Reduction of the five-coordinate iron(II) dihalide complexes (iPrPDI)FeX2 (iPrPDI = ((2,6-CHMe2)2C6H3N=CMe)2C5H3N; X = Cl, Br) with sodium amalgam under 1 atm of dinitrogen afforded the square pyramidal, high spin iron(0) bis(dinitrogen) complex (iPrPDI)Fe(N2)2. In solution, (iPrPDI)Fe(N2)2 loses 1 equiv of N2 to afford the mono(dinitrogen) adduct (iPrPDI)Fe(N2). Both dinitrogen compounds serve as effective precatalysts for the hydrogenation and hydrosilation of olefins and alkynes. Effecient catalytic reactions are observed with low catalyst loadings (< or = 0.3 mol %) at ambient temperature in nonpolar media. The catalytic hydrosilations are selective in forming the anti-Markovnikov product. Structural characterization of a high spin iron(0) alkyne and a bis(silane) sigma-complex has also been accomplished and in combination with isotopic labeling studies provides insight into the mechanism of both catalytic C-H and catalytic C-Si bond formation.

The electronic structure of a family of bis(imino)pyridine iron dihalide, monohalide, and neutral ligand compounds has been investigated by spectroscopic and computational methods. The metrical parameters combined with Mössbauer spectroscopic and magnetic data for ((i)PrPDI)FeCl(2) ((i)PrPDI = 2,6-(2,6-(i)Pr(2)C(6)H(3)N=CMe)(2)C(5)H(3)N) established a high-spin ferrous center ligated by a neutral bis(imino)pyridine ligand. Comparing these data to those for the single electron reduction product, ((i)PrPDI)FeCl, again demonstrated a high-spin ferrous ion, but in this case the S(Fe) = 2 metal center is antiferromagnetically coupled to a ligand-centered radical (S(L) = (1)/(2)), accounting for the experimentally observed S = (3)/(2) ground state. Continued reduction to ((i)PrPDI)FeL(n) (L = N(2), n = 1,2; CO, n = 2; 4-(N,N-dimethylamino)pyridine, n = 1) resulted in a doubly reduced bis(imino)pyridine diradical, preserving the ferrous ion. Both the computational and the experimental data for the N,N-(dimethylamino)pyridine compound demonstrate nearly isoenergetic singlet (S(L) = 0) and triplet (S(L) = 1) forms of the bis(imino)pyridine dianion. In both spin states, the iron is intermediate spin (S(Fe) = 1) ferrous. Experimentally, the compound has a spin singlet ground state (S = 0) due to antiferromagnetic coupling of iron and the ligand triplet state. Mixing of the singlet diradical excited state with the triplet ground state of the ligand via spin-orbit coupling results in temperature-independent paramagnetism and accounts for the large dispersion in (1)H NMR chemical shifts observed for the in-plane protons on the chelate. Overall, these studies establish that reduction of ((i)PrPDI)FeCl(2) with alkali metal or borohydride reagents results in sequential electron transfers to the conjugated pi-system of the ligand rather than to the metal center.

Researchers worldwide have identified a large number of compounds with high hydrogen capacity that can fulfill these gravimetric and volumetric requirements.Unfortunately, the majority of these compounds fail to fulfill the thermodynamic and kinetic requirements for on-board storage systems. Alane has the gravimetric (10.1 mass% H 2 ) and the volumetric (149 kg H 2 /m 3 ) density needed to meet the 2010 DOE goals. In addition, rapid hydrogen release from alane can be achieved using only the waste heat from a fuel cell or a hydrogen internal combustion engine. 9 The main drawback to using alane in hydrogen storage applications is unfavorable hydriding thermodynamics. The direct hydrogenation of aluminium to alane requires over 10 5 bars of hydrogen pressure at room temperature as shown in equation(1). This impractically of using high hydriding pressure has precluded alane from being considered as a reversible hydrogen storage material. The other possible electrochemical reaction is having AlH -4 ion react with the aluminium anode to form alane. In this reaction route, the evolution of hydrogen is suppressed and the reaction is expected to consume the Al electrode as in equation (5) Experimental observations confirm that the anode is indeed consumed as shown in voltage experiments were performed. During these experiments, the current was steady and increased slightly with time. The electrochemical production of alane is not slowed by the formation of AlH 3 . In contrast to previous reports, no perception of alane is observed and the alane produced by our method is completely dissolved in solution as a THF adduct. 17During electrolysis, dendritic material was deposited on the platinum counter electrode.This material was collected and determined to be Na 3 AlH 6 from XRD data.Experiments were conducted to determine the feasibility of plating sodium at the platinum cathode as an alternative to NaH formation in the fueling cycle. The platinum cathode and aluminium anode potentials were -2.89 V and -1.31 V respectively. Plating of Na metal was observed at the cathode while alane was produced at the aluminium anode.Reacting sodium with aluminium from used alane under pressurized hydrogen will regenerate the starting material NaAlH 4 leading to a reversible cycle.In addition to determining the electrochemical processes for producing AlH 3 , recovering AlH 3 from the solution is a major step of this cycle. The separation of alane from AlH 3 •Et 2 O is well established and affords pure AlH 3 . [10][11][12] However, separation of the AlH 3 •THF adduct is more complicated because it decomposes when heated under vacuum.Therefore, adducts such as triethylamine (TEA) were added to the reaction product to stabilize the alane during purification. Adduct free alane is recovered by heating the neat liquid AlH 3 •TEA en vacuo.Alane recovered from the electrochemical cells was characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and thermal gravimetric analyzer (TGA). Powder X-ray diffraction patterns data for two different...

