Trends in reactivity

Trends in reactivity for ligand-exchange reactions of octahedral metal carbonyls. G. R. Dobson, Acc. Chem. Res., 1976, 9, 300-306 (48). 

Given the n bonding character in BF3, does this order of reactivity surprise you Why or why not Use bonding arguments to explain the trend in reactivity. 

Computational chemistry has reached a level in which adsorption, dissociation and formation of new bonds can be described with reasonable accuracy. Consequently trends in reactivity patterns can be very well predicted nowadays. Such theoretical studies have had a strong impact in the field of heterogeneous catalysis, particularly because many experimental data are available for comparison from surface science studies (e.g. heats of adsorption, adsorption geometries, vibrational frequencies, activation energies of elementary reaction steps) to validate theoretical predictions. 

This is in principle all we need to understand chemical bonding on surfaces and trends in reactivity. For a more accurate description of molecular orbital theory we refer to P.W. Atkins, Molecular Quantum Mechanics (1983), Oxford University Press, Oxford. The main results from molecular orbital theory are summarized in Fig. 6.8 below. 

A knowledge of the behavior of d orbitals is essential to understand the differences and trends in reactivity of the transition metals. The width of the d band decreases as the band is filled when going to the right in the periodic table since the molecular orbitals become ever more localized and the overlap decreases. Eventually, as in copper, the d band is completely filled, lying just below the Fermi level, while in zinc it lowers further in energy and becomes a so-called core level, localized on the individual atoms. If we look down through the transition metal series 3d, 4d, and 5d we see that the d band broadens since the orbitals get ever larger and therefore the overlap increases. 

Here we try to gain insight into the trends in reactivity of the metals without getting lost in too much detail. We therefore invoke rather crude approximations. The electronic structure of many metals shows numerous similarities with respect to the sp band, with the metals behaving essentially as free-electron metals. Variations in properties are due to the extent of filling of the d band. We completely neglect the lanthanides and actinides where a localized f orbital is filled, as these metals hardly play a role in catalysis. 

Figure 6.33. Trends in reactivity for an overlayer deposited pseudomorfically on a substrate. The diagonal gives the position of the center of the d band for the pure metals. The other numbers indicate the shift of the d band by formation of a pseudomorfic overlayer, irrespective ofw/hether it can be realized. Notice that in the low/er left-hand corner the d bands shift upw/ards, leading to higher...

Attempts were made at explaining the trends in reactivity through the use of both an electron-transfer model85 and a resonance interaction model,86,87 but without success. It seems that the trends in reactivity on a fine scale cannot be easily explained by such simple models, but instead depend on a multitude of factors, which may include the ionization potential of the metal, the electron affinity of the oxidant molecule, the energy gap between dns2 and dn+1s1 states, the M-O bond strength, and the thermodynamics of the reaction.57-81... 

The reactions of transition metals with small alkenes were also studied,45-47 94-96,98,102 103,105 and it was found that many metals from the second and third rows react with alkenes, including ethene. The measured reaction rates typically increased as the hydrocarbon was changed from ethene to propene, but levelled off for larger alkenes.94 Among the first-row metals, only Ni reacted with ethene, but several of the other metals reacted with larger alkenes.94 The observed trend in reactivity for alkene reactions was 2nd > 3rd > 1st, similar to what was observed for the M + N2O reactions (see Fig. 5). This trend was explained in both cases by the pattern of electronic states in each row, as discussed above. 

The relative reactivity of a wide series of nucleophiles towards dioxirane, dimethyidioxirane, carbonyl oxide, and dimethylcarbonyl oxide has been examined at various levels of theory. The general trend in reactivity for oxidation by dioxirane was R2S R2SO, R3P > R3N in the gas phase, and R2S R2SO, R3N R3 (R = Me) in solution. A theoretical study of the first oxidation step of [3.2.1]-bridged bicyclic disulfides highlights a highly oriented reaction path was probably responsible for stereoselective attack on the exo face. ... 

