Reaction rates and ligand field effects

It would thus be expected that ligand field effects would be important in determining reaction rates and this is found to be the case. 

Labile species are usually main group metal ions with the exception of Cr2+ and Cu2+, whose lability can be ascribed to Jahn-Teller effects. Transition metals of classes II and III are species with small ligand field stabilization energies, whereas the inert species have high ligand field stabilization energies (LFSE). Examples include Cr3+ (3d3) and Co3+ (3d6). Jahn-Teller effects and LFSE are discussed in Section 1.6. Table 1.9 reports rate constant values for some aqueous solvent exchange reactions.8... 

The catalytic activity of the metal complex on the oxidative reaction in solution is much influenced not only by the species and the structure of the complexes but also by the chemical environment around them. For instance, in the oxidative polymerization of phenols catalyzed by a Cu complex, the reaction rate varied about 102 times with changes in the composition of the solvent, and the highest rate was observed for polymerization in a benzene solvent162. Thus, we used the copolymer of styrene and 4-vinylpyridine(PSP) as the polymer ligand and studied the effect on the catalysis of the non-polar field formed by the polymer ligand163. ... 

At the same time, N20 proved to be a poor ligand and quite an inert oxidant. It resulted in a low reaction rate and needs a high reaction temperature. The lack of catalysts that could provide an effective activation of N20 is the main factor limiting a widespread use of nitrous oxide in liquid-phase oxidations. The development of such catalysts is an important target in this field. 

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