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The development of abundant and economical first-row transition metal-based catalysts is an appealing area of research for efficient and selective chemical transformations. In this context, iron complexes are highly desirable as they feature a range of accessible oxidation states allowing for transfer of one or two electrons to or from a substrate. Therefore, over the past two decades, many iron-based catalysts have been developed, extensively studied, and exploited for catalysis ranging from oxidation and reduction to C-C bond forming reactions. In homogeneous transition metal catalysis, the ligand plays a vital role in determining activity and selectivity of the above stated catalytic reactions. Some key features of ligands that support both stoichiometric and catalytic reactions of metal complexes include: 1) strong chelation ability to metals, 2) tunability of donor atoms, 3) strong field ligands such as phosphine, phosphite, CO, and hydride favoring low-spin complexes, 4) hemilability allowing substrate activation via reversible dissociation of one donor atom, and 5) redox-activity enabling donation or accepting of electrons, thus avoiding a change of metal oxidation state. To this end, bifunctional ligands containing the above described properties have emerged as important elements in chemical synthesis and in catalysis. Iron and other transition metal complexes containing multidentate bifunctional ligands have recently been shown to activate small molecules and catalyze a number of chemical transformations with activity and selectivity typical of more well-studied precious metals. The objective of this thesis is to further advance the field of bifunctional ligands by preparing new sterically svelte tridentate ligands with a mixture of hard nitrogen and soft sulfur donors and to investigate their iron chemistry. The overall goal is to then explore the utility of these iron complexes as potential bifunctional catalysts. Chapter 2 describes a one-step synthesis of a new SMeNHS ligand in excellent yield that undergoes ring-opening on treatment with Fe(OTf)2 affording a thiolate-bridged, trinuclear iron complex, [Fe3(µ2-SMeNS−)4](OTf)2. The structure, spectroscopic, magnetic, and computational studies of this iron complex are provided along with its solvent-dependent reactivity towards monodentate donor ligands that yields both dinuclear and mononuclear derivatives. Chapter 3 describes the formation of an electron-rich Fe(II) thiolate complex, [Fe(SMeNS)(PMe3)3](OTf) and its substitution reactivity with both mono- and bidentate donor ligands. On heating this complex, an oxidative thioether Caryl-S bond cleavage is observed, leading to a cationic Fe(III)-CNS thiolate analog. Reduction of this Fe(III) species with cobaltocene yielded a neutral Fe(II)-CNS thiolate complex. To investigate the bifunctional activity of these Fe(II) complexes, both Fe(II)-SNS and -CNS species were assessed as precatalysts for amine-borane dehydrogenation. Chapter 4 employs the SMeNHS ligand in formation of a neutral, imine-coupled Fe-N2S2 complex that serves as an efficient and selective aldehyde hydroboration catalyst using pinacolborane. A reaction profile kinetic analysis implicates the hemilability and redox-active properties of this complex. Chapter 5 introduces the new unsymmetrical amine ligand, SMeNHSMe, and details its iron chemistry with formation of a pseudooctahedral Fe(II) bis(amido) complex. The Mössbauer spectra, MCD study, and DFT calculations support formation of a minor five-coordinate isomer in solution due to the hemilability of the six-membered ring thioether group. Reactivity studies of this Fe(II) species with a variety of donor ligands confirmed this lability and protonation at nitrogen yielded a cationic Fe(II) amine-amido complex. Reaction of the latter with the tridentate phosphine, triphos, gave a 16e-, low-spin, square-pyramidal Fe(II) complex that proved to be a robust precatalyst that is more active for dehydrogenation of dimethylamine-borane vs. ammonia-borane. Formation of a monohydride catalyst resting state under these reaction conditions is suggestive of a bifunctional activation pathway. Finally, Chapter 6 concludes the outcomes of the iron chemistry of hemilabile SNS ligands and discusses future directions and opportunities to extend these ligand systems to other transition metals. The knowledge gained by the stoichiometric and catalytic reactivity of iron-SNS complexes presented herein contributes to our understanding of bifunctional catalysis. With the increasing demand for base metal catalysts in chemical industry for efficient and selective synthesis of value-added chemicals, iron SNS complexes could offer economical, active, and selective catalyst precursors.

