Metal-ligand bond enthalpy data can afford invaluable insights into important reaction patterns in organometallic chemistry and catalysis. In this paper, the Fe-O and Fe-S homolytic bond dissociation energies [ΔH homo (Fe-O)'s and ΔH homo (Fe-S)'s] of two series of para-substituted phenoxydicarbonyl(h 5 -cyclopentadienyl) iron [p-G-C 6 H 4 OFp (1)] and (para-substituted benzenethiolato)dicarbonyl(h 5 -cyclopentadienyl) iron [p-G-C 6 H 4 SFp (2)] were studied using Hartree-Fock and density functional theory (DFT) methods with large basis sets. In this study, Fp is (h 5 -C 5 H 5 )Fe(CO) 2 , and G are NO 2 , CN, COMe, CO 2 Me, CF 3 , Br, Cl, F, H, Me, MeO, and NMe 2 . The results show that DFT methods can provide the best price/performance ratio and accurate predictions of ΔH homo (Fe-O)'s and ΔH homo (Fe-S)'s. The remote substituent effects on ΔH homo (Fe-O)'s and ΔH homo (Fe-S)'s [ΔΔH homo (Fe-O)'s and ΔΔH homo (Fe-S)'s] can also be satisfactorily predicted. The good correlations [r = 0.98 (g, 1), 0.98 (g, 2)] of ΔΔH homo (Fe-O)'s and ΔΔH homo (Fe-S)'s in series 1 and 2 with the substituent s p + constants imply that the para-substituent effects on ΔH homo (Fe-O)'s and ΔH homo (Fe-S)'s originate mainly from polar effects, but those on radical stability originate from both spin delocalization and polar effects. ΔΔH homo (Fe-O)'s (1) and ΔΔH homo (Fe-S)'s (2) conform to the captodative principle. Insight from this work may help the design of more effective catalytic processes.

The N-H bond dissociation enthalpies (BDE's) of 40 anilines (pGC(6)H(4)NHY) from series 1 to 4 with alpha-Y and p-G substituents and the stability of related radicals (pGC(6)H(4)Ndot;Y) were studied using ab initio (MP2) and density functional methods (B3LYP) with large basis sets. The results show that both methods reproduce earlier experimental BDEs within 2-3 kcal/mol and satisfactorily predict the alpha and remote substituent effects on BDEs (DeltaBDEs), as they reproduced the experimental DeltaBDEs within less than 1 kcal/mol. Furthermore, the conventional radical stabilization enthalpy (RSE = - DeltaBDE) was found to be invalid to represent the trend of the radical stabilization because the molecule effect (ME) can contribute more to RSE than the radical effect (RE) for certain series (1 and 4). These radicals are in fact stabilized by electron-withdrawing groups (EWGs) but destabilized by electron-donating groups (EDGs), a phenomenon just opposite to the observed O-behavior of many other aromatic heteroatomic radicals studied so far. These radicals are thus assigned as a new radical class, Class counter-O (or O) according to Walter's terminology. Moreover, the excellent multi-parametric Hammett-type correlations indicated that the para substituent effects on BDEs originate mainly from polar effects, but those on radical stability originate from both spin delocalization and polar effects. The atomic charge and spin population variations at a radical center due to p-G substitution were also found to correlate satisfactorily with REs. These results show that the spin delocalization effect should be explicitly considered in accounting for both DeltaBDEs and radical stabilization effects. Finally, an overall subsituent effect scale for radical stability has been proposed, and the overall substituent effect on the N-radicals was found to conform to the Capto-dative Principle.

