Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 13, 2026

Discovery and Synthesis Optimization of Isoreticular Al(III) Phosphonate-Based Metal-Organic Framework Compounds Using High-Throughput Methods
Published on: October 6, 2023
Exploring allostery in oxidative catalysis with first-row metal complexes of a pentadentate phosphine oxide scaffold
Rylan K Chilcott1, Ian H Light1, Jane T White1
1Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, 97331, USA. addison.desnoyer@oregonstate.edu.
Abstract:
An extended family of complexes have been synthesized from the new mononuclear, pentadentate ligand Py5P2O2. This ligand contains 5 chelating pyridyl groups and a uniquely Lewis basic phosphine-oxide backbone. The first-row transition metals from Mn-Zn have been coordinated and fully characterized, including X-ray crystallographic studies. An Fe-complex has catalysed both the lactonization of a 1,4-diol and the oxidative cleavage of a family of p-substituted-benzylaniline substrates using H2O2 as an environmentally friendly oxidant. The Lewis-basic nature of this ligand design has been exploited by the inclusion of 2 equivalents of the hard Lewis acid Sc(OTf)3 to the reaction pot which resulted in an increase in kinetic rates for both reactions.
Related Concept Videos
Oxidation of Alkenes: Syn Dihydroxylation with Osmium Tetraoxide
Aldehydes and Ketones to Alkenes: Wittig Reaction Mechanism
The reaction begins with the nucleophilic addition between a phosphorus ylide and the carbonyl compound. Due to its carbanionic character, phosphorus ylide acts as a strong nucleophile and attacks the electrophilic carbonyl group. This generates a charge-separated dipolar intermediate called betaine. The negatively charged oxygen atom and...
Oxidative Cleavage of Alkenes: Ozonolysis
Ozone is a symmetrical bent molecule stabilized by a resonance structure.
Reduction of Alkenes: Asymmetric Catalytic Hydrogenation
The metal catalyst used can be either heterogeneous or homogeneous. When hydrogenation of an alkene generates a chiral center, a pair of enantiomeric products is expected to form. However, an enantiomeric excess of one of the products can be facilitated using an enantioselective reaction or an...
Metal-Ligand Bonds
In these complexes, transition metals form coordinate covalent bonds, a kind of Lewis acid-base interaction in which both of the electrons in the bond are contributed by a donor (Lewis base) to an electron acceptor (Lewis acid). The Lewis acid in...
Oxidation of Alkenes: Anti Dihydroxylation with Peroxy Acids

