Energetics of homogeneous intermolecular vinyl and allyl carbon-hydrogen bond activation by the 16-electron coordinatively unsaturated organometallic fragment [Tp′Rh(CNCH2CMe3)]

Reaction of the complex Tp'Rh(CNneo)(CH=CH2)Cl (neo = CH2CMe3, Tp' = hydridotris-(3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl)borate) with Cp2ZrH2 leads to the formation of Tp'Rh(CNneo)(CH=CH2)H. This complex is also formed upon photolysis of a solution of Tp'Rh(CNneo)(PhN=C=Nneo) containing ethylene or by thermal reaction of Tp'Rh(CNneo)(c-hexyl)H with ethylene. The vinyl hydride complex rearranges to the more stable eta(2)-ethylene complex with a half-life of 8 h at 22 degrees C. Photolysis of a solution of Tp'Rh(CNneo)(PhN=C=Nneo) in liquid propylene produces the allylic activation product Tp'Rh(CNneo)(CH2CH=CH2)H, which rearranges (t(1/2) = 3 days at 22 degrees C) to the eta(2)-propylene complex. Allylic activation is also seen with isobutylene, but loss of olefin is observed at 22 degrees C in benzene solution to generate Tp'Rh(CNneo)(Ph)H (t(1/2) = 16.6 h). Photolysis of a tert-butylethylene solution of Tp'Rh(CNneo)(PhN=C=Nneo) produces the trans vinyl hydride complex, which loses tert-butylethylene to generate Tp'Rh(CNneo)(Ph)H (t(1/2) = 113 days at 22 degrees C). A combination of kinetic selectivity and reductive elimination experiments have allowed for calculation of relative Rh-C bond strengths for both the rhodium allyl and vinyl hydride complexes and for the inclusion of these new data in an analysis of bond strength correlations. The results show that the trend for relative Rh-C bond strengths parallels the trend of hydrocarbon C-H bond strengths, i.e., Rh-Ph > Rh-vinyl > Rh-methyl > Rh-alkyl (1 degrees) > Rh-cycloalkyl (2 degrees) > Rh-benzyl > Rh-allyl, but that differences in M-C bond strengths typically exceed the differences in C-H bond strengths.