Zirconium hydride complexes formyl complex

The CO reductions generally could likely proceed through formyl intermediates, probably at a multinuclear site (420) hydride migration to a coordinated CO [e.g., as in the hypothetical scheme outlined in Eq. (72)] has not yet been observed, although metal formyl complexes have been synthesized via other methods (422-425). A ir-bonded formyl also seems plausible (426), since 7r-bonded acyl groups have been demonstrated (427). A stoichiometric hydrogen reduction of CO to methanol under mild conditions via a bis(pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)zirconium complex is considered to go through a formyl intermediate (428, 429) ... 

Zirconium hydride reactivity with carbon monoxide demonstrates the strong driving force toward products with a Zr-O bond. Indeed, the facility of the CO migratory insertion into Zr-C and especially Zr-H bonds may be from a carbonyl oxygen-zirconium interaction that stabilizes the transition state to the acyl and formyl complexes. 

Zirconium and Ta hydride complexes react with CO forming formyl ... 

This type of side-on bending, which has been established by X-ray crystallographic methods for the related acyl complexes (r 5-C5H5)2Zr(COMe)Me (38) and (T>5-C5H5)2Ti(COMe)Cl (39), could overcome the thermodynamic objection, previously discussed, against the formation of a normal, linearly bonded formyl by CO insertion into a metal-hydride bond. Thermochemical data obtained from alcoholysis of zirconium tetralkyl species show that the mean bond energy of Zr—O is 50 kcal/mole greater than that of Zr—C (40). 

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