Catalytic reduction of nitrate by an oxidorhenium (V) complex

The previously published oxidorhenium(V) complex [ReOCl(L1)2] (2), equipped with the bidentate phenol-dimethyloxazoline ligand HL1 (2-(4,4-dimethyl-4,5-dihydro-1,3-oxazol-2-yl)-phenol), shows catalytic activity for the reduction of nitrate to nitrite under mild, ambient and aqueous conditions. The reaction operates under an oxygen atom transfer (OAT) mechanism, using dimethyl sulfide SMe2 (DMS) as oxygen acceptor. Experiments with catalytic amounts of 2 and labelled 15NO3– proved the full reduction of 15NO3– to 15NO2– by 15N NMR spectroscopy. For the second reduction step of nitrite NO2–, we have evidence for a single electron reduction to yield paramagnetic NO, as from one nitrate reduction experiment the paramagnetic cis-dioxidorhenium(VI) complex [Re(O)2(L1)2] (3) could be isolated and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. Such a single electron reduction of nitrite NO2– would yield NO and complex 3 as the oxidation product. In a stoichiometric experiment of 2, 15NO3– and DMS, nitrous oxide 15N2O could be detected as the only 15N containing product by 15N NMR spectroscopy, proving that further reduction beyond NO is possible with pre-catalyst 2. The rhenium species responsible for the reduction to N2O is currently unknown. Most likely, N2O is formed via an intermediate rhenium nitrosyl complex. Experimental data was gathered by 1H and 15N NMR, IR- and UV–Vis spectroscopy, HR-ESI mass spectrometry, X-ray crystallography, and supported by theoretical computations (DFT).