Mechanism of Catalytic Aziridination with Manganese Corrole: The Often Postulated High-Valent Mn(V) Imido Is Not the Group Transfer Reagent

The reaction of ArINTs (Ar = 2-(tert-butylsulfonyl)benzene and Ts = p-toluenesulfonyl) and
(tpfc)Mn (tpfc = 5,10,15-tris(pentafluorophenyl)corrole), 1, affords the high-valent (tpfc)MnVNTs, 2, on
stopped-flow time scale. The reaction proceeds via the adduct [(tpfc)MnIII(ArINTs)], 3, with formation constant
K3 = (10 ± 2) × 103 L mol−1. Subsequently, 3 undergoes unimolecular group transfer to give complex 2
with the rate constant k4 = 0.26 ± 0.07 s-1 at 24.0 °C. The complex (tpfc)Mn catalyzes [NTs] group transfer
from ArINTs to styrene substrates with low catalyst loading and without requirement of excess olefin. The
catalytic aziridination reaction is most efficient in benzene because solvents such as toluene undergo a
competing hydrogen atom transfer (HAT) reaction resulting in H2NTs and lowered aziridine yields. The
high-valent manganese imido complex (tpfc)MnNTs does not transfer its [NTs] group to styrene. Double-labeling experiments with ArINTs and ArINTstBu (TstBu = (p-tert-butylphenyl)sulfonyl) establish the source
of [NR] transfer as a “third oxidant”, which is an adduct of Mn(V) imido, [(tpfc)Mn(NTstBu)(ArINTs)] (4).
Formation of this oxidant is rate limiting in catalysis.