In an effort to augment or displace petroleum as a source of liquid fuels and chemicals, researchers are seeking lower cost technologies that convert natural gas (largely methane) to products such as methanol. Current methane to methanol technologies based on highly optimized, indirect, high-temperature chemistry (>800 °C) are prohibitively expensive. A new generation of catalysts is needed to rapidly convert methane and O(2) (ideally as air) directly to methanol (or other liquid hydrocarbons) at lower temperatures (~250 °C) and with high selectivity. Our approach is based on the reaction between CH bonds of hydrocarbons (RH) and transition metal complexes, L(n)M-X, to generate activated L(n)M-R intermediates while avoiding the formation of free radicals or carbocations. We have focused on the incorporation of this reaction into catalytic cycles by integrating the activation of the CH bond with the functionalization of L(n)M-R to generate the desired product and regenerate the L(n)M-X complex. To avoid free-radical reactions possible with the direct use of O(2), our approach is based on the use of air-recyclable oxidants. In addition, the solvent serves several roles including protection of the product, generation of highly active catalysts, and in some cases, as the air-regenerable oxidant. We postulate that there could be three distinct classes of catalyst/oxidant/solvent systems. The established electrophilic class combines electron-poor catalysts in acidic solvents that conceptually react by net removal of electrons from the bonding orbitals of the CH bond. The solvent protects the CH(3)OH by conversion to more electron-poor [CH(3)OH(2)](+) or the ester and also increases the electrophilicity of the catalyst by ligand protonation. The nucleophilic class matches electron-rich catalysts with basic solvents and conceptually reacts by net donation of electrons to the antibonding orbitals of the CH bond. In this case, the solvent could protect the CH(3)OH by deprotonation to the more electron-rich [CH(3)O](-) and increases the nucleophilicity of the catalysts by ligand deprotonation. The third grouping involves ambiphilic catalysts that can conceptually react with both the HOMO and LUMO of the CH bond and would typically involve neutral reaction solvents. We call this continuum base- or acid-modulated (BAM) catalysis. In this Account, we describe our efforts to design catalysts following these general principles. We have had the most success with designing electrophilic systems, but unfortunately, the essential role of the acidic solvent also led to catalyst inhibition by CH(3)OH above ~1 M. The ambiphilic catalysts reduced this product inhibition but were too slow and inefficient. To date, we have designed new base-assisted CH activation and L(n)M-R fuctionalization reactions and are working to integrate these into a complete, working catalytic cycle. Although we have yet to design a system that could supplant commercial processes, continued exploration of the BAM catalysis continuum may lead to new systems that ...

Much of the recent research on homogeneous alkane oxidation has focused on the use of transition metal catalysts. Here, we report that the electrophilic main-group cations thallium(III) and lead(IV) stoichiometrically oxidize methane, ethane, and propane, separately or as a one-pot mixture, to corresponding alcohol esters in trifluoroacetic acid solvent. Esters of methanol, ethanol, ethylene glycol, isopropanol, and propylene glycol are obtained with greater than 95% selectivity in concentrations up to 1.48 molar within 3 hours at 180°C. Experiment and theory support a mechanism involving electrophilic carbon-hydrogen bond activation to generate metal alkyl intermediates. We posit that the comparatively high reactivity of these d(10) main-group cations relative to transition metals stems from facile alkane coordination at vacant sites, enabled by the overall lability of the ligand sphere and the absence of ligand field stabilization energies in systems with filled d-orbitals.

An eta2-peroxopalladium(II) complex, derived from dioxygen addition to Pd(IMes)2 (IMes = bis-1,3-di(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)imidazoline-2-ylidene), has been isolated and characterized. Subsequent addition of HOAc to (IMes)2Pd(O2) yields the first example of a hydroperoxopalladium species derived from molecular oxygen. The characterization and reactivity studies of these complexes provide the most detailed insights to date into the proposed mechanism for palladium(0) oxidation by molecular oxygen.

