Halide Abstraction Competes with Oxidative Addition in the Reactions of Aryl Halides with [Ni(PMePh)]

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been used to study the oxidative addition of aryl halides to complexes of the type [Ni(PMePh)], revealing the crucial role of an open-shell singlet transition state for halide abstraction. The formation of Ni I versus Ni II has been rationalised thro...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Funes-Ardoiz, Ignacio|||0000-0002-5843-9660, Nelson, David J.|||0000-0002-9461-5182, Maseras Cuní, Feliu|||0000-0001-8806-2019
Format: article
Publication Date:2017
Country:España
Institution:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repository:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:186358
Online Access:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/186358
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1002/chem.201702331
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Density functional calculations
Electron transfer
Homogeneous catalysis
Ligand effects
Nickel
Description
Summary:Density functional theory (DFT) calculations have been used to study the oxidative addition of aryl halides to complexes of the type [Ni(PMePh)], revealing the crucial role of an open-shell singlet transition state for halide abstraction. The formation of Ni I versus Ni II has been rationalised through the study of three different pathways: (i) halide abstraction by [Ni(PMePh)], via an open-shell singlet transition state; (ii) S2-type oxidative addition to [Ni(PMePh)], followed by phosphine dissociation; and (iii) oxidative addition to [Ni(PMePh)]. For the overall reaction between [Ni(PMe)], PhCl, and PhI, a microkinetic model was used to show that our results are consistent with the experimentally observed ratios of Ni I and Ni II when the PEt complex is used. Importantly, [Ni(PMePh)] complexes often have little, if any, role in oxidative addition reactions because they are relatively high in energy. The behaviour of [Ni(PR)] complexes in catalysis is therefore likely to differ considerably from those based on diphosphine ligands in which two coordinate Ni 0 complexes are the key species undergoing oxidative addition.