Hemilabile ligands attracted much attention in past thirty years because they were effectively utilized in the field of coordination chemistry and homogenous catalysis. We have synthesized four tridentate iminophosphine ligands (o-Ph2P(C6H4)-C(H)=N-(CH2)n-R, n = 2, R = SnBu, LPNS1; n = 3, R = SMe, LPNS2; n = 3, R = OMe, LPNO3; and n = 3, R = NMe2, LPNN4) and one tridentate aminophosphine ligand (o-Ph2P(C6H4)CH2N(H)(CH2)3NMe2, LPNHN5) in this work. The structures of the iminophosphine copper(I) complexes were determined by the carbon-chain length between imino-nitrogen and third donor atom, the coordination ability of the third donor atom, and the nature of the anions (i.e. its donor ability and atomic radius). An unexpected tetranuclear copper(I) iodide complex [(CuI)2(LPNN4)]2 (16) was obtained due to the larger atomic radius of iodide ion. The ligand LPNN4 displayed versatile coordination behavior after complexing with some late transition metals such as Pd(II), Ag(I), Zn(II), Cd(II). These tridentate ligands may act as PN-chelator or PNE-chelator (E = S, N¡¦). Both chelating and bridging modes were observed at the same time in Cu(I) and Ag(I) complexes. In Zn(II) complex, however, chelating by LPNN4 chelated only occurred through its N donor atoms. In term of the reactivity study of these complexes, we found that the complex [Cu(LPNN4)(CH3CN)0.2](BF4) (17) would successful react with Na(SCN), NaN3, and PhCCH/KOH to generate corresponding substitution products. However when reacted with PhCCC(O)OH/KOH, copper complexes bearing LPNN4 could not give the corresponding substituted carboxylate copper(I) product and gave the complex [Cu(CCPh)(LPNN4)]2 (18) via auto-decarboxylation instead.

Molecular transition metal catalysts offer unique potential for the production of fine chemicals. Chemical processes carried out in the presence of well defined molecular catalysts often only require mild, easily accessible conditions, fewer sacrificial reagents, and can selectively produce a desired product with minimal waste. The active site of a transition metal catalyst can be varied by the use of a hybrid ligand, which employs a combination of groups with different binding affinities for the metal center. Hybrid ligands possessing both substitutionally inert and labile donors, called “hemilabile” ligands, offer an added dimension to catalysis since the weakly binding donor can be displaced from the metal center by a substrate to facilitate the chemical transformation. However this labile donor, in conjunction with an inert donor, can also offer chelate stabilization of the catalyst in the event of coordinative unsaturation at the metal center, a feature which can serve to enhance catalyst longevity. A major goal of the research reported herein is to understand the mechanisms by which hemilabile processes occur within ortho-phosphinoaniline complexes of rhodium and ruthenium and, in turn, how such features might affect catalytic characteristics. To this end, a comparison of catalytic activities of related hemi- and non-labile complexes has been carried out. The ability for two metal atoms held in close proximity to have a cooperative effect on substrate activation or catalysis has also inspired the generation of a series of binuclear compounds bridged by bis(ortho-phosphinoaniline) ligands. In addition to hemilabile and catalytic features, many unique ligand geometries and coordination modes are also observed, particularly by altering the substituents on labile amine donors. Non-labile complexes can also be prepared by deprotonation of labile amine donors to produce ortho-phosphinoanilido species, which display reactivity patterns and structural features distinct from the those of their hemilabile congeners. The amido complexes, which are effective toward ketone transfer hydrogenation and olefin silylation reactions, display interesting features, and in the first case, the possibility of a reaction mechanism unprecedented for transition metal catalysts is discussed. Evidence supporting the operation of such an unexpected mechanism could have important implications for the design and operation of new and more effective transition metal catalysts. / Chemistry

