Transition catalysis

Glass transition determinations Decomposition reaction Reaction kinetics Phase diagrams Dehydration reactions Solid-state reactions Heats of absorption Heats of reaction Heats of polymerization Heats of sublimation Heats of transition Catalysis... 

For more than two decades, extensive research work has been devoted to the unique properties of clusters. They are made of a small number (or nucleaiity) of atoms or molecules only, and therefore constitute a new state of matter, or mesoscopic phase, between the atom or molecule and the crystal. New methods have been developed in physics and chemistry for their synthesis, their direct observation, the study of their properties, and of their crucial role in number of processes, such as phase transition, catalysis, surface phenomena, imaging. Owii to its specific approach, radiation chemistry offei first the opportunity to reveal the existence of nuclearity-dependent properties of clusters and has then proven to be a powerfid method to study the mechanisms of cluster formation and reactivity in solution. 

Small metal clusters are also of interest because of their importance in catalysis. Despite the fact that small clusters should consist of mostly surface atoms, measurement of the photon ionization threshold for Hg clusters suggest that a transition from van der Waals to metallic properties occurs in the range of 20-70 atoms per cluster [88] and near-bulk magnetic properties are expected for Ni, Pd, and Pt clusters of only 13 atoms [89] Theoretical calculations on Sin and other semiconductors predict that the stmcture reflects the bulk lattice for 1000 atoms but the bulk electronic wave functions are not obtained [90]. Bartell and co-workers [91] study beams of molecular clusters with electron dirfraction and molecular dynamics simulations and find new phases not observed in the bulk. Bulk models appear to be valid for their clusters of several thousand atoms (see Section IX-3). 

The composition and chemical state of the surface atoms or molecules are very important, especially in the field of heterogeneous catalysis, where mixed-surface compositions are common. This aspect is discussed in more detail in Chapter XVIII (but again see Refs. 55, 56). Since transition metals are widely used in catalysis, the determination of the valence state of surface atoms is important, such as by ESCA, EXAFS, or XPS (see Chapter VIII and note Refs. 59, 60). 

The microscopic understanding of tire chemical reactivity of surfaces is of fundamental interest in chemical physics and important for heterogeneous catalysis. Cluster science provides a new approach for tire study of tire microscopic mechanisms of surface chemical reactivity [48]. Surfaces of small clusters possess a very rich variation of chemisoriDtion sites and are ideal models for bulk surfaces. Chemical reactivity of many transition-metal clusters has been investigated [49]. Transition-metal clusters are produced using laser vaporization, and tire chemical reactivity studies are carried out typically in a flow tube reactor in which tire clusters interact witli a reactant gas at a given temperature and pressure for a fixed period of time. Reaction products are measured at various pressures or temperatures and reaction rates are derived. It has been found tliat tire reactivity of small transition-metal clusters witli simple molecules such as H2 and NH can vary dramatically witli cluster size and stmcture [48, 49, M and 52]. 

Figure C2.12.10. Different manifestations of shape-selectivity in zeolite catalysis. Reactant selectivity (top), product selectivity (middle) and transition state selectivity (bottom).

The regioselectivity benefits from the increased polarisation of the alkene moiety, reflected in the increased difference in the orbital coefficients on carbon 1 and 2. The increase in endo-exo selectivity is a result of an increased secondary orbital interaction that can be attributed to the increased orbital coefficient on the carbonyl carbon ". Also increased dipolar interactions, as a result of an increased polarisation, will contribute. Interestingly, Yamamoto has demonstrated that by usirg a very bulky catalyst the endo-pathway can be blocked and an excess of exo product can be obtained The increased di as tereo facial selectivity has been attributed to a more compact transition state for the catalysed reaction as a result of more efficient primary and secondary orbital interactions as well as conformational changes in the complexed dienophile" . Calculations show that, with the polarisation of the dienophile, the extent of asynchronicity in the activated complex increases . Some authors even report a zwitteriorric character of the activated complex of the Lewis-acid catalysed reaction " . Currently, Lewis-acid catalysis of Diels-Alder reactions is everyday practice in synthetic organic chemistry. 

First, the use of water limits the choice of Lewis-acid catalysts. The most active Lewis acids such as BFj, TiQ4 and AlClj react violently with water and cannot be used However, bivalent transition metal ions and trivalent lanthanide ions have proven to be active catalysts in aqueous solution for other organic reactions and are anticipated to be good candidates for the catalysis of aqueous Diels-Alder reactions. 

