Ethylene/ethene complexes

The first organometallic compound of the transition metals to be characterized (1827) was Zeise s salt, K[(C2H4)PtCl3]-H20 (Fig. 18.1). It forms when K2[PtCl4] in aqueous ethanol is exposed to ethylene (ethene) a dimeric Pt—C2H4 complex with Cl bridges is also formed. In both species, the ethylene is bonded sideways to the platinum(II) center so that the two carbon atoms are equidistant from the metal. This is called the dihapto-or T]2 mode. A ligand such as an allyl radical with three adjacent carbons directly bonded to a metal atom would be trihapto- or t 3, and so on. 

This new carbene complex then attacks another molecule of starting material and the cycle is repeated except that ethylene (ethene) is now lost instead of styrene in all the remaining cycles. 

The formation of linear isotactic or syndiotactic polymers can be achieved by metal catalysed polymerisation. This employs Ziegler-Natta catalysts, made from triethylaluminium (Et3Al) and titanium tetrachloride (TiCLr), which react with alkenes by a complex mechanism. Polymerisation of ethylene (ethene, CH2=CH2) leads to the formation of (linear) high-density polyethylene, which is of greater strength than the (branched) low-density polyethylene produced on radical polymerisation. 

By far the best crystallographic evidence for simultaneous back-bonding is the platinum(II) complex of ethylene [ethene] PtCl3(C2HJ prepared by Zeise. The C—C... 

Ethylene, bromo-(8) Ethene, bromo- (9) (593-50-2) Bicyclo[3.2.0]heptan-2-ol, 3,3-dimethyl- (9) (71221-67-5) Bis(copper(I) trif1uoromethanesulfonate)benzene complex Copper,... 

A common property of coordinated alkenes is their susceptibility to attack by nucleophiles such as OH , OMe , MeC02, and Cl , and it has long been known that Zeise s salt is slowly attacked by non-acidic water to give MeCHO and Pt metal, while corresponding Pd complexes are even more reactive. This forms the basis of the Wacker process (developed by J. Smidt and his colleagues at Wacker Chemie, 1959-60) for converting ethene (ethylene) into ethanal (acetaldehyde) — see Panel overleaf. 

The much more stable MIL-lOO(Cr) lattice can also be impregnated with Pd(acac)2 via incipient wetness impregnation the loaded catalyst is active for the hydrogenation of styrene and the hydrogenation of acetylene and acetylene-ethene mixtures to ethane [58]. MIL-lOl(Cr) has been loaded with Pd using a complex multistep procedure involving an addition of ethylene diamine on the open Cr sites of the framework. The Pd-loaded MIL-lOl(Cr) is an active heterogeneous Heck catalyst for the reaction of acrylic acid with iodobenzene [73]. 

At 24 °C and 15-60 bar ethylene, [Rh(Me)(0H)(H20)Cn] catalyzed the slow polymerization of ethylene [4], Propylene, methyl acrylate and methyl methacrylate did not react. After 90 days under 60 bar CH2=CH2 (the pressure was held constant throughout) the product was low molecular weight polyethylene with Mw =5100 and a polydispersity index of 1.6. This is certainly not a practical catalyst for ethylene polymerization (TOP 1 in a day), nevertheless the formation and further reactions of the various intermediates can be followed conveniently which may provide ideas for further catalyst design. For example, during such investigations it was established, that only the monohydroxo-monoaqua complex was a catalyst for this reaction, both [Rh(Me)3Cn] and [Rh(Me)(H20)2Cn] were found completely ineffective. The lack of catalytic activity of [Rh(Me)3Cn] is understandable since there is no free coordination site for ethylene. Such a coordination site can be provided by water dissociation from [Rh(Me)(OH)(H20)Cn] and [Rh(Me)(H20)2Cn] and the rate of this exchange is probably the lowest step of the overall reaction.The hydroxy ligand facilitates the dissociation of H2O and this leads to a slow catalysis of ethene polymerization. 

Difluorobenzocyclopropene (21) reacts with Ni(0) complexes across the central 7l-bond to give bicyclobutanes 385, with concomitant loss of ligands from the metal. With tris(ethene)Ni, and in the presence of tetraethylene diamine, one ethylene unit is inserted and the complex 386 results. ... 

Such J-mctals as Cu(I) [but not Cu(II)], form a variety of compounds with ethenes, for example [Cu(C2H4)(H20)2]C104 (from Cu, Cu2+, and C2H4) or Cu(C2H4)(bipy)+. It is necessary to mention that, of all the metals involved in biological systems, only copper reacts with ethylene [74b]. Such homoleptic alkene complexes can be useful intermediates for the synthesis of other complexes. The olefin complexes of the metals in high formal oxidation states are electron deficient and therefore inert toward electrophilic reagents. By contrast, the olefin complexes of the metals in low formal oxidation states are attacked by electrophiles such as protons at the electron-rich metal-carbon a-bonds [74c]. 

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