Rhodium complexes steric crowding

The rhodium complexes are more resistant towards oxidative addition than their iridium counterparts and this is believed to be linked to steric crowding, especially when employing bulky tertiary phosphine ligands. Work by Wilkinson explored several aspects of the steric and electronic properties of the rhodium(i) analogues, but definite crystal structural confirmation of the reaction... 

Dissociative mechanisms for square-planar substitutions are discussed in a review. A molecular orbital study of insertion of ethene into Pt—H bonds concludes that the reaction can be best described by a series of, preferably, dissociative steps. Rearrangements of three-co-ordinate ML3 T- or Y-shaped i -structures are discussed in this context. Three-co-ordinate intermediates are also suggested in the mechanisms for palladium(ii)-catalysed oxidations of olefins, and for electrophilic cleavage of platinum-carbon ff-bonds by protons. Parallel associative and dissociative processes have been proposed for a substitution reaction of a square-planar rhodium(i) complex in benzene solution. Especially, sterically crowded complexes have been thought to stabilize three-co-ordinate intermediates more easily. Recently determined activation volumes for sterically hindered square-planar complexes both of platinumand palladium are not compatible with dissociative activation, however. 

Despite the above, studies of isomerization processes at planar rhodium complexes are almost unknown, and this may reflect in part the fact that few isomer pairs are known for this element. The isolation of a series of iodo complexes cis- and tran5-[RhI(CO)(PR3)2] (R = aryl) may help this situation slightly, though the steric crowding due to the iodide makes these materials very prone to PR3 dissociation. " ... 

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