Conditions that Promote Alkane Binding: Crystallization of a Cationic Manganese(I) Pentane σ-Complex from Solution

01 April 2025, Version 1
This content is a preprint and has not undergone peer review at the time of posting.

Abstract

Transition metal–alkane σ-complexes are key intermediates in C-H activation and until now analysis of these species has been restricted to either the solution OR the solid state. Here we present a synthetic methodology that converts Mn2(CO)10 in a non-coordinating solvent environment to [Mn(CO)5]+ at room temperature, which binds n-pentane as the strongest interacting ligand available. Three isomers of its σ complexes were studied in detail by solution NMR-spectroscopy at low temperature. Two isomers of [Mn(CO)5(n-pentane)]+ crystallize from solution at room temperature and their structures were determined by single crystal X-ray crystallography. Hence, we suggest that the solution oxidation of metal complex dimers to generate reactive metal cations, which bind alkanes as the strongest available ligand, is a new and general approach for the generation of metal-alkane σ complexes.

Keywords

Alkane complexes
Sigma-complex
NMR Spectroscopy
X-ray diffraction
C-H Activation

Supplementary materials

Title
Description
Actions
Title
ESI for "Conditions that Promote Alkane Binding: Crystallization of a Cationic Manganese(I) Pentane σ-Complex from Solution"
Description
Supplementary materials for Conditions that Promote Alkane Binding: Crystallization of a Cationic Manganese(I) Pentane σ-Complex from Solution
Actions
Title
[Mn(CO)5(n-pentane)][alfal].cif
Description
cif file for [Mn(CO)5(n-pentane)][alfal]
Actions
Title
[Mn(CO)5(n-pentane)][pf].cif
Description
cif file for [Mn(CO)5(n-pentane)][pf]
Actions

Comments

Comments are not moderated before they are posted, but they can be removed by the site moderators if they are found to be in contravention of our Commenting Policy [opens in a new tab] - please read this policy before you post. Comments should be used for scholarly discussion of the content in question. You can find more information about how to use the commenting feature here [opens in a new tab] .
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy [opens in a new tab] and Terms of Service [opens in a new tab] apply.