Synthesizing Strong Donor Macrocyclic Tetracarbene Metal Complexes for Catalytic Aziridination
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University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 5-2014 Synthesizing Strong Donor Macrocyclic Tetracarbene Metal Complexes for Catalytic Aziridination Steven Alan Cramer University of Tennessee - Knoxville, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Inorganic Chemistry Commons Recommended Citation Cramer, Steven Alan, "Synthesizing Strong Donor Macrocyclic Tetracarbene Metal Complexes for Catalytic Aziridination. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2014. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/2756 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Steven Alan Cramer entitled "Synthesizing Strong Donor Macrocyclic Tetracarbene Metal Complexes for Catalytic Aziridination." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Chemistry. David M. Jenkins, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: David C. Baker, Zi-ling Xue, Engin Serpersu Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) Synthesizing Strong Donor Macrocyclic Tetracarbene Metal Complexes for Catalytic Aziridination A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee, Knoxville Steven Alan Cramer May 2014 Copyright © 2014 by Steven Alan Cramer All rights reserved. ii DEDICATION I would like to dedicate my dissertation to my parents and my wife. My father William Cramer has always inspired me by example to never quit any task and always work as hard as possible. My mother Sherri Cramer has made endless efforts to make sure I excel academically and technologically, whether it be through rewards for good grades or a nightly competition while watching Jeopardy on television. Finally, my wife Natalie Cramer has supported me with love, kindness, and words of encouragement everyday throughout my life journey. Without each of these three individuals I can honestly say that I would not be writing this dissertation and likely would not have achieved my current level of success in life. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge Dr. David Jenkins and Dr. Zheng Lu. Dr. Jenkins has been instrumental in molding my thought process to think abstractly through chemical problems. Due to his efforts, my breadth of chemistry knowledge has grown exponentially. Additionally, Dr. Jenkins has taught me to prepare a plan for every synthetic challenge and try to pinpoint all the possible outcomes. Dr. Lu has shaped how I perform chemistry in a tangible way. In addition to the vast knowledge he has shown me how to use certain instrumentation and setup reactions, he also taught me not to “overthink” chemistry and instead try a reaction if there is a possibility that it may work. With the mentoring from Dr. Jenkins and Dr. Lu, I have realized that it is critical to conceptually understand everything possible in the beginning of a reaction or problem but be opeN-minded when the outcome was not foreseen in the original plan, because, after all, we are scientists and we apply rules and when those rules fail it is up to us to make new rules. iv ABSTRACT A small ringed macrocyclic tetracarbene ligand was developed due to the inherent ability of N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) to stabilize high oxidation states of transition metals. This new strong donor ligand was prepared by first synthesizing an 18-atom ringed macrocyclic tetraimidazolium ligand precursor. The tetraimidazolium can be prepared by a two-step procedure. This ligand precursor was deprotonated to prepare a monomeric platinum tetracarbene complex. A new iron macrocyclic tetra-carbene complex was synthesized by an in situ strong base deprotonation strategy of the ligand precursor. The iron tetracarbene complex was found to catalyze the aziridination of a wide array of functionalized aryl azides and a variety of substituted aliphatic alkenes, including tetra-substituted. The aziridination intermediate was probed by mass spectrometry and found to likely be and iron(IV) imido. Further investigation of this intermediate discovered that the an iron(IV) tetrazene forms when excess aryl azide was added, probably by a 1,3-cycloaddition of an additional equivalent of azide to an imido. Utilizing single-crystal X-ray diffraction, NMR spectroscopy, and Mossbauer spectroscopy the metal center was formally assigned as a low spin (S = 0) iron(IV). Additional reactivity studies indicates this tetrazene is capable of performing aziridination and therefore is an additional reaction pathway in the catalytic cycle. v A large disadvantage of the aforementioned iron tetracarbene catalyst is poor yield. To overcome low yields and to prepare several transition metal tetracarbene complexes, a dimeric macrocyclic tetracarbene silver complex was synthesized. This complex was shown to successfully extend transmetallation of polydentate NHCs beyond bidentate NHCs. The silver complex was utilized in the preparation of a variety of mononuclear tetracarbene complexes ranging from early first row to late third row transition metals in moderate to high. In an attempt to move toward improving solubility of the tetracarbene catalysts, a second generation variant with two borate moieties in the ligand backbone was utilized. With this dianionic 18-atom macrocyclic tetracarbene ligand, the first tetracarbene complexes of Group 13 and 14 metals were synthesized. The tin, indium, and aluminium tetracarbene complexes are structurally analogous to their catalytically active porphyrin or salen analogues. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 Introduction .......................................................................................... 1 Chapter 2 Preparation of an 18-Atom Macrocyclic Tetra-Imidazolium as a Tetra- N-Heterocyclic Carbene Ligand Precursor ............................................................ 8 Abstract ............................................................................................................. 9 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 10 Synthesis and Characterization of Tetra-imidazolium Ligand Precursor ......... 12 Synthesis and Characterization of a Platinum(II) Tetracarbene Complex ....... 14 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 17 Experimental ................................................................................................... 18 Chapter 3 Synthesis of Aziridines from Alkenes and Aryl Azides with a Reusable Macrocyclic Tetracarbene Iron Catalyst .............................................................. 25 Abstract ........................................................................................................... 26 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 26 Synthesis and Characterization of an Iron(II) Tetracarbene Complex ............. 28 Catalytic Aziridination with Aryl Azides and Aliphatic Alkenes ......................... 31 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 38 Experimental ................................................................................................... 39 Chapter 4 Development of a Silver Transmetallating Reagent to Synthesize Macrocyclic Tetracarbene Complexes ................................................................ 55 Abstract ........................................................................................................... 56 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 57 vii Synthesis and Characterization of Silver Complex .......................................... 58 Synthesis of Tetracarbene Complexes ............................................................ 60 Structural Characterization of Tetracarbene Complexes ................................. 65 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 69 Experimental ................................................................................................... 70 Chapter 5 Characterization and Reactivity of an Fe(IV) Tetrazene Complex ...... 77 Abstract ........................................................................................................... 78 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 78 Characterization and Reactivity of Fe(IV) Tetrazene ....................................... 81 Conclusion ...................................................................................................... 86 Experimental ................................................................................................... 87 Chapter 6 Overcoming NHCs Neutrality: