Dioxygen adducts of rhodium N-heterocyclic carbene complexes.

Rhodium complexes functionalized by N-heterocyclic carbene ligands react with dioxygen to form adducts. Depending on the specifics of the ancillary ligands, oxygen binds to Rh either as a peroxide to form a fully oxidized Rh(III) complex, or as singlet dioxygen in a Rh(I) square planar complex. We have shown through analysis of a series of compounds, some previously published and some novel, that the presence of additional ligands that would support the formation of an octahedral geometry, as typically found with Rh(III) complexes, is critical for formation of the peroxide.

Organometallic Ni pincer complexes for the electrocatalytic production of hydrogen.

Nonplatinum metals are needed to perform cost-effective water reduction electrocatalysis to enable technological implementation of a proposed hydrogen economy. We describe electrocatalytic proton reduction and H(2) production by two organometallic nickel complexes with tridentate pincer ligands. The kinetics of H(2) production from voltammetry is consistent with an overall third order rate law: the reaction is second order in acid and first order in catalyst.

N-Heterocyclic carbene complexes of rhodium: structure, stability and reactivity.

The organometallic chemistry of N-heterocyclic carbene complexes of the transition metals has received significant attention over the past ten years, especially with respect to complexes of Pd and Ru. The present Perspective highlights the chemistry of NHC complexes of another important transition metal, Rh. The application of Rh-NHC complexes in the industrially significant reactions of hydrogenation and hydroformylation is described.

N-heterocyclic carbene complexes of Rh: reaction with dioxygen without oxidation.

The reaction of oxygen with rhodium complexes containing N-heterocyclic carbenes was found to give dioxygen complexes with rare square planar geometries and unusually short O-O bond lengths. Analysis of the bonding in these complexes by Rh L-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS), Raman spectroscopy, and DFT calculations provides evidence for a bonding model in which singlet oxygen is bound to a Rh(I) d8 metal complex, rather than the more common Rh(III) d6 peroxo species with octahedral geometry and O-O bond lengths in the 1.4-1.