Alkyl complexes rhodium porphyrins

TPP)Rh(L)J+C1 in the presence of an alkyl halide leads to a given (P)Rh(R) or (P)Rh(RX) complex. The yield was nearly quantitative (>80X) in most cases based on the rhodium porphyrin starting species. However, it should be noted that excess alkyl halide was used in Equation 3 in order to suppress the competing dimerization reaction shown in Equation 1. The ultimate (P)Rh(R) products generated by electrosynthesis were also characterized by H l MR, which demonstrated the formation of only one porphyrin product(lA). No reaction is observed between (P)Rh and aryl halides but this is expected from chemical reactivity studles(10,15). Table I also presents electronic absorption spectra and the reduction and oxidation potentials of the electrogenerated (P)Rh(R) complexes. 

In an alternative di-metaUoradical approach to C-H functionalization with metalloporphyrins, Wayland and coworkers have shown that rhodium porphyrins are able to perform selective and reversible C-H activation of alkanes [96-99]. The di-metalloradical approach relies on the formation of strong Rh-H and Rh-C bonds to drive the activation. Fluorination of the porphyrin periphery weakens these bonds to rhodium slightly, but has a much larger impact upon the Rh(III)/Rh(I) redox couple the enhanced stabilization of the Rh(I) state in the fluorinated porphyrin ligand allows alkyl group transfer by nucleophilic attack on the alkyl-rhodium(III) complex to be favorable [100]. 

Structural types for organometallic rhodium and iridium porphyrins mostly comprise five- or six-coordinate complexes (Por)M(R) or (Por)M(R)(L), where R is a (T-bonded alkyl, aryl, or other organic fragment, and Lisa neutral donor. Most examples contain rhodium, and the chemistry of the corresponding iridium porphyrins is much more scarce. The classical methods of preparation of these complexes involves either reaction of Rh(III) halides Rh(Por)X with organolithium or Grignard reagents, or reaction of Rh(I) anions [Rh(Por)] with alkyl or aryl halides. In this sense the chemistry parallels that of iron and cobalt porphyrins. 

The syntheses and spectroscopic and electrochemical characterization of the rhodium and iridium porphyrin complexes (Por)IVI(R) and (Por)M(R)(L) have been summarized in three review articles.The classical syntheses involve Rh(Por)X with RLi or RMgBr, and [Rh(Por) with RX. In addition, reactions of the rhodium and iridium dimers have led to a wide variety of rhodium a-bonded complexes. For example, Rh(OEP)]2 reacts with benzyl bromide to give benzyl rhodium complexes, and with monosubstituted alkenes and alkynes to give a-alkyl and fT-vinyl products, respectively. More recent synthetic methods are summarized below. Although the development of iridium porphyrin chemistry has lagged behind that of rhodium, there have been few surprises and reactions of [IrfPorih and lr(Por)H parallel those of the rhodium congeners quite closely.Selected structural data for rr-bonded rhodium and iridium porphyrin complexes are collected in Table VI, and several examples are shown in Fig. 7. ... 

The synthesis of metalloporphyrins which contain a metal-carbon a-bond can be accomplished by a number of different methods(l,2). One common synthetic method involves reaction of a Grignardreagent or alkyl(aryl) lithium with (P)MX or (PMX)2 where P is the dianion of a porphyrin macrocycle and X is a halide or pseudohalide. Another common synthetic technique involves reaction of a chemically or electrochemically generated low valent metalloporphyrin with an alkyl or aryl halide. This latter technique is similar to methods described in this paper for electrosynthesis of cobalt and rhodium a-bonded complexes. However, the prevailing mechanisms and the chemical reactions... 

An alternative route used in organometallic chemistry is the reaction of low valent organometallic derivatives with alkyl (aryl) halides. The two electron oxidative addition of alkyl (aryl) halides or cyclopropane derivatives to metalloporphyrins such as [M (Por)] leads to metal alkyl (aryl) o-bonded porphyrins of cobalt " rhodium and iridium ° (Scheme 2). Substitution of aryl and vinyl halides by electrochemically generated iron(I) porphyrins also leads to o-bonded Fe complexes ... 

C-H alkylation and amination reactions involving metal-carbenoid and metal-nitrenoid species have been developed for many years, most extensively with (chiral) dirhodium(ll) carboxylate and carboxamidate complexes as catalysts [45]. When performed in intramolecular settings, such reactions offer versatile methods for the (enantioselective) synthesis of hetero- and carbocy-cles. In the past decade, Zhang and coworkers had explored the catalysis of cobalt(II)-porphyrin complexes for carbene- and nitrene-transfer reactions [46] and revealed a radical nature of such processes as a distinct mechanistic feature compared with typical metal (e.g., rhodium)-catalyzed carbenoid and nitrenoid reactions [47]. Described below are examples of heterocycle synthesis via cobalt(II)-porphyrin-catalyzed intramolecular C-H amination or C-H alkylation. 

---