Tantalum carborane complexes
(Et2C2B4H4)CpTaR2
(R = Me, Ph) undergo insertion
reactions with nitriles and isonitriles under conditions that differ
from formally isoelectronic
metallocene compounds of group 4 metals. The dimethyltantalum
system requires UV−vis
irradiation, whereas the diphenyltantalum complex generally reacts at
elevated temperatures. Although insertions of isonitriles into metal−alkyl bonds
have been reported in a
wide variety of cases, there are very few examples of stable isomeric
η2-iminoacyl
intermediates that can be isolated and completely converted from one
form into the other.
Two such cases are reported here, including the X-ray
crystallographic analysis of both
isomers of
(Et2C2B4H4)CpTaCH3(η2-C,N-C{N-t-Bu}CH3)
(5a,5b) and one isomer of
(Et2C2B4H4)CpTaCH3(η2-C,N-C{N(2,6-Me2C6H3)}C6H5)
(7a). Photochemical isomerization
of 7a, followed by exposure to an additional equivalent of
isocyanide, resulted in a novel
cage-insertion reaction to give
[(Et2C2B4H3(C6H5)(CHN(2,6-Me2C6H3))]CpTa(η2-C,N-C{N(2,6-Me2C6H3)}C6H5)
(8), the crystal structure of which was also determined.
Stereoelectronic
and steric factors that may contribute to the thermodynamic stability
of N-out isomers of
η2-iminoacyl complexes are suggested, and data indicating
the relatively electron-rich nature
of the (carborane)(Cp)TaVR2 fragment
is identified.