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A Co(acac)3/PN precatalyst was developed and optimized for catalytic Kumada coupling of aryl Grignard reagents to sterically encumbered alkyl halides. The substrate scope demonstrates excellent yie...

Heterodinuclear transition metal complexes with a direct metal–metal interaction offer the potential of unique reactivity compared with mononuclear catalysts. Heterodinuclear Co–Zr complexes with phosphinoamide ligands bridging Co and Zr metal centers are effective precatalysts for Kumada C–C bond coupling reactions between alkyl halides and alkyl Grignards. In contrast, the analogous mononuclear Co tris(phosphinoamine) complex without Zr provides very inefficient catalysis. Here we describe density functional theory calculations that reveal the mechanistic and reactivity impact of the Co–Zr metal–metal interaction and phosphinoamide ligands on alkyl halide–alkyl Grignard Kumada coupling catalysis. The Co–Zr interaction enables two-electron reduction of the precatalyst to form an active catalyst, which then promotes a low-energy electron-transfer alkyl halide oxidative addition mechanism. The Co–Zr interaction and the phosphinoamide ligands bridging the metal centers provide a dialkyl intermediate with a ...

The new N-heterocyclic σ-silyl pincer ligand HSiMe(NCH2PPh2)2C6H4 (1) was designed. A series of tridentate silyl pincer Fe and Co complexes were prepared. Most of them were formed by chelate-assisted Si–H activation. The typical iron hydrido complex FeH(PMe3)2(SiMe(NCH2PPh2)2C6H4) (2) was obtained by Si–H activation of compound 1 with Fe(PMe3)4. The combination of compound 1 with CoMe(PMe3)4 afforded the Co(I) complex Co(PMe3)2(SiMe(NCH2PPh2)2C6H4) (3). The Co(III) complex CoHCl(PMe3)(SiMe(NCH2PPh2)2C6H4) (5) was generated by the reaction of complex 1 with CoCl(PMe3)3 or the combination of complex 3 with HCl. However, when complex 3 was treated with MeI, the Co(II) complex CoI(PMe3)(SiMe(NCH2PPh2)2C6H4) (4), rather than the Co(III) complex, was isolated. The catalytic performance of complex 5 for Kumada coupling reactions was explored. With a catalyst loading of 5 mol %, complex 5 displayed efficient catalytic activity for Kumada cross-coupling reactions of aryl chlorides and aryl bromides with Grignard r...

Iron-catalyzed alkyl–aryl Kumada coupling has developed into an efficient synthetic method, yet its mechanism remains vague. Here, we apply a bis(oxazolinylphenyl)amido pincer ligand (Bopa) to stabilize the catalytically active Fe center, resulting in isolation and characterization of well-defined iron complexes whose catalytic roles have been probed and confirmed. Reactivity studies of the iron complexes identify an Fe(II) “ate” complex, [Fe(Bopa-Ph)(Ph)2]−, as the active species for the oxidative addition of alkyl halide. Experiments using radical-probe substrates and DFT computations reveal a bimetallic and radical mechanism for the oxidative addition. The kinetics of the coupling of an alkyl iodide with PhMgCl suggests that formation of the “ate” complex, rather than oxidative addition, is the turnover-determining step. This work provides insights into iron-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions of alkyl halides.

Nickel(II) halide complexes of novel chelating bidentate benzimidazole-based N-heterocyclic carbenes have been prepared from Ni(OAc)2 and bisbenzimidazolium salts. Single-crystal X-ray structure determination on four complexes revealed a cis-geometry on a square-planar nickel center. The complexes are active catalysts for the Kumada coupling of 4-chloroanisole and 4-bromoanisole with phenylmagnesium chloride. The most active catalyst gives a complete conversion of 4-bromoanisole within 75 min with a selectivity to 4-methoxybiphenyl of 82% and a complete conversion of 4-chloroanisole in less than 14 h with a selectivity to 4-methoxybiphenyl of 99%.

Palladium and nickel complexes, [Pd(L)Cl](PF6) (1), [Ni(L)Cl](PF6) (2), and [Ni(L)2](PF6)2 (3), containing 3-butyl-1-(1,10-phenanthrolin-2-yl)imidazolylidene (L) have been synthesized and fully characterized by NMR and ESI-MS spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. The unsymmetrical NNC pincer complexes 1 and 2 are square planar with a chloride trans to the internal nitrogen atom of phenanthroline. Complex 3 is a paramagnetic octahedral complex with its central metal surrounded by two pincer ligands. A catalytic study shows that palladium compound 1 is highly active in copper-free Sonogashira cross-coupling reactions of aryl iodides at room temperature and aryl bromides at 80 °C in neat water. The nickel complex 2 exhibits good activity in the Kumada cross-coupling reaction of aryl chloride at room temperature.