Exploring Oxidation of Half-Sandwich Rhodium Complexes: Oxygen Atom Insertion into the Rhodium–Carbon Bond of κ2‑Coordinated 2‑Phenylpyridine

The reactions of oxygen atom transfer reagents with Rh­(Cp*) complexes, each with a bidentate ligand and an accessible coordination site, are described (Cp* = η5-penta­methyl­cyclo­pentadienyl). When [Rh­(Cp*)­(phpy)­(NCArF)]­[B­(ArF)4] (1, phpy = 2-phenylene-κC1′-pyridine-κN, NCArF = 3,5-bis­(trifluoro­methyl)­benzonitrile, B­(ArF)4 = tetrakis­[3,5-bis­(trifluoro­methyl)­phenyl]­borate) was treated with the soluble oxygen atom transfer reagent 2-tert-butyl­sulfonyl­iodosyl­benzene (sPhIO), oxygen atom insertion into the rhodium–carbon bond of coordinated phpy was observed. This resulted in the formation of a κ2 2-(2-pyridyl)­phenoxide ligand. Following insertion to form a new bidentate ligand, a second equivalent of sPhIO, acting as a neutral, two-electron donor ligand, coordinated to the rhodium center through the iodosyl oxygen. Over time, the sPhIO ligand dissociates and dimerization occurs to generate a phenoxide-bridged dinuclear species. The 2-(2-pyridyl)­phenoxide ligand could be protonated and cleaved from the mononuclear rhodium-(sPhIO) adduct by treating with a carboxylic acid (pivalic acid) at room temperature. In addition, when rhodium complex 1 was treated with excess phpy (14 equiv), hydrogen peroxide, and acetic acid, 5 equiv of 2-(2-pyridyl)­phenol formed. Deactivation of the organometallic species, probably due to oxidative degradation of Cp*, severely limited this catalysis.