Carbon-hydrogen bond activation: two, three, or more mechanisms? Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Classic and newly proposed mechanisms for metal-mediated hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) were analyzed with density functional theory (DFT) and Bader's atoms in molecules (AIM) analysis. The two classic mechanisms for HAT are -bond metathesis (BM) and oxidative addition/reductive elimination (OA/RE); the BM mechanism was modeled by methane addition to [Cp2Sc(CH3)], and the transition state (TS) for HAT is characterized by two Sc-C and C-H bond critical points (BCP) and one ring critical point (RCP) in the center of the four-centered geometry of the TS (1). The OA/RE mechanism, modeled by methane addition to [Cp*Ir(PMe3)(CH3)]+, proceeds through an IrV intermediate (2) that is characterized by two Ir-C, BCPs, one Ir-H BCP, and no C-H interactions. Newly proposed mechanisms of intermediate character, such as metal-assisted BM (MABM), oxidative hydrogen migration (OHM), and oxidatively added transition state (OATS)/-complex assisted metathesis (-CAM), were analyzed with AIM analysis, and the bonding patterns were compared to BM and OA/RE. This analysis revealed a spectrum of mechanisms with a variety of changing bonding patterns between the two classic extremes. Copyright 2007 American Chemical Society.

published proceedings

  • J Am Chem Soc

author list (cited authors)

  • Vastine, B. A., & Hall, M. B.

citation count

  • 91

complete list of authors

  • Vastine, Benjamin Alan||Hall, Michael B

publication date

  • October 2007