1,721,045 research outputs found
Improving selectivity in catalytic hydrodefluorination by limiting SNV reactivity
Full text linkCatalytic hydrodefluorination of perfluoroallylbenzene with Cp2TiH in THF is unselective and yields a variety of previously unknown compounds, predominantly activated in the allylic position. Several different mechanisms have been examined in detail using solvent corrected (THF) DFT(M06-2X) calculations for the archetypal perfluorinated olefin perfluoropropene and perfluoroallylbenzene: (a) single electron transfer, (b) hydrometallation/fluoride elimination, (c) σ-bond metathesis (allylic or vinylic), and (d) nucleophilic vinylic substitution (SNV, w/o Ti–F contacts in the TS). SNV is shown to be a competitive mechanism to hydrometallation and proceeds via ionic species from which F-elimination is facile and unselective leading to low selectivity in polar solvents. Subsequent experiments show that selectivity can be increased in a non-polar solvent
Calculating accurate barriers for olefin insertion and related reactions
No full textHighly accurate (extrapolated CCSD(T)/aug-cc-pwCVQZ) reference energies have been calculated for olefin insertion in a set of simple models for olefin polymerization catalysts, and also for related reactions (hydrogen transfer to metal and to monomer, allyl formation). The model systems cover early (groups 3 and 4, 10 basic systems, 216 geometries) and late (group 10, 3 basic systems, 51 geometries) transition metals. The reference energies were then used to evaluate the performance of 22 commonly used density functionals, as well as several ab-initio methods. Dispersion corrections (either implicit or explicit) are essential in getting the olefin complexation energy right, but are less important for describing further reactions from the olefin pi-complex stage on. No functional performs entirely satisfactorily (within similar to 1 kcal/mol) for both early and late transition metals. Of the functionals tested, TPSSh-D0 shows the best "across-the-board" performance (important if chemistry involving more than a single metal needs to be described e.g. chain shuttling, bimetallic complexes, bifunctional systems), but M06-2X performs somewhat better specifically for early transition metals. A subsequent benchmark on 21 experimentally known pi-coordination enthalpies and barrier heights for early, middle and late TM systems yielded an MAD of 0.60 kcal/mol using our recommended protocol. Finally, we revisited prototypical catalysts systems studied in early computational work, and conclude that insertion of ethene is nearly barrierless for titanocenes, and has a slightly higher barrier for constrained-geometry catalysts and for Zr analogs. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Role(s) of TMA in polymerization
No full textQuenched-flow data for propene polymerization with rac-Me2Si(2-Me-4-Ph-1-indenyl)(2)ZrCl2/MAO support a picture where removal of MAO qualitatively changes the kinetic profile from a mainly enthalpic to a mainly entropic barrier. DFT studies suggest that a not previously recognized singly-bridged end-on coordination mode of Me6Al2 to catalytically active centers may be kinetically relevant as a resting state. In contrast, the more traditional doubly-bridged complex of Me3Al is proposed to be more relevant to chain transfer to cocatalyst
How a Thermally Unstable Metal Hydrido Complex Can Yield High Catalytic Activity Even at Elevated Temperatures
No full textDespite their instability in ethereal solvents, organotitanium hydride catalysts are successfully employed in catalysis at moderate to high temperatures (110C), even in the presence of alcohols. It is shown computationally (bond dissociation energy (BDE) analysis and energetic profile for regeneration) and experimentally (EPR studies and kinetic studies), with the specific example of hydrodefluorination (HDF), that despite the long standing belief, regeneration of Ti-H bonds from Ti-F bonds using silanes is endergonic. The resulting low concentrationof Ti-H species is crucial for the catalytic stability of those systems. The resting state in the catalysis is a Ti-F species.The most promising silanes for regeneration are not the ones that have the strongest Si-F bond, but the ones that show the largest difference in Si-F and Si-H BDEs
Organocatalytic C-F Bond Activation with Alanes
No full textHydrodefluorination reactions (HDF) of per- and polyfluorinated olefins and arenes by cheap aluminum alkyl hydrides in non-coordinating solvents can be catalyzed by O and N donors. TONs with respect to the organocatalysts of up to 87 have been observed. Depending on substrate and concentration, high selectivities can be achieved. For the prototypical hexafluoropropene, however, low selectivities are observed (E/Z ~ 2). DFT studies show that the preferred HDF mechanism for this substrate in the presence of donor solvents proceeds from the dimer Me4Al2(μ-H)2·THF via nucleophilic vinylic substitution (SNV) like transition states with low selectivity and without formation of an intermediate, not via hydrometallation or σ-bond metathesis. In the absence of donor solvents, hydrometallation is preferred but this is associated with inaccessibly high activation barriers at low temperatures. Donor solvents activate the aluminium hydride bond, lower the barrier for HDF significantly and switch the product preference from Z to E. The exact nature of the donor has only a minimal influence on the selectivity at low concentrations, as the donor is located far away from the active center in the transition states. The mechanism changes at higher donor concentrations and proceeds from Me2AlH·THF via SNV and formation of a stable intermediate from which elimination is unselective, which results in a loss of selectivity
Structure and chemistry of SeFx(CN)4-x compounds
No full textSeveral new SeF2(CN)2−donor complexes with N or O based donor molecules are reported. Due to orbital overlap effects 12-crown-4 (1,4,7,10-tetraoxacyclododecane) shows unsymmetric ether oxygen coordination. Solvent coordination (secondary bonding interactions, SBI) in SeFx(CN)4−x compounds is weak and does not influence decomposition pathways (neutral and anionic). Barriers for decomposition are relatively high in SeF2(CN)2 but decrease significantly in compounds with higher cyanide content. In the presence of fluoride ions, facile substitution pathways exist; however, reductive elimination is also favored. In the absence of fluoride ions decomposition barriers are higher, but so are substitution barriers (σ-metathesis). Therefore, successful isolation of Se(CN)4 appears to be significantly hampered. In addition, previously unknown trifluoromethyliminoseleniumdifluoride was cleanly synthesized utilizing the instability of SeF(CN)3 toward reductive FCN elimination (preferred over the thermodynamically favored NCCN elimination) and subsequent FCN incorporation to SeF4 through double F-migration
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