Pb(II)-promoted amide cleavage: mechanistic comparison to a Zn(II) analogue

Two new Pb(II) complexes of the amide-appended nitrogen/sulfur epppa (N-((2-ethylthio)ethyl)-N-((6-pivaloylamido-2-pyridyl)methyl)-N-((2-pyridyl)methyl)amine) chelate ligand, [(epppa)Pb(NO3)2] (4-NO3) and [(epppa)Pb(ClO4)2] (4-ClO4), were prepared and characterized. In the solid state, 4-NO3 exhibits κ(5)-epppa chelate ligand coordination as well as the coordination of two bidentate nitrate ions. In acetonitrile, 4-NO3 is a 1:1 electrolyte with a coordinated NO3(-), whereas 4-ClO4 is a 1:2 electrolyte. Treatment of 4-ClO4 with 1 equiv Me4NOH·5H2O in CH3CN:CH3OH (3:5) results in amide methanolysis in a reaction that is akin to that previously reported for the Zn(II) analogue [(epppa)Zn](ClO4)2 (3-ClO4). (1)H NMR kinetic studies of the amide methanolysis reactions of 4-ClO4 and 3-ClO4 as a function of temperature revealed free energies of activation of 21.3 and 24.5 kcal/mol, respectively. The amide methanolysis reactions of 4-ClO4 and 3-ClO4 differ in terms of the effect of the concentration of methanol (saturation kinetics for 4-ClO4; second-order behavior for 3-ClO4), the observation of a small solvent kinetic isotope effect (SKIE) only for the reaction of the Zn(II)-containing 3-ClO4, and the properties of an initial intermediate isolated from each reaction upon treatment with Me4NOH·5H2O. These experimental results, combined with computational studies of the amide methanolysis reaction pathways of 4-ClO4 and 3-ClO4, indicate that the Zn(II)-containing 3-ClO4 initially undergoes amide deprotonation upon treatment with Me4NOH·5H2O. Subsequent amide protonation from coordinated methanol yields a structure containing a coordinated neutral amide and methoxide anion from which amide cleavage can then proceed. The rate-determining step in this pathway is either amide protonation or protonation of the leaving group. The Pb(II)-containing 4-ClO4 instead directly forms a neutral amide-containing, epppa-ligated Pb(II)-OH/Pb(II)-OCH3 equilibrium mixture upon treatment with Me4NOH·5H2O in methanol. The rate-determining step in the amide methanolysis pathway of 4-ClO4 is nucleophilic attack of the Pb(II)-OCH3 moiety on the coordinated amide. Overall, it is the larger size of the Pb(II) center and the availability of coordination positions that enable direct formation of a Pb(II)-OH/Pb(II)-OCH3 mixture versus the initial amide deprotonation identified in the reaction of the Zn(II)-containing 3-ClO4.