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Iridium Complexes Containing Mesoionic C Donors: Selective C(sp3)-H versus C(sp2)-H Bond Activation, Reactivity Towards Acids and Bases, and Catalytic Oxidation of Silanes and Water

2014-11-24, Petronilho, Ana, Woods, James A., Müller-Bunz, Helge, Bernhard, Stefan, Albrecht, Martin

Metalation of a C2-methylated pyridylimidazolium salt with [IrCp*Cl2]2 affords either an ylidic complex, resulting from C(sp3)[BOND]H bond activation of the C2-bound CH3 group if the metalation is performed in the presence of a base, such as AgO2 or Na2CO3, or a mesoionic complex via cyclometalation and thermally induced heterocyclic C(sp2)[BOND]H bond activation, if the reaction is performed in the absence of a base. Similar cyclometalation and complex formation via C(sp2)[BOND]H bond activation is observed when the heterocyclic ligand precursor consists of the analogous pyridyltriazolium salt, that is, when the metal bonding at the C2 position is blocked by a nitrogen rather than a methyl substituent. Despite the strongly mesoionic character of both the imidazolylidene and the triazolylidene, the former reacts rapidly with D+ and undergoes isotope exchange at the heterocyclic C5 position, whereas the triazolylidene ligand is stable and only undergoes H/D exchange under basic conditions, where the imidazolylidene is essentially unreactive. The high stability of the Ir[BOND]C bond in aqueous solution over a broad pH range was exploited in catalytic water oxidation and silane oxidation. The catalytic hydrosilylation of ketones proceeds with turnover frequencies as high as 6 000 h−1 with both the imidazolylidene and the triazolylidene system, whereas water oxidation is enhanced by the stronger donor properties of the imidazol-4-ylidene ligands and is more than three times faster than with the triazolylidene analogue.

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Photolytic water oxidation catalyzed by a molecular carbene iridium complex

2012-10-10, Petronilho, Ana, Rahman, Mahfujur, Woods, James A., Al-Sayyed, Haris, Müller-Bunz, Helge, MacElroy, J. M. Don, Bernhard, Stefan, Albrecht, Martin

The complex IrCl2(Cp*)(trz) (trz = triazolylidene), 2, was prepared from readily available 1,3-dimethyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3-triazolium salt. Under basic conditions, the C-bound phenyl group readily cyclometalates, while under acidic conditions, cyclometalation is reversed. The sensitivity of the Caryl–Ir bond but not the Ctrz–Ir bond towards acidolysis provided a basis for using 2 as a catalyst in CeIV-mediated water oxidation. The catalytic activity is characterized by a robust catalytic cycle, affording excellent turnover numbers (TON > 20 000). Under cerium-free conditions and in the presence of hematite as a photoelectrode, light-induced activity was observed. The photoelectrochemical reaction is strongly pH-dependent, which requires pH adjustments when running multiple cycle experiments to regenerate the catalytic activity. Analogous chelating complexes display better stability and higher catalytic activity than the monodentate complex 2.

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Bimetallic Iridium-Carbene Complexes with Mesoionic Triazolylidene Ligands for Water Oxidation Catalysis

2014-02, Petronilho, Ana, Woods, James A., Bernhard, Stefan, Albrecht, Martin

Two new diiridium–triazolylidene complexes were prepared as bimetallic analogues of established mononuclear water oxidation catalysts. Both complexes are efficient catalyst precursors in the presence of cerium ammonium nitrate (CAN) as sacrificial oxidant. Up to 20000:1 ratios of CAN/complex, the turnover limitation is the availability of CAN and not the catalyst stability. The water oxidation activity of the bimetallic complexes is not better than the monometallic species at 0.6 mm catalyst concentration. Under dilute conditions (0.03 mm), the bimetallic complexes double their activity, whereas the monometallic complexes show an opposite trend and display markedly reduced rates, thereby suggesting a benefit of the close proximity of two metal centers in this low concentration regime. The high dependence of catalyst activity on reaction conditions indicates that caution is required when catalysts are compared by their turnover frequencies only.