Reactivity dissociative substitution mechanism

The steric crowding introduced in the latter by the four ethyl substituents inhibits nucleophilic attack at platinum, so that complexes of this type tend to undergo substitution by a dissociative mechanism [89]. The complex of the more rigid ligand, 2,2, 2"-terpyridyl, Pt(terpy)Cl+, is found to be about 103 to 104 times more reactive to substitution than the dien analogue this is ascribed to steric strain [90], which is reflected in the short Pt—N bond to the central nitrogen (Pt-N some 0.03 A shorter than the other two Pt-N bonds) and N—Pt—N bond angles of 80-82°). 

In terms of the development of an understanding of the reactivity patterns of inorganic complexes, the two metals which have been pivotal are platinum and cobalt. This importance is to a large part a consequence of each metal having available one or more oxidation states which are kinetically inert. Platinum is a particularly useful element of this pair because it has two kinetically inert sets of complexes (divalent and tetravalent) in addition to the complexes of platinum(O), which is a kinetically labile center. The complexes of divalent and tetravalent platinum show significant differences. Divalent platinum forms four-coordinate planar complexes which have a coordinately unsaturated 16-electron d8 platinum center, whereas tetravalent platinum is an 18-electron d6 center which is coordinately saturated in its usual hexacoordination. In terms of mechanistic interpretation one must therefore consider both associative and dissociative substitution pathways, in addition to mechanisms involving electron transfer or inner-sphere atom transfer redox processes. A number of books and articles have been written about replacement reactions in platinum complexes, and a number of these are summarized in Table 13. 

Return now to the questions surrounding the actual sequence of events leading to substitution following population of the reactive state. As in thermal substitution mechanisms it is appropriate to determine whether a dissociative or an associative mechanism obtains. Certainly, this point is the one most often clarified, but other aspects also deserve some scrutiny. These include the possibility of acid-base equilibria in the excited state, isomerization of potentially ambidentate ligands, the extent to which the extruded ligand is electronically or vibrationally excited, the degree of molecular distortion upon population of the reactive state and the possibility of competing chemical processes which may be influenced by the environment or by structural modifications of the molecule. 

In other complexes the introduction of a C atom as a strong u-donor ligand, increases the reactivity of Pt(II) by six orders of magnitude compared to [Pt(H20)4] , but does not induce a changeover in mechanism. Surprisingly, there is only one example in the literature where the authors report activation volumes in support of a changeover in the substitution mechanism, i.e. from the usual associative to the unusual dissociative mechanism. The authors point out that at least two strong... 

Cobalamin and Cobaloxime Substitution Reactions.— The substitution kinetics of vitamin Biaa with 8-azaguanine and 6-mercaptopurine have been investigated in aqueous media at 25 °C and ionic strength 0.1 M. The complex pH dependences are interpreted in terms of reactions of the base on aquocobalamin with protonated and deprotonated forms of the ligands. Rate constants are listed in Table 7 and are consistent with a dissociative interchange mechanism. A similar mechanism is likely in the substitution reaction of cyanocobalamin with [Fe(CN)e] . Both base on and base off forms of the coenzyme are reactive. 

There are alternatives to the addition-elimination mechanism for nucleophilic substitution of acyl chlorides. Certain acyl chlorides are known to react with alcohols by a dissociative mechanism in which acylium ions are intermediates. This mechanism is observed with aroyl halides having electron-releasing substituents. Other acyl halides show reactivity indicative of mixed or borderline mechanisms. The existence of the SnI-like dissociative mechanism reflects the relative stability of acylium ions. 

Solvolysis studies of meta- and para-substituted phenyl phosphates (240) in anhydrous Bu OH and in Am OH have revealed that generally reactions of dianions are much faster in alcohols than in water. For example, the dianion of p-nitrophenyl phosphate (240 X = 4-NO2) reacts 7500- and 8750-fold faster in Bu OH and Am OH, respectively, than in water." The results of a theoretical study of the reactivity of phosphate monoester anions in aqueous solution do not support the generally accepted view that Brpnsted coefficients fhg = —1.23 and jSnuc = 0.13 determined more than 30 years ago for the uncatalysed reaction of water and a monophosphate dianion (241) represent conclusive evidence for the dissociative mechanism. It is suggested that, instead, the observed LFERs could correspond to a late transition state in the associative mechanism." ... 

These Rh complexes have been the subject of intense interest due to their propensity for C-H activation of alkanes (Section 3.3.2.7). The noble gas complexes [CpRh(CO)L] and [Cp Rh(CO)L] (L = Kr, Xe) have also been studied in supercritical fluid solution at room temperature [120]. For both Kr and Xe, the Cp complex is ca. 20-30 times more reactive towards CO than the Cp analogue. Kinetic data and activation parameters indicated an associative mechanism for substitution of Xe by CO, in contrast to Group 7 complexes, [CpM(CO)2Xe] for which evidence supports a dissociative mechanism. 

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