Platinum metal catalyzes the reduction of dialkyl(diolefin)platinum(H) complexes by dihydrogen to alkanes and platinum (O). The reaction involves adsorption of the platinum(II) complex on the platinum(O) catalyst surface with conversion of the alkyl moieties to platinum surface alkyls; these appear as alkane products. The platinum atom originally present in the soluble organoplatinum species becomes part of the platinum(O) surface.Platinum surface alkyls are believed to be intermediates in platinum-catalyzed heterogeneous reactions ofhydrocarbons (1-8).Among the difficulties encountered in studying the mechanisms of these reactions is that of establishing simultaneously the structure and reactivity of the intermediates. The application of surface spectroscopy to problems in catalysis is beginning to yield valuable structural information concerning surface alkyls under certain conditions, and studies of product distributions, especially using isotopically labeled reactants, have established mechanistically informative patterns of reactivity for (usually) different alkyls under different conditions (9)(10)(11)(12). Nonetheless, in no instance are both the structure and the characteristic reactivity of a platinum surface alkyl known, particularly under the conditions prevailing during use of a heterogeneous platinum catalyst in synthesis.
DISCUSSIONHere we describe experiments in which the platinum-catalyzed heterogeneous hydrogenation of soluble dialkyl(diolefin) platinum(II) complexes (olefin2PtR2) was examined (Eq. 1).We propose, on the basis of these experiments, that this reaction involves adsorption of the dialkylplatinum(II) moiety at the platinum surface; it thus provides the basis for a new method ofgenerating platinum surface alkyls. In this method, the initial structure of the organic portion of the surface alkyl is well defined, and these surface species are generated on a working platinum catalyst. The method is thus complementary to techniques used previously in examining heterogeneous reactions catalyzed by platinum and provides a new point of entry into catalytic cycles occurring on platinum.The reaction of dialkyl(diolefin)platinum(II) complexes in hydrocarbon solution at ambient temperature with dihydrogen (1-3 atm; 1 atm = 1.013 X 105 Pa) in the presence of porous glass beads coated with platinum(0) rapidly and quantitatively yields the alkanes derived by hydrogenolysis of the PtR2 group and hydrogenation ofthe diolefin. No alkyl dimers are formed. The platinum originally present in the soluble organoplatinum compound is deposited on the surface of the platinum catalyst and becomes the catalytic surface for subsequent reduction. The addition of small quantities of thiophene or triphenylphosphine (0.5 mol %, based on olefin2PtR2) blocks the reduction in a solution containing previously active catalyst; these poisoned catalysts are also inactive for the hydrogenation of cyclohexene.Kinetic information concerning the reaction was obtained by carrying out reductions using a preformed active ...