Determination of Rhodium-Alkoxide Bond Strengths in Tp'Rh(PMe3)(OR)H

The active fragment [Tp'Rh(PMe3)], generated from a thermal precursor Tp'Rh(PMe3)(CH3)H, underwent oxidative addition of water and alcohols to give O-H adducts of the type Tp'Rh(PMe3)(OR)H (R = H, Me, Et, (n)Pr, (n)Bu, CH2Ph, (i)Pr, c-pentyl, CH2CF3, CH2CH2OH) at ambient temperature. These activation products eliminate water or alcohols in benzene, which allows determination of the relative metal-oxygen bond energies by using previously established kinetics techniques. Analysis of the relationship between the relative M-O bond strengths and O-H bond strengths showed a linear correlation with RM-O/O-H of 0.97 (3) for aliphatic alcohols. The two extraordinary substrates (R = CH2CF3, CH2CH2OH) both have stronger M-O bonds than would be predicted from this trend, suggesting the stabilization of the M-O bond when an electron-withdrawing substituent is present as previously seen in M-C bond strengths. In addition, the O-H activation products of aliphatic alcohols are thermally unstable at 80 °C, as rearrangement to form Tp'Rh(PMe3)H2 from β-elimination is observed after 1 or 2 d. Benzyl alcohol and 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol activation products were stable. For benzyl alcohol, although the O-H activation product was kinetically favored, the C-H activation products of the benzene ring were thermodynamically preferred.