The knowledge of accurate bond strengths is a fundamental basis for a proper analysis of chemical reaction mechanisms. Quantum chemical calculations at different levels of theory have been used to investigate heterolytic Fe–O and Fe–S bond energies of para‐substituted phenoxydicarbonyl(η5‐cyclopentadienyl) iron [p‐G‐C6H4O(η5‐C5H5)Fe(CO)2, abbreviated as p‐G‐C6H4OFp (1), where G = NO2, CN, COMe, CO2Me, CF3, Br, Cl, F, H, Me, MeO, and NMe2] and para‐substituted benzenethiolatodicarbonyl(η5‐cyclopentadienyl) iron [p‐G‐C6H4S(η5‐C5H5)Fe(CO)2, abbreviated as p‐G‐C6H4SFp (2)] complexes. The results show that BP86 and TPSSTPSS can provide the best price/performance ratio and more accurate predictions in the study of ΔHhet(Fe–O)'s and ΔHhet(Fe–S)'s. The excellent linear free‐energy relations [r = 0.99 (g, 1a), 1.00 (g, 2b)] among the ΔΔHhet (Fe–O)'s and Δpka's of O–H bonds of p‐G‐C6H4OH or ΔΔHhet(Fe‐S)'s and Δpka's of S–H bonds of p‐G‐C6H4SH imply that the governing structural factors for these bond scissions are similar. And the linear correlations [r = −0.99 (g, 1g), −0.98 (g, 2h)] among the ΔΔHhet (Fe‐O)'s or ΔΔHhet(Fe‐S)'s and the substituent σp− constants show that these correlations are in accordance with Hammett linear free‐energy relationships. The polar effects of these substituents and the basis set effects influence the accuracy of ΔHhet(Fe–O)'s or ΔHhet(Fe–S)'s. ΔΔHhet(Fe–O)'s(g) (1) and ΔΔHhet(Fe–S)'s(g)(2) follow the Capto‐dative principle. The substituent effects on the Fe–O bonds are much stronger than those on the less polar Fe–S bonds. Insight from this work may help the design of more effective catalytic processes. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Knowledge of the strength of the metal–ligand bond breaking and formation is fundamental for an understanding of the thermodynamics underlying many important stoichiometric and catalytic organometallic reactions. Quantum chemical calculations at different levels of theory have been used to investigate heterolytic Fe―C bond energies of para‐substituted benzyldicarbonyl(η5‐cyclopentadienyl)iron, p‐G‐C6H4CH2Fp [1, G = NO2, CN, COMe, CO2Me, CF3, Br, Cl, F, H, Me, MeO, NMe2; Fp = (η5‐C5H5)(CO)2Fe], and para‐substituted α‐cyanobenzyldicarbonyl(η5‐cyclopentadienyl)iron, p‐G‐PANFp [2, PAN = C6H4CH(CN)]. The results show that BP86 and TPSSTPSS can provide the best price/performance ratio and more accurate predictions in the study of ΔHhet(Fe―C)'s. The good linear correlations [r = 0.98 (g, 1a), 0.99 (g, 2b)] between the substituent effects of heterolytic Fe―C bond energies [ΔΔHhet(Fe―C)'s] of series 1 and 2 and the differences of acidic dissociation constants (ΔpKa) of C―H bonds of p‐G‐C6H4CH3 and p‐G‐C6H4CH2CN imply that the governing structural factors for these bond scissions are similar. And the excellent linear correlations [r = −1.00 (g, 1c), −0.99 (g, 2d)] between ΔΔHhet(Fe―C)'s and the substituent σp− constants show that these correlations are in accordance with Hammett linear free energy relationships. The polar effects of these substituents and the basis set effects influence the accuracy of ΔHhet(Fe―C)'s. ΔΔHhet(Fe―C)'s(1, 2) follow the Capto‐dative Principle. The detailed knowledge of the factors that determine the Fp―C bond strengths would greatly aid in understanding reactivity patterns in many processes. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The nature and strength of metal-ligand bonds in organotransition-metal complexes are crucial to the understanding of organometallic reactions and catalysis. Quantum chemical calculations at different levels of theory have been used to investigate heterolytic Fe-N bond energies of para-substituted anilinyldicarbonyl(h 5 -cyclopentadienyl)iron [p-G-C 6 H 4 NH(h 5 -C 5 H 5 )Fe(CO) 2 , abbreviated as p-G-C 6 H 4 NHFp (1), where G = NO 2 , CN, COMe, CO 2 Me, CF 3 , Br, Cl, F, H, Me, MeO, and NMe 2 ] and para-substituted a-acetylanilinyldicarbonyl(h 5 -cyclopentadienyl)iron [p-G-C 6 H 4 N(COMe) (h 5 -C 5 H 5 )Fe(CO) 2 , abbreviated as p-G-C 6 H 4 N(COMe)Fp (2)] complexes. The results show that BP86 and TPSSTPSS can provide the best price/performance ratio and more accurate predictions in the study of ΔH het (Fe-N)'s. The linear correlations [r = 0.98 (g, 1a), 0.93 (g, 2b)] between the substituent effects of heterolytic Fe-N bond energies [ΔΔH het (Fe-N)'s] of series 1 and 2 and the differences of acidic dissociation constants (ΔpK a ) of N-H bonds of p-G-C 6 H 4 NH 2 and p-G-C 6 H 4 NH(COMe) imply that the governing structural factors for these bond scissions are similar. And the linear correlations [r = À0.99 (g, 1c), À0.92 (g, 2d)] between ΔΔH het (Fe-N)'s and the substituent s p À constants show that these correlations are in accordance with Hammett linear free energy relationships. The polar effects of these substituents and the basis set effects influence the accuracy of ΔH het (Fe-N)'s. ΔΔH het (Fe-N)'s(1, 2) follow the captodative principle. ME a-COMe, para-G s include the influences of the whole molecules. The correlation of ME a-COMe, para-G s with s p À is excellent. ME a-COMe, para-G s rather than ΔΔH het (Fe-N)'s in series 2 are more suitable indexes for the overall substituent effects on ΔH het (Fe-N)'s(2). Insight from this work may help the design of more effective catalytic processes.