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Theoretical studies were performed on the C-S bond activation reactions of 2-/3-cyanothiophene, 2-/3-methoxythiophene, and 2-/3-methylthiophene with the [Rh(PMe3)(C5Me5)] fragment to compare with the selectivity of these reactions observed in the experimental study, with the goal of determining whether the latter represent kinetic or thermodynamic products. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been used to optimize the ground-state structures of the two possible insertion products and the transition state structures leading to the formation of the products arising from the above cleavage reactions to address this question. With the 2-cyano and 2-methoxy substituents, the observed formation of one product resulting from the exclusive insertion of the rhodium into the more hindered substituted C-S bond was found to be consistent with the calculated energy differences between the ground states of the two possible products (7.6 and 2.6 kcal mol-1). With 2-methylthiophene, the product resulting from the activation of the unsubstituted C-S bond is calculated to be favored by 5.8 kcal mol-1, in agreement with observed results. The ~1 :1 ratio of products with 3-cyano and 3-methyl substituted thiophenes are also found to be consistent with the small calculated energy differences (0.4 and 0.8 kcal mol-1) between the ground states of the two insertion products. Although the observed high selectivity in the formation of a single C-S bond activation product with 3-methoxythiophene appears to be underestimated in the calculations, the observed products for all substituted thiophenes correlate with the calculated thermodynamic products. In addition, the kinetic selectivities predicted based on the calculated C-S bond activation barriers are different from those observed experimentally. Consequently, these investigations demonstrate that DFT calculations can be used reliably to differentiate if an experimentally observed C-S bond activation reaction proceeds under thermodynamic or kinetic control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reaction of 2-cyanothiophene with a zerovalent platinum bisalkylphosphine fragment yields two thiaplatinacycles derived from the cleavage of the substituted and unsubstituted C-S bonds. While cleavage away from the cyano group is preferred kinetically, cleavage adjacent to the cyano group is preferred thermodynamically. Density functional theory using B3LYP level of theory on a model of this system is consistent with experimental results in that the transition state energy leading to the formation of the kinetically favored C-S bond cleavage product is lower by 5.3 kcal mol-1 than the barrier leading to the thermodynamically favored product. There is a 6.7 kcal mol-1 difference between these two products. The cyano substituent at the 2- position of thiophene did not substantially change the mechanism involved in the C-S bond cleavage of thiophene previously reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental and density functional theory show that the reaction of acetonitrile with a zerovalent nickel bis(dialkylphosphino)ethane fragment (alkyl = methyl, isopropyl) proceeds via initial exothermic formation of an η2-nitrile complex. Three well-defined transition states have been found on the potential energy surface between the η2-nitrile complex and the activation products. The lowest energy transition state is an η3-acetonitrile complex, which connects the η2-nitrile to a higher energy η3-acetonitrile intermediate with an agostic C--H bond, while the other two lead to cleavage of either the C--H or the C--CN bonds. Gas-phase calculations show C--CN bond activation to be endothermic, which contradicts the observation of thermal C--CN activation in THF. Therefore, the effect of solvent was taken into consideration by using the polarizable continuum model (PCM), whereupon the activation of the C--CN bond was found to be exothermic. Furthermore the C--CN bond activation was found to be favored exclusively over C--H bond activation due to the strong thermodynamic driving force and slightly lower kinetic barrier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: X-ray structural and NMR spectroscopic data for the ring-opened thiophene complexes [Pd(dippe)(T)] (2), and [Pt(dippe)(T)] (3) are now presented. The complex [Ni(dippe)(T)] (1), where T=(η2-C,S-C4H4S), was reported by our group, previously.The structural and bonding properties of complexes 2 and 3 were compared with those of complex 1. DFT calculations were carried out to rationalize their relative stabilities and structural properties. Compound 1 loses thiophene at ambient temperature in solution, while compound 2 decomposes rapidly in both acetone-d 6 and THF-d 8 with k obs =7.15(9)×10−5 and 7.7(3)×10−5 s−1, respectively, to give products that varied by solvent. Complex 3 does not lose thiophene at temperatures below 100°C. The ΔG 0 values determined from DFT calculations are consistent with the observed stabilities of the complexes. The single crystal X-ray structures of all three complexes contain a disordered thienyl fragment in the asymmetric unit due to the interchange of the position of sulfur in the metal-inserted thiophenic ring. The thiophenic moiety is relatively flat in 1, 2 and 3, which is attributed to the open ligand environment at the M(dippe) fragment. All three complexes possess square-planar geometry around the metal center and have bond-length alternation among the thiophenic carbons, which indicates double bond localization. The calculated bond lengths are in good agreement with experimental data. Molecular orbital (MO) and natural bonding orbital (NBO) analyses were carried out to rationalize the results. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We report herein a palladium-catalyzed C-H arylation of quinoline N -oxides that proceeds with high selectivity in favor of the C8-isomer. This site-selectivity is unusual for palladium, since all of the hitherto described methods of palladium-catalyzed C-H functionalization of quinoline N -oxides are highly C2-selective. The reaction exhibits a broad synthetic scope with respect to quinoline N -oxides and iodoarenes and can be significantly accelerated to sub-hour reaction times under microwave irradiation. The C8-arylation method can be carried out on gram scale and has excellent functional group tolerance. Mechanistic and Density Functional Theory (DFT) computational studies provide evidence for the cyclopalladation pathway and describe key parameters influencing the site-selectivity.

Theoretical studies were performed on the C-S bond activation reactions of 2-/3-cyanothiophene, 2-/3-methoxythiophene, and 2-/3-methylthiophene with the [Rh(PMe3)(C5Me5)] fragment to compare with the selectivity of these reactions observed in the experimental study, with the goal of determining whether the latter represent kinetic or thermodynamic products. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been used to optimize the ground-state structures of the two possible insertion products and the transition state structures leading to the formation of the products arising from the above cleavage reactions to address this question. With the 2-cyano and 2-methoxy substituents, the observed formation of one product resulting from the exclusive insertion of the rhodium into the more hindered substituted C-S bond was found to be consistent with the calculated energy differences between the ground states of the two possible products (7.6 and 2.6 kcal mol(-1)). With 2-methylthiophene, the product resulting from the activation of the unsubstituted C-S bond is calculated to be favored by 5.8 kcal mol(-1), in agreement with observed results. The approximately 1:1 ratio of products with 3-cyano and 3-methyl substituted thiophenes are also found to be consistent with the small calculated energy differences (0.4 and 0.8 kcal mol(-1)) between the ground states of the two insertion products. Although the observed high selectivity in the formation of a single C-S bond activation product with 3-methoxythiophene appears to be underestimated in the calculations, the observed products for all substituted thiophenes correlate with the calculated thermodynamic products. In addition, the kinetic selectivities predicted based on the calculated C-S bond activation barriers are different from those observed experimentally. Consequently, these investigations demonstrate that DFT calculations can be used reliably to differentiate if an experimentally observed C-S bond activation reaction proceeds under thermodynamic or kinetic control.