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1. Concerted proton–electron transfer reactions of manganese–hydroxo and manganese–oxo complexes

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d0cc01201g  

   Mayfield, Jaycee R.; Grotemeyer, Elizabeth N.; Jackson, Timothy A. (January 2020, Chemical Communications)

   The enzymes manganese superoxide dismutase and manganese lipoxygenase use Mn III –hydroxo centres to mediate proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) reactions with substrate. As manganese is earth-abundant and inexpensive, manganese catalysts are of interest for synthetic applications. Recent years have seen exciting reports of enantioselective C–H bond oxidation by Mn catalysts supported by aminopyridyl ligands. Such catalysts offer economic and environmentally-friendly alternatives to conventional reagents and catalysts. Mechanistic studies of synthetic catalysts highlight the role of Mn–oxo motifs in attacking substrate C–H bonds, presumably by a concerted proton–electron transfer (CPET) step. (CPET is a sub-class of PCET, where the proton and electron are transferred in the same step.) Knowledge of geometric and electronic influences for CPET reactions of Mn–hydroxo and Mn–oxo adducts enhances our understanding of biological and synthetic manganese centers and informs the design of new catalysts. In this Feature article, we describe kinetic, spectroscopic, and computational studies of Mn III –hydroxo and Mn IV –oxo complexes that provide insight into the basis for the CPET reactivity of these species. Systematic perturbations of the ligand environment around Mn III –hydroxo and Mn IV –oxo motifs permit elucidation of structure–activity relationships. For Mn III –hydroxo centers, electron-deficient ligands enhance oxidative reactivity. However, ligand perturbations have competing consequences, as changes in the Mn III/II potential, which represents the electron-transfer component for CPET, is offset by compensating changes in the p K a of the Mn II –aqua product, which represents the proton-transfer component for CPET. For Mn IV –oxo systems, a multi-state reactivity model inspired the development of significantly more reactive complexes. Weakened equatorial donation to the Mn IV –oxo unit results in large rate enhancements for C–H bond oxidation and oxygen-atom transfer reactions. These results demonstrate that the local coordination environment can be rationally changed to enhance reactivity of Mn III –hydroxo and Mn IV –oxo adducts. 

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2. Facile proton-coupled electron transfer enabled by coordination-induced E–H bond weakening to boron

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D1CC02832D  

   Wong, Anthony; Chakraborty, Arunavo; Bawari, Deependra; Wu, Guang; Dobrovetsky, Roman; Ménard, Gabriel (January 2021, Chemical Communications)

   null (Ed.)

   We report the facile activation of aryl E–H (ArEH; E = N, O, S; Ar = Ph or C 6 F 5 ) or ammonia N–H bonds via coordination-induced bond weakening to a redox-active boron center in the complex, (1 − ). Substantial decreases in E–H bond dissociation free energies (BDFEs) are observed upon substrate coordination, enabling subsequent facile proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET). A drop of >50 kcal mol −1 in H 2 N–H BDFE upon coordination was experimentally determined. 

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3. Identification of key functionalization species in the Cp*Ir( iii )-catalyzed- ortho halogenation of benzamides

   https://doi.org/10.1039/d0dt00565g  

   Guzmán Santiago, Alexis J.; Brown, Caleb A.; Sommer, Roger D.; Ison, Elon A. (January 2020, Dalton Transactions)

   Cp*Ir( iii ) complexes have been shown to be effective for the halogenation of N , N -diisopropylbenzamides with N -halosuccinimide as a suitable halogen source. The optimized conditions for the iodination reaction consist of 0.5 mol% [Cp*IrCl 2 ] 2 in 1,2-dichloroethane at 60 °C for 1 h to form a variety of iodinated benzamides in high yields. Increasing the catalyst loading to 6 mol% and the time to 4 h enabled the bromination reaction of the same substrates. Reactivity was not observed for the chlorination of these substrates. A variety of functional groups on the para -position of the benzamide were well tolerated. Kinetic studies showed the reaction dependence is first order in iridium, positive order in benzamide, and zero order in N -iodosuccinimide. A KIE of 2.5 was obtained from an independent H/D kinetic isotope effect study. Computational studies (DFT-BP3PW91) indicate that a CMD mechanism is more likely than an oxidative addition pathway for the C–H bond activation step. The calculated functionalization step involves an Ir( v ) species that is the result of oxidative addition of acetate hypoiodite that is generated in situ from N -iodosuccinimide and acetic acid. 

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4. Site-Selective, Catalyst-Controlled Alkene Aziridination

   https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0037-1609858  

   Mat Lani, Amirah; Schomaker, Jennifer (November 2018, Synthesis)

   Transition-metal-catalyzed nitrene transfer is a convenient method to introduce nitrogen into simple substrates through either alkene aziridination or C–H bond amination. Silver complexes have an unusual capability to accommodate a broad range of N-donor ligands and coordination geometries in catalysts competent for nitrene transfer. This behavior has resulted in the ability to achieve tunable chemoselectivity between aziridination and C–H bond amidation, as well as tunable site-selective functionalization between two different C–H bonds. In this paper, efforts to engage the diversity of silver and rhodium catalysts to accomplish selective and tunable aziridination of mixtures of alkenes are discussed. It was found that the selectivity of dinuclear Rh catalysts is dictated largely by steric effects, while the identity of the ligand on silver can be tuned to influence whether the steric or electronic features in the competing alkenes is the primary factor controlling which precursor is preferentially aziridinated. 

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5. 10 ⁶ -fold faster C–H bond hydroxylation by a Co ^III,IV ₂ (µ-O) ₂ complex [via a Co ^III ₂ (µ-O)(µ-OH) intermediate] versus its Fe ^III Fe ^IV analog

   https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2307950120  

   Li, Yan; Abelson, Chase; Que, Lawrence; Wang, Dong (December 2023, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

   The hydroxylation of C–H bonds can be carried out by the high-valent Co^III,IV₂(µ-O)₂complex2asupported by the tetradentate tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine ligand via a Co^III₂(µ-O)(µ-OH) intermediate (3a). Complex3acan be independently generated either by H-atom transfer (HAT) in the reaction of2awith phenols as the H-atom donor or protonation of its conjugate base, the Co^III₂(µ-O)₂complex1a. Resonance Raman spectra of these three complexes reveal oxygen-isotope-sensitive vibrations at 560 to 590 cm⁻¹associated with the symmetric Co–O–Co stretching mode of the Co₂O₂diamond core. Together with a Co•••Co distance of 2.78(2) Å previously identified for1aand2aby Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) analysis, these results provide solid evidence for their “diamond core” structural assignments. The independent generation of3aallows us to investigate HAT reactions of2awith phenols in detail, measure the redox potential and pK_aof the system, and calculate the O–H bond strength (D_O–H) of3ato shed light on the C–H bond activation reactivity of2a. Complex3ais found to be able to transfer its hydroxyl ligand onto the trityl radical to form the hydroxylated product, representing a direct experimental observation of such a reaction by a dinuclear cobalt complex. Surprisingly, reactivity comparisons reveal2ato be 10⁶-fold more reactive in oxidizing hydrocarbon C–H bonds than corresponding Fe^III,IV₂(µ-O)₂and Mn^III,IV₂(µ-O)₂analogs, an unexpected outcome that raises the prospects for using Co^III,IV₂(µ-O)₂species to oxidize alkane C–H bonds. 

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