Sterically pressured mid- to high-valent uranium complexes with an aryloxide substituted triazacyclononane ligand scaffold, [(((R)ArO)3tacn)(3-)], were studied for carbon dioxide activation and transformation chemistry. The high valent uranium(V) imido species [(((R)ArO)3tacn)U(NR)] (R = (t)Bu, R' = 2,4,6-trimethylphenyl (2-(t)Bu); R = Ad, R' = 2,4,6-trimethylphenyl (2-Ad); R = (t)Bu, R' = phenyl (3-(t)Bu)) were synthesized and spectroscopically characterized. X-ray crystallography of the tert-butyl mesityl imido derivative, 2-(t)Bu , reveals coordination of a bent imido fragment with a relatively long U-N bond distance of 2.05 A. The mesityl imido complexes reacted with carbon dioxide, readily extruding free isocyanate to produce uranium(V) terminal oxo species, [(((R)ArO)3tacn)U(O)] (R = (t)Bu (4-(t)Bu), Ad (4-Ad)), presumably through multiple bond metathesis via a uranium(V) carbimate intermediate. Using the smaller phenyl imido fragment in 3-(t) Bu slowed isocyanate loss, allowing the uranium(V) carbimate intermediate to undergo a second metathesis reaction, ultimately producing the diphenyl ureate derivative, [(((tBu)ArO)3tacn)U(NPh2)CO] (5-(t)Bu). Single crystal X-ray diffraction studies were carried out on both uranium(V) terminal oxo complexes and revealed short U-O bonds (1.85 A) indicative of a formal UO triple bond. The electronic structure of the oxo U(V) complexes was investigated by electronic absorption and EPR spectroscopies as well as SQUID magnetization and DFT studies, which indicated that their electronic properties are highly unusual. To obtain insight into the reactivity of CO2 with U-N bonds, the reaction of the uranium(IV) amide species, [(((R)ArO)3tacn)U(NHMes)] (R = (t)Bu (6-(t)Bu), Ad (6-Ad) with carbon dioxide was investigated. These reactions produced the uranium(IV) carbamate complexes, [(((R)ArO)3tacn)U(CO2NHMes)] (R = (t)Bu (7-(t)Bu), Ad (7-Ad)), resulting from insertion of carbon dioxide into U-N(amide) bonds. The molecular structures of the synthesized uranium carbamate complexes highlight the different reactivities due to the steric pressure introduced by the alkyl derivatized tris(aryloxide) triazacyclononane ligand. The sterically open tert-butyl derivative creates a monodentate eta(1)-O bound carbamate species, while the sterically more bulky adamantyl-substituted compound forces a bidentate kappa(2)-O,O coordination mode of the carbamate ligand.

Treatment of the iron bis(dinitrogen) complex, (iPrPDI)Fe(N2)2 (iPrPDI = (2,6-iPr2C6H3N=CMe)2C5H3N), with a series of aryl azides resulted in loss of 3 equiv of N2 and formation of the corresponding four-coordinate iron imide compounds, (iPrPDI)Fe(NAr). These complexes, two of which (Ar = 2,6-iPr2-C6H3 and 2,4,6-Me3-C6H2) have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, are significantly distorted from planarity. The metrical parameters in combination with Mössbauer spectroscopic and SQUID magnetic data suggest an intermediate spin iron(III) center antiferromagnetically coupled to a ligand-centered radical. Nitrene group transfer has been accomplished by addition of 1 atm of CO, yielding aryl isocyanates, ArNCO, and (iPrPDI)Fe(CO)2. Hydrogenation of the more sterically hindered members of the series furnished free aniline and the previously reported iron dihydrogen complex. Catalytic aryl azide hydrogenation has also been achieved, and the observed relative rates are consistent with N-H bond formation as the rate-determining step in aniline formation.