Counterion effect and directing group effect in Rh-mediated CH bond activation processes: A theoretical study

Publication date: Available online 13 March 2018 Source:Journal of Organometallic Chemistry Author(s): Yixin Luo, Song Liu, Dongdong Xu, Ling-Bo Qu, Xiaoling Luo, Ruopeng Bai, Yu Lan Density functional theory calculations were performed to study the counterion effect and directing group effect in rhodium mediated concerted metalation deprotonation type CH bond activation of arenes. The use of different carboxylates as counterions results in changes to the activation energies over a narrow range. These changes are mainly attributed to the opposing effects of alkalinity and nucleophilicity of the substituted groups. The effects of directing groups were also considered. By introducing directing groups, the CH bond activation energy is greatly reduced. Our results show that different directing groups have similar effects and activation energies. Graphical abstract

Source: Journal of Organometallic Chemistry - March 14, 2018 Category: Chemistry Source Type: research