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The research reported in this thesis was carried out in Brisbane, Australia and Calgary, Canada. The aim of the research conducted in Brisbane was to prepare a series of copper(I) and ruthenium(II) based complexes incorporating a hemilabile phosphine ligand and to determine whether or not these compounds possessed catalytic activity. The history, uses, properties and recent work incorporating hemilabile phosphine ligands is discussed in detail as well as the application of hemilabile ligands to atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) and the usefulness of the 'windscreen wiper' action of these ligands in polymerization. The literature synthesis and characterization of four hemilabile phosphine ligands is reported with modifications. The (2-chlorophenyl)diphenylphosphine ligand was prepared via a Grignard reaction giving a 11% yield. The (2-bromophenyl) diphenylphosphine ligand was prepared by reaction of 2-bromoiodobenzene with Ph2PSiMe3 in the presence of a palladium catalyst (MeCN)2PdCl2 which yielded 50% product. The 1-chloro-2-diphenylphosphinoethane ligand was prepared following the generation of a lithium diphenylphosphide which was added to 1,2-dichloroethane to give a 43% yield of product. The (2-benzoic-acid)diphenylphosphine ligand was prepared by hydrolysis of (2-methyl-ester-phenyl)diphenylphosphine. Following acidification of the methyl ester phosphine with HCl, the desired product was isolated in 88% yield. The synthesis and characterization of a series of copper(I) based complexes incorporating the prepared phosphine ligands involved reaction in CH3CN of the appropriate ligand with copper halides as starting material. Solution state 31P NMR and mass spectrometry were used to study many of these complexes in the solution state, whilst microanalysis, 31P CP MAS NMR and single crystal X-ray diffraction studies were used to study their solid state properties. The complexes of the type bis(2-halophenyl)diphenylphosphine copper halide were found to be three coordinate with non-chelating ligands and to be isostructural with the previously studied bis(2-methylphenyl)diphenylphosphine copper halide complexes. The synthesis and characterization of ruthenium(II) based complexes incorporating hemilabile phosphine ligands involved reaction of the appropriate ligands in MeOH with RuCl3.3H2O or RuCl2(DMSO)4 as the ruthenium source. Modes of characterization included solution state 31P NMR, mass spectrometry, microanalysis and single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. All ruthenium(II) based complexes were found to incorporate the hemilabile ligands in a chelating mode resulting in 6 coordinate structures. The preliminary polymerization testing of MMA in the presence of the copper(I) and ruthenium(II) based complexes has been reported. All complexes successfully polymerized the monomer and the resulting polyMMA showed polydispersity values ranging from moderate (3.1) to very high (6.7). Chapter 7 discusses research conducted over a 6 month period at the University of Calgary, Canada under an International Resident Fellowship award. This work involved the synthesis and characterization of scandium(III) and yttrium(III) based complexes incorporating a chelating amido-imine ligand, as potential olefin polymerization catalysts.

The late transition metal complexes containing sulfide ligands have trem- endous applications not only in biochemistry but also in industrial catalysis. We have successfully synthesized four different bidentate ligands, 2- (Benzylidene)benzenethiol(NS-1), 2-[2,6-(Dimethylbenzylidene)]benzenethi- ol(NS-2), 2-(2-Chloro-1-methylethylidene)benzenethiol(NS-3) and 2-(Diphe- nylphosphanyl)benzenethiol(PS), and five tridentate ligands, N-{N-[2-(Diph- enylphosphino)benzylidene]-2-sec-butylethylsulfide}(PNS-1), N-{N-[2-(Di- phenylphosphino)benzylamino]-2-sec-butylethylsulfide}(PNS-2), 2-[2-(Diph- enylphosphino)phenylsulfanylmethyl]pyridine(PSN-1), 2-[2-(Diphenylphos- phino)phenylsulfanyl]ethylamine(PSN-2) and 2-(Diphenylphosphino)phenyl- sulfanylacetonitrile(PSN-3). These ligands reacted with the late transition metal (Zn, Ag, Pd, and Ni) salts, and produced complexes 1-12. Besides their spectra, we also obtained crystal structures of complexes 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. We found that the PNS tridentate ligands had different bonding modes in zinc, silver, palladium, and nickel complexes. For examples, in zinc complexes 1 and 2 only P and S atoms were coordinated to the metal while all P, N, and S atoms were coordinated to the Pd metal in Pd complexes. It indicated that thiolether prefers to coordinate to palladium but not to zinc in our cases. When PNS-2 went through different reaction routes, two silver complexes 4 and 5 with different coordination modes a M2L2 type dinuclear complex and a ML2 type mononuclear complex were obtained.. When reacting PNS-2 with nickel, we obtained an unique tetranuclear nickel complex 6. PSN-1 showed two different coordinate modes in complexes 8-10 while PSN-2 and silver produced a dinuclear silver complex 11 that resembled complex 4. PSN-3 coordinated to Pd ion by phosphorus and sulfide atoms. As such, we demonstrated the various coordinated modes in PNS and PSN ligands. Finally PS bidentate ligand reacted with zinc salt produced complex 7 with one oxidized ligand. The variable temperature NMR experiment was also used to probe the structural change that occurred in solution state for 3.