Inspired by the many hydrolytically-active metallo enzymes encountered in nature, extensive studies have been performed on so-called metallo micelles. These investigations usually focus on mixed micelles of a common surfactant together with a special chelating surfactant that exhibits a high affinity for transition-metal ions. These aggregates can have remarkable catalytic effects on the hydrolysis of activated carboxylic acid esters, phosphate esters and amides. In these reactions the exact role of the metal ion is not clear and may vary from one system to another. However, there are strong indications that the major function of the metal ion is the coordination of hydroxide anion in the Stem region of the micelle where it is in the proximity of the micelle-bound substrate. The first report of catalysis of a hydrolysis reaction by me tall omi cell es stems from 1978. In the years that... 

The development of methods for aromatic substitution based on catalysis by transition metals, especially palladium, has led to several new methods for indole synthesis. One is based on an intramolecular Heck reaction in which an... 

Section 16 13 Under conditions of acid catalysis nucleophiles attack the carbon that can better support a positive charge Carbocation character is developed m the transition state... 

Addition of HCN to unsaturated compounds is often the easiest and most economical method of making organonitnles. An early synthesis of acrylonitrile involved the addition of HCN to acetylene. The addition of HCN to aldehydes and ketones is readily accompHshed with simple base catalysis, as is the addition of HCN to activated olefins (Michael addition). However, the addition of HCN to unactivated olefins and the regioselective addition to dienes is best accompHshed with a transition-metal catalyst, as illustrated by DuPont s adiponitrile process (6—9). 

B. S. Green, Y. Ashani, and D. Chipman, eds.. Chemical Approaches to Understanding En me Catalysis Biomimetic Chemistry and Transition State Analogs, Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1982. 

Transition-Metal Catalyzed Cyclizations. o-Halogenated anilines and anilides can serve as indole precursors in a group of reactions which are typically cataly2ed by transition metals. Several catalysts have been developed which convert o-haloanilines or anilides to indoles by reaction with acetylenes. An early procedure involved coupling to a copper acetyUde with o-iodoaniline. A more versatile procedure involves palladium catalysis of the reaction of an o-bromo- or o-trifluoromethylsulfonyloxyanihde with a triaLkylstaimylalkyne. The reaction is conducted in two stages, first with a Pd(0) and then a Pd(II) catalyst (29). 

Catalytic Properties. In zeoHtes, catalysis takes place preferentially within the intracrystaUine voids. Catalytic reactions are affected by aperture size and type of channel system, through which reactants and products must diffuse. Modification techniques include ion exchange, variation of Si/A1 ratio, hydrothermal dealumination or stabilization, which produces Lewis acidity, introduction of acidic groups such as bridging Si(OH)Al, which impart Briimsted acidity, and introducing dispersed metal phases such as noble metals. In addition, the zeoHte framework stmcture determines shape-selective effects. Several types have been demonstrated including reactant selectivity, product selectivity, and restricted transition-state selectivity (28). Nonshape-selective surface activity is observed on very small crystals, and it may be desirable to poison these sites selectively, eg, with bulky heterocycHc compounds unable to penetrate the channel apertures, or by surface sdation. 

G. N. Schrauzer, ed.. Transition Metals In Homogeneous Catalysis, Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, 1971. 

Olefin Hydroformylation (The Oxo Process). One of the most important iadustrial applications of transition-metal complex catalysis is the hydroformylation of olefins (23), ihusttated for propjdene ... 

There are only a few weU-documented examples of catalysis by metal clusters, and not many are to be expected as most metal clusters are fragile and fragment to give metal complexes or aggregate to give metal under reaction conditions (39). However, the metal carbonyl clusters are conceptually important because they form a bridge between catalysts commonly used in solution, ie, transition-metal complexes with single metal atoms, and catalysts commonly used on surfaces, ie, small metal particles or clusters. 

W. A. Nugent and J. M. Mayer, Metal-Eigand Multiple Bonds The Chemistry of Transition Metal Complexes Containing Oxo, Nitrido, Imido, Jilkylidene, orJilkylidyne Eigands,Jolm. Wiley Sons, Inc., New York, 1988. Contains electronic and molecular stmcture, nmr, and ir spectroscopy, reactions, and catalysis. 

G. W. ParshaH, Homogeneous Catalysis The applications and Chemistry of Catalysis by Soluble Transition Metal Complexes,Johm. Wiley Sons, Inc., New York, 1980, 240 pp. An excellent treatment of catalysis by coordination compounds. 

The /n j -I,4-polybutadiene made by transition-metal catalysis (112,113) is a resin-like material that has two melting temperatures, 50 and I50°C. 

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