No abstract

Tame d0 phosphidotitanocene cations stabilized with a pendant tertiary phosphane arm are reported. These compounds were obtained by one‐electron oxidation of d1 precursors with [Cp2Fe][BPh4]. The electronic structure of these compounds was studied experimentally (EPR, UV/Vis, and NMR spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction analysis) and through DFT calculations. The theoretical analysis of the bonding situation by using the electron localization function (ELF) shows the presence of π‐interactions between the phosphido ligand and Ti in the d0 complexes, whereas dπ–pπ repulsion prevents such interactions in the d1 complexes. In addition, CH–π interactions were observed in several complexes, both in solution and in the solid state, between the phosphido ligand and the phosphane arm. The d0 complexes were found to be light sensitive, and decompose through Ti−P bond homolysis to give TiIII species. A naked d0 phosphidotitanocene cation has been trapped by reaction with diphenylacetylene, yielding a Ti/P frustrated Lewis pair (FLP), which was found to be less reactive than a previously reported Zr analog.

Cationic amidotitanocene complexes [Cp2Ti(NPhAr)][B(C6F5)4] (Cp=η5‐C5H5; Ar=phenyl (1 a), p‐tolyl (1 b), p‐anisyl (1 c)) were isolated. The bonding situation was studied by DFT (Density Functional Theory) using EDA‐NOCV (Energy Decomposition Analysis with Natural Orbitals for Chemical Valence). The polar Ti−N bond in 1 a–c features an unusual inversion of σ and π bond strengths responsible for the balance between stability and reactivity in these coordinatively unsaturated species. In solution, 1 a–c undergo photolytic Ti−N cleavage to release Ti(III) species and aminyl radicals ⋅NPhAr. Reaction of 1 b with H3BNHMe2 results in fast homolytic Ti−N cleavage to give [Cp2Ti(H3BNHMe2)][B(C6F5)4] (3). 1 a–c are highly active precatalysts in olefin hydrogenation and silanes/amines cross‐dehydrogenative coupling, whilst 3 efficiently catalyzes amine‐borane dehydrogenation. The mechanism of olefin hydrogenation was studied by DFT and the cooperative H2 activation key step was disclosed using the Activation Strain Model (ASM).