Metathesis is a valuable reaction for the production of new alkenes. In the last 50 years, heterogeneous as well as homogeneous catalysts have been used for this reaction. In the homogeneous category are the very successful catalysts designed by the Grubbs group. The first generation Grubbs precatalyst (Gr1) bearing two phosphine ligands was followed after extensive studies by the more active second generation Grubbs precatalyst (Gr2). In Gr2, one of the phosphine ligands is replaced with an N-heterocyclic carbene. Grubbs type precatalysts bearing pyridynyl-alcoholato chelating ligands are pertinent to this study. Scheme 1: The synthesis of Grubbs type precatalysts bearing a pyridynyl-alcoholato ligand. In two previous studies, both supported by computational methods, Grubbs type precatalysts with N^O chelating ligands were synthesised. These investigations were motivated by the fact that chelating ligands bearing different donor atoms can display hemilability. The loosely bound donor atom can de-coordinate to make available a coordination site to an incoming substrate “on demand”, whilst occupying the site otherwise and hence preventing decomposition via open coordination sites. In the first investigation, the incorporation of an O,N-ligand with both R1 and R2 being phenyl groups into the Gr2 precatalyst, resulted in an increase in activity, selectivity and lifetime of the precatalyst in comparison to Gr2 in the metathesis reaction with 1- octene. In the second study, three synthesised complexes were found to be active for the metathesis of 1-octene. This computational study sought to better understand the structural differences and thermodynamic properties of these Grubbs type precatalysts with bidentate/hemilabile ligands. A large number of structures were constructed in Materials Studio by varying the R groups of the bidentate/hemilabile ligand attached to both the Gr1 and Gr2 catalysts. The majority of structures were Gr1-type complexes. For each ligand selected, a group of structures consisting of closed precatalyst, open precatalyst, and where applicable a precatalyst less PCy3, closed metallacycle, open metallacycle and where applicable a metallacycle less PCy3, was constructed and optimised using DMol3. Bond lengths, bond angles, HOMO and LUMO energies and Hirshveld charges of structures were compared with one another. PES scans were performed on the metallacycles of four groups. The purpose of the PES scans was to ascertain whether these bidentate ligands were hemilabile and to illuminate the preferred reaction mechanism for these types of precatalysts. The major finding of this study was that the possibility of an associative mechanism cannot be ruled out for some Gr2-type precatalysts with bidentate ligand. For some precatalysts hemilability is energetically expensive and possibly not viable. No evidence of a concerted mechanism was found. The dissociative mechanism was found to be the preferred mechanism for most of the structures that were subjected to PES scans. The HOMO-LUMO energies of a complex can be used, as a predictive tool, to assess the reactivity and stability of a complex, as well as its preference for substrates. / Thesis (MSc (Chemistry))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

Metathesis is a valuable reaction for the production of new alkenes. In the last 50 years, heterogeneous as well as homogeneous catalysts have been used for this reaction. In the homogeneous category are the very successful catalysts designed by the Grubbs group. The first generation Grubbs precatalyst (Gr1) bearing two phosphine ligands was followed after extensive studies by the more active second generation Grubbs precatalyst (Gr2). In Gr2, one of the phosphine ligands is replaced with an N-heterocyclic carbene. Grubbs type precatalysts bearing pyridynyl-alcoholato chelating ligands are pertinent to this study. Scheme 1: The synthesis of Grubbs type precatalysts bearing a pyridynyl-alcoholato ligand. In two previous studies, both supported by computational methods, Grubbs type precatalysts with N^O chelating ligands were synthesised. These investigations were motivated by the fact that chelating ligands bearing different donor atoms can display hemilability. The loosely bound donor atom can de-coordinate to make available a coordination site to an incoming substrate “on demand”, whilst occupying the site otherwise and hence preventing decomposition via open coordination sites. In the first investigation, the incorporation of an O,N-ligand with both R1 and R2 being phenyl groups into the Gr2 precatalyst, resulted in an increase in activity, selectivity and lifetime of the precatalyst in comparison to Gr2 in the metathesis reaction with 1- octene. In the second study, three synthesised complexes were found to be active for the metathesis of 1-octene. This computational study sought to better understand the structural differences and thermodynamic properties of these Grubbs type precatalysts with bidentate/hemilabile ligands. A large number of structures were constructed in Materials Studio by varying the R groups of the bidentate/hemilabile ligand attached to both the Gr1 and Gr2 catalysts. The majority of structures were Gr1-type complexes. For each ligand selected, a group of structures consisting of closed precatalyst, open precatalyst, and where applicable a precatalyst less PCy3, closed metallacycle, open metallacycle and where applicable a metallacycle less PCy3, was constructed and optimised using DMol3. Bond lengths, bond angles, HOMO and LUMO energies and Hirshveld charges of structures were compared with one another. PES scans were performed on the metallacycles of four groups. The purpose of the PES scans was to ascertain whether these bidentate ligands were hemilabile and to illuminate the preferred reaction mechanism for these types of precatalysts. The major finding of this study was that the possibility of an associative mechanism cannot be ruled out for some Gr2-type precatalysts with bidentate ligand. For some precatalysts hemilability is energetically expensive and possibly not viable. No evidence of a concerted mechanism was found. The dissociative mechanism was found to be the preferred mechanism for most of the structures that were subjected to PES scans. The HOMO-LUMO energies of a complex can be used, as a predictive tool, to assess the reactivity and stability of a complex, as well as its preference for substrates. / Thesis (MSc (Chemistry))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.