Transition metal acyl complexes describes organometallic complexes containing one or more acyl (RCO) ligands. Such compounds occur as transient intermediates in many industrially useful reactions, especially carbonylations. [2]
Acyl complexes are usually low-spin and spin-paired.
Monometallic acyl complexes adopt one of two related structures, C-bonded and η2-C-O-bonded. These forms sometimes interconvert. For the purpose of electron-counting, C-bonded acyl ligands count as 1-electron ligands, akin to pseudohalides. η2-Acyl ligands count as 3-electron "L-X" ligands.
bridging acyl ligands are also well known, where the carbon bonds to one metal and the oxygen bonds to a second metal. One example is the bis(μ-acetyl) complex [(CO)3Fe(C(O)CH3)2Fe(CO)3]2-. [4]
Metal acyls are often generated by the reaction of low-valent metal centers with acyl chlorides. Illustrative is the oxidative addition of acetyl chloride to Vaska's complex, converting square planar Ir(I) to octahedral Ir(III): [5]
In rare cases, acyls can be produced from aldehydes by C-H oxidative addition. This reaction underpins hydroacylation.
In a related reaction, metal carbonyl anions are acylated by acyl chlorides:
Another important route to metal acyls entails insertion of CO into a metal alkyl bond. In this pathway, the alkyl ligand migrates to an adjacent CO ligand. This reaction is a step in the hydroformylation process.
Coordinatively saturated metal carbonyls react with organolithium reagents to give acyls. This reaction proceeds by attack of the alkyl nucleophile on the electrophilic CO ligand.
In practical sense, the most important reaction of metal acyls is their detachment by reductive elimination of aldehydes from acyl metal hydrides:
This reaction is the final step of hydroformylation.
Another important reaction is decarbonylation. This reaction requires that the acyl complex be coordinatively unsaturated:
The oxygen center of acyl ligands is basic. This aspect is manifested in O-alkylations, which converts acyl complexes to alkoxycarbene complexes:
Metal acyl complexes participate in several commercial processes, including:
A reaction involving metal acyl complexes of occasional value in organic synthesis is the Tsuji–Wilkinson decarbonylation reaction of aldehydes.
In chemistry, an acyl group is a moiety derived by the removal of one or more hydroxyl groups from an oxoacid, including inorganic acids. It contains a double-bonded oxygen atom and an alkyl group. In organic chemistry, the acyl group is usually derived from a carboxylic acid, in which case it has the formula RCO−, where R represents an alkyl group that is linked to the carbon atom of the group by a single bond. Although the term is almost always applied to organic compounds, acyl groups can in principle be derived from other types of acids such as sulfonic acids and phosphonic acids. In the most common arrangement, acyl groups are attached to a larger molecular fragment, in which case the carbon and oxygen atoms are linked by a double bond.
In organic chemistry, an acyl chloride is an organic compound with the functional group −C(=O)Cl. Their formula is usually written R−COCl, where R is a side chain. They are reactive derivatives of carboxylic acids. A specific example of an acyl chloride is acetyl chloride, CH3COCl. Acyl chlorides are the most important subset of acyl halides.
Hydroformylation, also known as oxo synthesis or oxo process, is an industrial process for the production of aldehydes from alkenes. This chemical reaction entails the net addition of a formyl group (CHO) and a hydrogen atom to a carbon-carbon double bond. This process has undergone continuous growth since its invention: Production capacity reached 6.6×106 tons in 1995. It is important because aldehydes are easily converted into many secondary products. For example, the resulting aldehydes are hydrogenated to alcohols that are converted to detergents. Hydroformylation is also used in speciality chemicals, relevant to the organic synthesis of fragrances and drugs. The development of hydroformylation is one of the premier achievements of 20th-century industrial chemistry.
Wilkinson's catalyst is the common name for chloridotris(triphenylphosphine)rhodium(I), a coordination complex of rhodium with the formula [RhCl(PPh3)3] (Ph = phenyl). It is a red-brown colored solid that is soluble in hydrocarbon solvents such as benzene, and more so in tetrahydrofuran or chlorinated solvents such as dichloromethane. The compound is widely used as a catalyst for hydrogenation of alkenes. It is named after chemist and Nobel laureate Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson, who first popularized its use.
Vaska's complex is the trivial name for the chemical compound trans-carbonylchlorobis(triphenylphosphine)iridium(I), which has the formula IrCl(CO)[P(C6H5)3]2. This square planar diamagnetic organometallic complex consists of a central iridium atom bound to two mutually trans triphenylphosphine ligands, carbon monoxide and a chloride ion. The complex was first reported by J. W. DiLuzio and Lauri Vaska in 1961. Vaska's complex can undergo oxidative addition and is notable for its ability to bind to O2 reversibly. It is a bright yellow crystalline solid.
Triphenylphosphine (IUPAC name: triphenylphosphane) is a common organophosphorus compound with the formula P(C6H5)3 and often abbreviated to PPh3 or Ph3P. It is widely used in the synthesis of organic and organometallic compounds. PPh3 exists as relatively air stable, colorless crystals at room temperature. It dissolves in non-polar organic solvents such as benzene and diethyl ether.