We describe an efficient system for the direct partial oxidation of methane, ethane, and propane using iodate salts with catalytic amounts of chloride in protic solvents. In HTFA (TFA = trifluoroacetate), >20% methane conversion with >85% selectivity for MeTFA have been achieved. The addition of substoichiometric amounts of chloride is essential, and for methane the conversion increases from <1% in the absence of chloride to >20%. The reaction also proceeds in aqueous HTFA as well as acetic acid to afford methyl acetate. (13)C labeling experiments showed that less than 2% of methane is overoxidized to (13)CO2 at 15% conversion of (13)CH4. The system is selective for higher alkanes: 30% ethane conversion with 98% selectivity for EtTFA and 19% propane conversion that is selective for mixtures of the mono- and difunctionalized TFA esters. Studies of methane conversion using a series of iodine-based reagents [I2, ICl, ICl3, I(TFA)3, I2O4, I2O5, (IO2)2S2O7, (IO)2SO4] indicated that the chloride enhancement is not limited to iodate.

Palladium-catalyzed reactions are among the most versatile methods for the selective aerobic oxidation of organic molecules.[1] These reactions are generally thought to proceed by a two-stage "oxidase" pathway that consists of Pd II -mediated oxidation of the organic substrate followed by

The reaction of molecular oxygen with a Pd(II)-hydride species to form a Pd(II)-hydroperoxide represents one of the proposed catalyst reoxidation pathways in Pd-catalyzed aerobic oxidation reactions, but well-defined examples of this reaction were discovered only recently. Here, we present a mechanistic study of the reaction of O2 with trans-(IMes) 2Pd(H)(OBz), 1 (IMes = 1,3-dimesitylimidazol-2-ylidene), which yields trans-(IMes) 2Pd(OOH)(OBz), 2. The reaction was monitored by (1)H NMR spectroscopy in benzene-d6, and kinetic studies reveal a two-term rate law, rate = k1[1] + k2[1][BzOH], and a small deuterium kinetic isotope effect, k(Pd-H)/k(Pd-D) = 1.3(1). The rate is independent of the oxygen pressure. The data support a stepwise mechanism for the conversion of 1 into 2 consisting of rate-limiting reductive elimination of BzOH from 1 followed by rapid reaction of molecular oxygen with (IMes) 2Pd(0) and protonolysis of a Pd-O bond of the eta(2)-peroxo complex (IMes) 2Pd(O2). Benzoic acid and other protic additives (H2O, ArOH) catalyze the oxygenation reaction, probably by stabilizing the transition state for reductive elimination of BzOH from 1. This study provides the first experimental validation of the mechanism traditionally proposed for aerobic oxidation of Pd-hydride species.

Designing oxidation catalysts based on CH activation with reduced, low oxidation state species is a seeming dilemma given the proclivity for catalyst deactivation by overoxidation. This dilemma has been recognized in the Shilov system where reduced PtII is used to catalyze methane functionalization. Thus, it is generally accepted that key to replacing PtIV in that system with more practical oxidants is ensuring that the oxidant does not over-oxidize the reduced PtII species. The “Periana-Catalytica” system, which utilizes (bpym)PtIICl2 in concentrated sulfuric acid solvent at 200 °C, is a highly stable catalyst for the selective, high yield oxy-functionalization of methane. In lieu of the over-oxidation dilemma, the high stability and observed rapid oxidation of (bpym)PtIICl2 to PtIV in the absence of methane would seem to contradict the originally proposed mechanism involving CH activation by a reduced PtII species. Mechanistic studies show that the originally proposed mechanism is incomplete and that while CH activation does proceed with PtII there is a solution to the over-oxidation dilemma. Importantly, contrary to the accepted view to minimize PtII overoxidation, these studies also show that increasing that rate could increase the rate of catalysis and catalyst stability. The mechanistic basis for this counterintuitive prediction could help to guide the design of new catalysts for alkane oxidation that operate by CH activation.

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