Rhodium ligand substitution reactions

As already mentioned, complexes of chromium(iii), cobalt(iii), rhodium(iii) and iridium(iii) are particularly inert, with substitution reactions often taking many hours or days under relatively forcing conditions. The majority of kinetic studies on the reactions of transition-metal complexes have been performed on complexes of these metal ions. This is for two reasons. Firstly, the rates of reactions are comparable to those in organic chemistry, and the techniques which have been developed for the investigation of such reactions are readily available and appropriate. The time scales of minutes to days are compatible with relatively slow spectroscopic techniques. The second reason is associated with the kinetic inertness of the products. If the products are non-labile, valuable stereochemical information about the course of the substitution reaction may be obtained. Much is known about the stereochemistry of ligand substitution reactions of cobalt(iii) complexes, from which certain inferences about the nature of the intermediates or transition states involved may be drawn. This is also the case for substitution reactions of square-planar complexes of platinum(ii), where study has led to the development of rules to predict the stereochemical course of reactions at this centre. 

Support-bound transition metal complexes have mainly been prepared as insoluble catalysts. Table 4.1 lists representative examples of such polymer-bound complexes. Polystyrene-bound molybdenum carbonyl complexes have been prepared for the study of ligand substitution reactions and oxidative eliminations [51], Moreover, well-defined molybdenum, rhodium, and iridium phosphine complexes have been prepared on copolymers of PEG and silica [52]. Several reviews have covered the preparation and application of support-bound reagents, including transition metal complexes [53-59]. Examples of the preparation and uses of organomercury and organo-zinc compounds are discussed in Section 4.1. 

Figure 3.76 Ligand substitution reactions on a rhodium (I) carbene complex with an ester functionalised carbene ligand.

Though thermally stable, rhodium ammines are light sensitive and irradiation of such a complex at the frequency of a ligand-field absorption band causes substitution reactions to occur (Figure 2.47) [97]. The charge-transfer transitions occur at much higher energy, so that redox reactions do not compete. 

One of the commonest reactions in the chemistry of transition-metal complexes is the replacement of one ligand by another ligand (Fig. 9-3) - a so-called substitution reaction. These reactions proceed at a variety of rates, the half-lives of which may vary from several days for complexes of rhodium(iii) or cobalt(m) to about a microsecond with complexes of titanium(iii). 

It will not have escaped the reader s attention that the kinetically inert complexes are those of (chromium(iii)) or low-spin d (cobalt(iii), rhodium(iii) or iridium(iii)). Attempts to rationalize this have been made in terms of ligand-field effects, as we now discuss. Note, however, that remarkably little is known about the nature of the transition state for most substitution reactions. Fortunately, the outcome of the approach we summarize is unchanged whether the mechanism is associative or dissociative. 

After the initial demonstration of stoichiometric nucleophilic attack on 7i-allyl ligands, catalytic allylic substitution reactions were pursued. In 1970, groups from Union Carbide [3, 4], Shell Oil [5], and Toray Industries [6] published or patented examples of catalytic allylic substitution. All three groups reported allylic amination with palladium catalysts. The Toray Industries report also demonstrated the exchange of aryl ether and ester leaving groups, and the patent from Shell Oil includes catalysts based on rhodium and platinum. 

Squai e-planar rhodium I) complexes, phosphorus-nitrogen donor ligands, 44 295 Square-planar substitution reactions, 34 219-221... 

Chlorotris(triphenylphosphine)rhodium(I) is also the precursor of numerous chloro complexes which may be obtained by exchanging PPh3 for other ligands. The main use of this reaction, however, is to prepare [RhXL2L ] complexes (see Section 48.4.3.1 below). The triphenylphosphine substitution reactions of [RhCl(PPh3)3] are shown in Scheme 6. 

The reaction is stereoselective, 1,4-hexadiene being mainly obtained in the E configuration the Z-isomer is present only to a small extent and its formation can be further decreased by donor ligands such as Bu3P=0 and (Me2N)3P=0. The reaction is also regioselective the positional isomer CH2=CHCH(CH3)CH=CH2, derived from ethylene insertion into the more substituted carbon-rhodium bond of the allylic system, is present to less than 1 % when ethanol is in large excess. 

Optically active ferrocenylbisphosphines, (/J)-N,iV-dimethyl-l-[(5)-1, 2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocenyIJethylamine [(/J)-(5)-BPPFA] and its derivatives, are efficient chiral bisphos-phine ligands for rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation, palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic substitution reactions, and gold-catalyzed asymmetric aldol-type reactions of a-isocyano carboxylates. ... 

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