Trivalent phosphorus compounds are more readily oxidized than the corresponding nitrogen derivatives on account of their higher nucleophilicity however, the oxidation of such highly reactive substrates by dioxiranes has been sparsely studied. Only about a handful of examples are available in the literature, such that little may be said about the general trends in reactivity and selectivity. 

Second, molecular mechanics calculations reveal nothing about bonding or, more generally, about electron distributions in molecules. As will become evident later, information about electron distributions is key to modeling chemical reactivity and selectivity. There are, however, important situations where purely steric effects are responsible for trends in reactivity and selectivity, and here molecular mechanics would be expected to be of some value. 

An alternative method to investigate DNA strand breakage by OH radicals considers the surface accessibility of hydrogen atoms of the DNA backbone [102]. The solvent accessibility is 80% for the sugar-phosphates and —20% for the bases. This method allows a more direct determination of reaction of OH radicals with the individual deoxyribose hydrogens [103,104]. Recent studies show trends in reactivity of OH radicals closely follow the accessibility of the solvent to various deoxyribose hydrogens [105,106]. 

Table 16.12 compares the POCP values derived by Dement et al. (1996, 1998) and Andersson-Skold et al. (1992) to the MIR approach of Carter (1994). While the general trends in reactivities predicted by each approach are qualitatively similar, there are quantitative differences. For example, the POPC values for the simple alkanes relative to ethene are larger than the MIR values. This reflects in part the details of the mechanisms used in the calculations and the time scale over which the reactions are followed as well as differences in the assumed pollutant mix into which the VOC is injected, such as the VOC/NO ratio. 

We need to develop methods to understand trends for complex reactions with many reaction steps. This should preferentially be done by developing models to understand trends, since it will be extremely difficult to perform experiments or DFT calculations for all systems of interest. Many catalysts are not metallic, and we need to develop the concepts that have allowed us to understand and develop models for trends in reactions on transition metal surfaces to other classes of surfaces oxides, carbides, nitrides, and sulfides. It would also be extremely interesting to develop the concepts that would allow us to understand the relationships between heterogeneous catalysis and homogeneous catalysis or enzyme catalysis. Finally, the theoretical methods need further development. The level of accuracy is now so that we can describe some trends in reactivity for transition metals, but a higher accuracy is needed to describe the finer details including possibly catalyst selectivity. The reliable description of some oxides and other insulators may also not be possible unless the theoretical methods to treat exchange and correlation effects are further improved. 

The fourth issue is the observed, unexplained decadal wintertime decline in ozone as reported by the Ozone Trends Panel and the loss of ozone in the lower stratosphere. Does the loss result from the perturbed photochemistry initiated by PSCs inside the polar vortex Or is it a result of photochemistry associated with the ubiquitous sulfate aerosol layer Are observed seasonal and latitudinal trends in reactive trace species consistent with the observed seasonal and latitudinal declines in ozone ... 

The trend in reactivity is almost entirely determined by differences in activation energies. 

At present, these theoretical calculations are either too demanding with regard to their data requirements (24) or too simplistic (301 to be used to predict absolute rates of reaction between sulfur nucleophiles and haloaliphatic substrates in natural waters. However, they provide a solid theoretical justification for using Pearson s HSAB model to explain trends in reactivity among different nucleophiles toward haloaliphatic substrates. 

Recently, trans insertion of hexafluorobutyne into one of the M—H bonds in some metallocene hydrides, Cp2MH , was studied in some detail (47). Experiments carried out in the presence of various radical-sensitive reagents such as TV-phenyl-a-naphthylamine suggested that a free radical mechanism was unlikely. A stepwise ionic mechanism, involving a zwitter-ionic intermediate, Cp2(H2)M+—C(CF3)==CCF3, is improbable, since (i) the stereochemistry and the apparent rate are not influenced by the polarity of the solvents, (ii) no deuterium is incorporated in the reaction in EtOD, and (iii) the trend in reactivity (Mo > W) does not reflect the trend in v-basicity or M—C bond stability (W > Mo). An essentially concerted trans-insertion mechanism is inferred, which is supported inter alia by the low kinetic deuterium isotope effect (kH/k0 = 1). 

---