Thermal Dihydrogen Elimination from Cp*2Yb(4,5-diazafluorene)
摘要:
The reaction of 4,5-diazafluorene with Cp-2*Yb(OEt2), where Cp* is pentamethylcyclopentadienyl, affords the isolable adduct Cp-2*Yb(4,5-diazafluorene) (1), which slowly eliminates H-2 to form Cp-2*Yb(4,5-diazafluorenyl) (2); the net reaction is therefore 1 --> 2 + H-center dot. The ytterbium atom in 1 is shown to be intermediate valent by variable-temperature L-III-edge X-ray absorption near edge (XANES) spectroscopy, consistent with its low effective magnetic moment (mu(eff)). The experimental studies are supported by complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) calculations, showing that two open-shell singlets he below the triplet state. The two open shell singlets are calculated to be multiconfigurational and closely spaced, in agreement with the observed temperature dependence of the XANES and chi data, which are fit to a Boltzmann distribution. A mechanism for dihydrogen formation is proposed on the basis of kinetic and labeling studies to involve the bimetallic complex (Cp-2*Yb)(2)(4,5-diazafluorenyl)(2), in which the heterocyclic amine ligands are joined by a carbon-carbon bond at C(9)-C(9').