Transition-metal hydrides oxygen

Another general method is based on oxygen insertion into metal-hydrogen bonds (50,72,79-81) by any of several known mechanisms. Hydrogen abstraction by superoxo complexes followed by oxygenation of the reduced metal, as in the catalytic reaction of Eqs. (3)-(4) (50,72), works well but is limited by the low availability of water-soluble transition metal hydrides and slow hydrogen transfer (equivalent of reaction (3)) for sterically crowded complexes. 

Insertion of Molecular Oxygen into Late-Transition Metal Hydride Bonds... 

The rates at which protons can be removed from transition metal hydrides (their "kinetic acidities") generally parallel their thermodynamic acidities pK values). However, the removal of a proton from a metal is much slower than the removal of a proton from an electronegative atom like nitrogen or oxygen. The reverse is also true the protonation of a metal (to form a hydride) is slower than the protonation of a nitrogen or an oxygen examples are shown in Equations 3.113 and 3.114. The low kinetic acidity of transition metal hydrides is much like that of carbon acids in organic chemistry. - - ... 

Although the lUPAC has recommended the names tetrahydroborate, tetrahydroaluminate, etc, this nomenclature is not yet ia general use. Borohydrides. The alkaU metal borohydrides are the most important complex hydrides. They are ionic, white, crystalline, high melting soHds that are sensitive to moisture but not to oxygen. Group 13 (IIIA) and transition-metal borohydrides, on the other hand, are covalendy bonded and are either Hquids or sublimable soHds. The alkaline-earth borohydrides are iatermediate between these two extremes, and display some covalent character. 

The formation of metal-oxygen bonds has previously been found to occur for the stoichiometric hydrogenation of CO to methanol with metal hydrides of the early transition metals (20). Moreover, in ruthenium-phosphine catalyzed hydrogenation (with H2) of aldehydes and ketones, metal-oxygen bonded catalytic intermediates have been proposed for the catalytic cycle and in one case isolated (21,22). 

Hydrides of variable composition are not only formed with pure metals as solvents. A large number of the binary metal hydrides are non-stoichiometric compounds. Non-stoichiometric compounds are in general common for d,f and some p block metals in combination with soft anions such as sulfur, selenium and hydrogen, and also for somewhat harder anions like oxygen. Hard anions such as the halides, sulfates and nitrides form few non-stoichiometric compounds. Two factors are important the crystal structures must allow changes in composition, and the transition metal must have accessible oxidation states. These factors are partly related. FeO,... 

The cationic tantalum dihydride Cp2(CO)Ta(H)2]+ reacts at room temperature with acetone to generate the alcohol complex [Cp2(C0)Ta(H01Pr)]+, which was isolated and characterized [45]. The mechanism appears to involve protonation of the ketone by the dihydride, followed by hydride transfer from the neutral hydride. The OH of the coordinated alcohol in the cationic tantalum alcohol complex can be deprotonated to produce the tantalum alkoxide complex [Cp2(C0)Ta(01Pr)]. Attempts to make the reaction catalytic by carrying out the reaction under H2 at 60 °C were unsuccessful. The strong bond between oxygen and an early transition metal such as Ta appears to preclude catalytic reactivity in this example. 

To unlock its full potential, C-H activation has to be coupled with a functionalization event (e.g., 3—>4). For instance, a hydride elimination occurring after the formation of metal complexes such as 3 furnishes olefins, versatile intermediates for further modification reactions. Transition metal-catalyzed atom- or atom group-transfer reactions that permit the introduction of oxygen-, carbon-, and boron-containing groups are also presented. 

Once the hydroxy functionalised imidazolium salt is formed, it can be deprotonised and reacted with various metal complexes to form (transition) metal carbene complexes. The hydroxy group ensures that the ligand can be coordinated even to metals that are normally reluctant to form stable carbene complexes. A good example is the deprotonation of a hydroxyethyl functionalised imidazolium salt with potassium hydride [36]. The potassium cation coordinates to the oxygen atom of the alkoxide sidechain and forms cubes as structural elements (see Figure 4.6). The carbene end then coordinates to the respective... 

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