This communication describes a new and highly practical Pd(II)-catalyzed method for the regio- and chemoselective oxidative functionalization of arenes and alkanes. Carbon-hydrogen bonds of substrates that contain a variety of directing groups (e.g., pyridine, azobenzene, pyrazole, and imine derivatives) are selectively transformed into esters, ethers, and aryl-halides under mild conditions. The scope of this reaction in terms of substrate, directing group, and oxidant is described, and a preliminary catalytic cycle is proposed.

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A novel strategy for the immobilization of cytochrome c on the surface of chemically modified electrodes is demonstrated and used to investigate the protein's electron-transfer kinetics. Mixed monolayer films of alkanethiols and omega-terminated alkanethiols (terminated with pyridine, imidazole, or nitrile groups that are able to ligate with the heme) are used to adsorb cytochrome c to the surface of gold electrodes. The use of mixed films, as opposed to pure films, allows the concentration of adsorbed cytochrome to remain dilute and ensures a higher degree of homogeneity in their environment. The adsorbed protein is studied using electrochemical methods and scanning tunneling microscopy.

This communication describes the synthesis of a family of unusually stable palladium(IV) complexes containing two chelating 2-phenylpyridine ligands and two benzoates. These complexes undergo clean C-O bond-forming reductive elimination upon heating, and the mechanism of this catalytically relevant process has been studied in detail. Solvent effects, crossover experiments, Eyring plots (which show DeltaS of -1.4 +/- 1.9 and 4.2 +/- 1.4 in CDCl3 and DMSO, respectively), and Hammett analysis (which shows rho = -1.36 +/- 0.04 upon substitution of the para-benzoate substituent) all suggest that reductive elimination does not proceed via initial dissociation of a benzoate ligand. Instead, an unusual mechanism involving pre-equilibrium dissociation of the N-arm of the phenylpyridine ligand is proposed.

This paper describes the synthesis of a series of Pd(IV) complexes of general structure (N~C)(2)Pd(IV)(O(2)CR)(2) (N~C = a rigid cyclometalated ligand; O(2)CR = carboxylate) by reaction of (N~C)(2)Pd(II) with PhI(O(2)CR)(2). The majority of these complexes undergo clean C-O bond-forming reductive elimination, and the mechanism of this process has been investigated. A variety of experiments, including Hammett plots, Eyring analysis, crossover studies, and investigations of the influence of solvent and additives, suggest that C-O bond-forming reductive elimination proceeds via initial carboxylate dissociation followed by C-O coupling from a 5-coordinate cationic Pd(IV) intermediate. The mechanism of competing C-C bond-forming reductive elimination from these complexes has also been investigated and is proposed to involve direct reductive elimination from the octahedral Pd(IV) centers.