skip to main content
US FlagAn official website of the United States government
dot gov icon
Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
https lock icon
Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( lock ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Title: Efficient Cobalt Catalyst for Ambient-Temperature Nitrile Dihydroboration, the Elucidation of a Chelate-Assisted Borylation Mechanism, and a New Synthetic Route to Amides
N,N-Diborylamines have emerged as promising reagents in organic synthesis; however, their efficient preparation and full synthetic utility have yet to be realized. To address both shortcomings, an effective catalyst for nitrile dihydroboration was sought. Heating CoCl2 in the presence of PyEtPDI afforded the six-coordinate Co(II) salt, [(PyEtPDI)CoCl][Cl]. Upon adding 2 equiv of NaEt3BH, hydride transfer to one chelate imine functionality was observed, resulting in the formation of (κ4-N,N,N,N-PyEtIPCHMeNEtPy)Co. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction and density functional theory calculations revealed that this compound possesses a low-spin Co(II) ground state featuring antiferromagnetic coupling to a singly reduced imino(pyridine) moiety. Importantly, (κ4-N,N,N,N-PyEtIPCHMeNEtPy)Co was found to catalyze the dihydroboration of nitriles using HBPin with turnover frequencies of up to 380 h–1 at ambient temperature. Stoichiometric addition experiments revealed that HBPin adds across the Co–Namide bond to generate a hydride intermediate that can react with additional HBPin or nitriles. Computational evaluation of the reaction coordinate revealed that the B–H addition and nitrile insertion steps occur on the antiferromagnetically coupled triplet spin manifold. Interestingly, formation of the borylimine intermediate was found to occur following BPin transfer from the borylated chelate arm to regenerate (κ4-N,N,N,N-PyEtIPCHMeNEtPy)Co. Borylimine reduction is in turn facile and follows the same ligand-assisted borylation pathway. The independent hydroboration of alkyl and aryl imines was also demonstrated at 25 °C. With a series of N,N-diborylamines in hand, their addition to carboxylic acids allowed for the direct synthesis of amides at 120 °C, without the need for an exogenous coupling reagent.  more » « less
Award ID(s):
1651686
PAR ID:
10143036
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Journal of the American Chemical Society
Volume:
141
Issue:
38
ISSN:
0002-7863
Page Range / eLocation ID:
15327-15337
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. The manganese hydride dimer, [( 2,6-iPr2Ph BDI)Mn(μ-H)] 2 , was found to mediate nitrile dihydroboration, rendering it the first manganese catalyst for this transformation. Stoichiometric experiments revealed that benzonitrile insertion affords [( 2,6-iPr2Ph BDI)Mn(μ-NCHC 6 H 5 )] 2 en route to N , N -diborylamine formation. Density functional theory calculations reveal the precise mechanism and demonstrate that catalysis is promoted by monomeric species. 
    more » « less
  2. We report the synthesis and reactivity of a model of [Fe]-hydrogenase derived from an anthracene-based scaffold that includes the endogenous, organometallic acyl(methylene) donor. In comparison to other non-scaffolded acyl-containing complexes, the complex described herein retains molecularly well-defined chemistry upon addition of multiple equivalents of exogenous base. Clean deprotonation of the acyl(methylene) C–H bond with a phenolate base results in the formation of a dimeric motif that contains a new Fe–C(methine) bond resulting from coordination of the deprotonated methylene unit to an adjacent iron center. This effective second carbanion in the ligand framework was demonstrated to drive heterolytic H 2 activation across the Fe( ii ) center. However, this process results in reductive elimination and liberation of the ligand to extrude a lower-valent Fe–carbonyl complex. Through a series of isotopic labelling experiments, structural characterization (XRD, XAS), and spectroscopic characterization (IR, NMR, EXAFS), a mechanistic pathway is presented for H 2 /hydride-induced loss of the organometallic acyl unit ( i.e. pyCH 2 –CO → pyCH 3 +CO). The known reduced hydride species [HFe(CO) 4 ] − and [HFe 3 (CO) 11 ] − have been observed as products by 1 H/ 2 H NMR and IR spectroscopies, as well as independent syntheses of PNP[HFe(CO) 4 ]. The former species ( i.e. [HFe(CO) 4 ] − ) is deduced to be the actual hydride transfer agent in the hydride transfer reaction (nominally catalyzed by the title compound) to a biomimetic substrate ([ Tol Im](BAr F ) = fluorinated imidazolium as hydride acceptor). This work provides mechanistic insight into the reasons for lack of functional biomimetic behavior (hydride transfer) in acyl(methylene)pyridine based mimics of [Fe]-hydrogenase. 
    more » « less
  3. Sb V F 5 is generally assumed to oxidize methane through a methanium-to-methyl cation mechanism. However, experimentally no H 2 is observed, and the mechanism of methane oxidation has remained unsolved for several decades. To solve this problem, density functional theory calculations with multiple chemical models (mononuclear and dinuclear) were used to examine methane oxidation by Sb V F 5 in the presence of CO leading to the methyl acylium cation ([CH 3 CO] + ). While there is a low barrier for methane protonation by [Sb V F 6 ] − [H] + (the combination of Sb V F 5 and HF) to give the [Sb V F 5 ] − [CH 5 ] + ion pair, H 2 dissociation is a relatively high energy process, even with CO assistance, and so this protonation pathway is reversible. While Sb-mediated hydride transfer has a reasonable barrier, the C–H activation/σ-bond metathesis mechanism with the formation of an Sb V –Me intermediate is lower in energy. This pathway leads to the acylium cation by functionalization of the Sb V –Me intermediate with CO and is consistent with no observation of H 2 . Because this C–H activation/metal-alkyl functionalization pathway is higher in energy than methane protonation, it is also consistent with the experimentally observed methane hydrogen-to-deuterium exchange. This is the first time that evidence is presented demonstrating that Sb V F 5 acts beyond a Bronsted superacid and involves C–H activation with an organometallic intermediate. In contrast to methane, due to the much lower carbocation hydride affinity, isobutane significantly favors hydride transfer to give the tert -butyl carbocation with concomitant Sb V to Sb III reduction. In this mechanism, the resulting highly acidic Sb V –H intermediate provides a route to H 2 through protonation of isobutane, which is consistent with experiments and resolves the longstanding enigma of different experimental results for methane versus isobutane. 
    more » « less
  4. null (Ed.)
    Axially chiral enamides bearing a N–C axis have been recently studied and were proposed to be valuable chiral building blocks, but a stereoselective synthesis has not been achieved. Here, we report the first enantioselective synthesis of axially chiral enamides via a highly efficient, catalytic approach. In this approach, C(sp 2 )–N bond formation is achieved through an iridium-catalyzed asymmetric allylation, and then in situ isomerization of the initial products through an organic base promoted 1,3-H transfer, leading to the enamide products with excellent central-to-axial transfer of chirality. Computational and experimental studies revealed that the 1,3-H transfer occurs via a stepwise deprotonation/re-protonation pathway with a chiral ion-pair intermediate. Hydrogen bonding interactions with the enamide carbonyl play a significant role in promoting both the reactivity and stereospecificity of the stepwise 1,3-H transfer. The mild and operationally simple formal N -vinylation reaction delivered a series of configurationally stable axially chiral enamides with good to excellent yields and enantioselectivities. 
    more » « less
  5. null (Ed.)
    The transfer of a β-hydrogen from a metal-alkyl group to ethylene is a fundamental organometallic transformation. Previously proposed mechanisms for this transformation involve either a two-step β-hydrogen elimination and migratory insertion sequence with a metal hydride intermediate or a one-step concerted pathway. Here, we report density functional theory (DFT) quasiclassical direct dynamics trajectories that reveal new dynamical mechanisms for the β-hydrogen transfer of [Cp*Rh III (Et)(ethylene)] + . Despite the DFT energy landscape showing a two-step mechanism with a Rh–H intermediate, quasiclassical trajectories commencing from the β-hydrogen elimination transition state revealed complete dynamical skipping of this intermediate. The skipping occurred either extremely fast (typically <100 femtoseconds (fs)) through a dynamically ballistic mechanism or slower through a dynamically unrelaxed mechanism. Consistent with trajectories begun at the transition state, all trajectories initiated at the Rh–H intermediate show continuation along the reaction coordinate. All of these trajectory outcomes are consistent with the Rh–H intermediate <1 kcal mol −1 stabilized relative to the β-hydrogen elimination and migratory insertion transition states. For Co, which on the energy landscape is a one-step concerted mechanism, trajectories showed extremely fast traversing of the transition-state zone (<50 fs), and this concerted mechanism is dynamically different than the Rh ballistic mechanism. In contrast to Rh, for Ir, in addition to dynamically ballistic and unrelaxed mechanisms, trajectories also stopped at the Ir–H intermediate. This is consistent with an Ir–H intermediate that is stabilized by ∼3 kcal mol −1 relative to the β-hydrogen elimination and migratory insertion transition states. Overall, comparison of Rh to Co and Ir provides understanding of the relationship between the energy surface shape and resulting dynamical mechanisms of an organometallic transformation. 
    more » « less