Coordinated ligands reduction

The reductant may be optically stabilized by using optically active forms of the coordinated ligand. Such ligands may impose stereochemical restraints even with labile oxidation states... 

A cis-coordinating ligand is apparently required to bind and activate MeOH so that a methoxy group is transferred to the polyketone chain and a hydride remains on palladium. Two mechanisms are possible for this reaction (i) nucleophilic attack by the oxygen at the acyl carbonyl with concerted formation of Pd-H (ii) formation of a Pd(acyl) (methoxy) complex and H, followed by reductive elimination and subsequent proton attack on a Pd center. No experimental evidence favoring either mechanism in ethene/CO copolymerisation has been provided so far. 

As earlier reported for Ru (577), [Os(NH3)5(dmso)]2+ preferentially binds the ligand via the S atom (67,120,200), an action that allows for considerable 7r back-donation. Upon oxidation of this species (0.36 V, NHE) a linkage isomerization ensues with a specific rate of =s0.1 sec-1, in which the sulfoxide ligand shifts from sulfur to oxygen coordination. The reduction potential of [Os(NH3)5(0-dmso)]3+ (-0.90 V, NHE) is dramatically shifted due both to stabilization of Os(III) and to destabilization of Os(II), as compared to sulfur coordination. The cycle is completed by an 0 — S isomerization on Os(II) at a specific rate of >100 sec-1. 

The reductive decomposition of thiocyanato complexes should be applicable to the electrodeposition of other metal sulfides. We have tried this with Pd2, Co2+, Ni2+, Zn2+ and In3+.I8 While thin films of PdS, CoS and NiS could be successfully electrodeposited, other metal sulfides such as ZnS and In2S3 could not be obtained. This is an interesting series of results when we think of the softness (hardness) of these metals as acid. TC coordinates with its sof basic S atom to soft acidic Cd2+ and Pd2+, while hard acidic In3+ only permits coordination with hard basic N atom to form an isothiocyanato-complex. Other metals are at the borderline accepting coordination of both S and N. Because reduction of TC is catalyzed by a central metal,75,76) such ligand reduction may result in the formation of metal sulfides only for thiocyanato-complexes. The difference in bahavior among Co2+, Ni2+ and Zn2+ could be reasoned as the consequence of efficient catalysis of the electron transfer reaction by the transition metals. Such trends fit nicely with the previous findings by electrochemical analyses. 7) It is therefore understood that the chemical structure of the active species is decisive to the film formation. Thus, designing such molecular precursors which are chemically stable but can be electrochemically decomposed to metal sulfides should broaden the possibilities of electrochemical thin film synthesis. 

Although the number of valence electrons present on an atom places definite restrictions on the maximum formal oxidation state possible for a given transition element in chemical combination, in condensed phases, at least, there seem to be no a priori restrictions on minimum formal oxidation states. In future studies we hope to arrive at some definitive conclusions on how much negative charge can be added to a metal center before reduction and/or loss of coordinated ligands occur. Answers to these questions will ultimately define the boundaries of superreduced transition metal chemistry and also provide insight on the relative susceptibility of coordinated ligands to reduction, an area that has attracted substantial interest (98,117-119). 

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