Ligand exchange/substitution interchange

Catalysis by transition metal complexes and metaUoenzymes involves a sequence of ligand exchange reactions. Such a reaction can he viewed as an interchange of an inner sphere and outer sphere ligand. It is argued therefore that the structure of the second coordination sphere is of direct relevance to catalysis. A method of studying second coordination sphere structure based on dipolar NMR shifts in paramagnetic complexes is discussed. Even in weakly bound complexes, there is a definite preferred structure for the complex which may or may not be favorable for a subsequent substitution reaction. 

Where solvent exchange controls the formation kinetics, substitution of a ligand for a solvent molecule in a solvated metal ion has commonly been considered to reflect the two-step process illustrated by [7.1]. A mechanism of this type has been termed a dissociative interchange or 7d process. Initially, complexation involves rapid formation of an outer-sphere complex (of ion-ion or ion-dipole nature) which is characterized by the equilibrium constant Kos. In some cases, the value of Kos may be determined experimentally alternatively, it may be estimated from first principles (Margerum, Cayley, Weatherburn Pagenkopf, 1978). The second step is then the conversion of the outer-sphere complex to an inner-sphere one, the formation of which is controlled by the natural rate of solvent exchange on the metal. Solvent exchange may be defined in terms of its characteristic first-order rate constant, kex, whose value varies widely from one metal to the next. 

Data for water exchange with Fe(H20)j+ are shown in Table 4.1. " The value for AV indicates an interchange dissociative mechanism, which is also reflected in data for the reaction of Fe + with tpy AV = -1-3.5 cm mol , ) and other ligands. " One of the earliest studies of substitution in a labile metal ion was of the reaetion of Fe + with bpy and phen in acid solution (Sec. 2.1.4). 

The starting point for most of the redox chemistry considered in this review is the nickel(II) ion. The nickel(II) ion has a d8 electronic configuration and, with weak-field ligands such as H20, it forms a six-coordinate ion with approximately octahedral symmetry and a paramagnetic (two unpaired electrons) 3A2 ground state. The characteristic solution chemistry of six-coordinate nickel(II) is well documented and, in particular, the substitution behavior has been extensively studied and is the subject of recent reviews (11, 12). It is a labile ion with solvent exchange rates around 104 sec-1 at 25°C and activation parameters are consistent with dissociatively activated interchange behavior (13). 

Substitution of several metal-carbonyl complexes Cr(CO)6 and Mn(CO)5 (amine) show a small dependence on the nature and concentration of the entering hgand. Under pseudo-first-order conditions, the rate laws for these substitutions have two terms, as shown for Cr(CO)6 (as for some substitution reactions with 16e complexes, see equation 5). The second-order term was always much smaller than the first-order term. A mechanism that ascribes the second-order term to dissociative interchange (U) has been suggested for the Mo(CO)5Am system (Am = amine) and involves a solvent-encased substrate and a species occupying a favorable site for exchange. Thus, the body of evidence for the simple metal carbonyls indicates that CO dissociation and is the mechanism of ligand substitution reactions. 

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