Kinetic and mechanistic investigation of the substitution reactions of four and five co-ordinated rhodium stibine complexes with a bulky phosphite.

The substitution reaction of trans-[Rh(Cl)(CO)(SbPh3)2] (1) with tris(2,4-di-tert-butylphenyl)phosphite (2,4-TBPP) to form trans-[Rh(Cl)(CO)(2,4-TBPP)2] (4) in two consecutive steps has been investigated by UV-vis stopped-flow spectrophotometry. The experiments were performed in dichloromethane and in ethyl acetate, at 298 K and 268 K respectively for the first reaction step, and for the second reaction step over a temperature range from 278 to 313 K in both solvents. The first step is very fast (up to 1630 s(−1)) and on the limit of what is observable with the stopped-flow technique.