HClRu
C(CH3)(E). The reaction mechanism for
such rearrangement is established by DFT(B3PW91) computations, for C2H4 as olefin (where it is found to be endothermic),
and the structures of intermediates are calculated for H2C
C(H)(OCH3) and for cyclic and acyclic amide-substituted
olefins. It is found, both experimentally and computationally, that the amide oxygen is bonded to Ru, with a calculated bond energy of approximately 9 kcal mol−1 for an acyclic model. Less electron-rich vinyl
amides or amines form η2-olefin complexes, but do not isomerize to carbene complexes. Calculated
ΔE values for selected ‘‘
competition’’ reactions reveal that donation by both Ru and the heteroatom-substituted X are necessary to make the carbene complex L2HClRu
C(X)(CH3) more stable than the olefin complex L2HClRu(η2-H2C
CHX).
This originates in part from a diminished endothermicity of the olefin→carbene transformation when the
sp2 carbon bears a π-donor substituent. The importance of a hydride on Ru in furnishing a mechanism for this isomerization
is discussed. The compositional characteristics of Schrock and Fischer carbenes are detailed, it is suggested that
reactivity will not be uniquely determined by these characteristics, and these new
carbenes RuHCl[C(X)CH3]L2
are contrasted to Schrock and Fischer carbenes.