β-Hydride elimination is a reaction in which an alkyl group bonded to a metal centre is converted into the corresponding metal-bonded hydride and an alkene. The alkyl must have hydrogens on the β-carbon. For instance butyl groups can undergo this reaction but methyl groups cannot. The metal complex must have an empty site cis to the alkyl group for this reaction to occur. Moreover, for facile cleavage of the C–H bond, a d electron pair is needed for donation into the σ* orbital of the C–H bond. Thus, d0 metals alkyls are generally more stable to β-hydride elimination than d2 and higher metal alkyls and may form isolable agostic complexes, even if an empty coordination site is available.
Metal carbonyls are coordination complexes of transition metals with carbon monoxide ligands. Metal carbonyls are useful in organic synthesis and as catalysts or catalyst precursors in homogeneous catalysis, such as hydroformylation and Reppe chemistry. In the Mond process, nickel tetracarbonyl is used to produce pure nickel. In organometallic chemistry, metal carbonyls serve as precursors for the preparation of other organometallic complexes.
Disodium tetracarbonylferrate is the organoiron compound with the formula Na2[Fe(CO)4]. It is always used as a solvate, e.g., with tetrahydrofuran or dimethoxyethane, which bind to the sodium cation. An oxygen-sensitive colourless solid, it is a reagent in organometallic and organic chemical research. The dioxane solvated sodium salt is known as Collman's reagent, in recognition of James P. Collman, an early popularizer of its use.
Carbonylation refers to reactions that introduce carbon monoxide into organic and inorganic substrates. Carbon monoxide is abundantly available and conveniently reactive, so it is widely used as a reactant in industrial chemistry. The term carbonylation also refers to oxidation of protein side chains.
In organometallic chemistry, a migratory insertion is a type of reaction wherein two ligands on a metal complex combine. It is a subset of reactions that very closely resembles the insertion reactions, and both are differentiated by the mechanism that leads to the resulting stereochemistry of the products. However, often the two are used interchangeably because the mechanism is sometimes unknown. Therefore, migratory insertion reactions or insertion reactions, for short, are defined not by the mechanism but by the overall regiochemistry wherein one chemical entity interposes itself into an existing bond of typically a second chemical entity e.g.:
Organoiron chemistry is the chemistry of iron compounds containing a carbon-to-iron chemical bond. Organoiron compounds are relevant in organic synthesis as reagents such as iron pentacarbonyl, diiron nonacarbonyl and disodium tetracarbonylferrate. While iron adopts oxidation states from Fe(−II) through to Fe(VII), Fe(IV) is the highest established oxidation state for organoiron species. Although iron is generally less active in many catalytic applications, it is less expensive and "greener" than other metals. Organoiron compounds feature a wide range of ligands that support the Fe-C bond; as with other organometals, these supporting ligands prominently include phosphines, carbon monoxide, and cyclopentadienyl, but hard ligands such as amines are employed as well.
Hydroacylation is a type of organic reaction in which an alkene is inserted into the a formyl C-H bond. The product is a ketone. The reaction requires a metal catalyst. It is almost invariably practiced as an intramolecular reaction using homogeneous catalysts, often based on rhodium phosphines.
Organorhodium chemistry is the chemistry of organometallic compounds containing a rhodium-carbon chemical bond, and the study of rhodium and rhodium compounds as catalysts in organic reactions.
Decarbonylation is a type of organic reaction that involves loss of CO. It is often an undesirable reaction since it represents a degradation. In the chemistry of metal carbonyls, decarbonylation describes a substitution process, whereby a CO ligand is replaced by another ligand.
A metal-phosphine complex is a In coordination complex containing one or more phosphine ligands. Almost always, the phosphine is an organophosphine of the type R3P (R = alkyl, aryl). Metal phosphine complexes are useful in homogeneous catalysis. Prominent examples of metal phosphine complexes include Wilkinson's catalyst (Rh(PPh3)3Cl), Grubbs' catalyst, and tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(0).
Carbonyl hydrido tris(triphenylphosphine)rhodium(I) [Carbonyl(hydrido)tris(triphenylphosphane)rhodium(I)] is an organorhodium compound with the formula [RhH(CO)(PPh3)3] (Ph = C6H5). It is a yellow, benzene-soluble solid, which is used industrially for hydroformylation.
The Tsuji–Wilkinson decarbonylation reaction is a method for the decarbonylation of aldehydes and some acyl chlorides. The reaction name recognizes Jirō Tsuji, whose team first reported the use of Wilkinson's catalyst (RhCl(PPh3)3) for these reactions:
Transition metal complexes of aldehydes and ketones describes coordination complexes with aldehyde (RCHO) and ketone (R2CO) ligands. Because aldehydes and ketones are common, the area is of fundamental interest. Some reactions that are useful in organic chemistry involve such complexes.
In organometallic chemistry, a transition metal formyl complex is a metal complex containing one (usually) or more formyl (CHO) ligand. A subset of transition metal acyl complexes, formyl complexes can be viewed as metalla-aldehydes. A representative example is (CO)5ReCHO. The formyl is viewed as an X (pseudohalide) ligand. Metal formyls are proposed as intermediates in the hydrogenation of carbon monoxide, as occurs in the Fischer-Tropsch process.