Ligand substitution kinetics in M(CO)4(η2:2-norbornadiene) complexes (M=Cr, Mo, W): displacement of norbornadiene by bis(diphenylphosphino)alkanes

Abstract

Abstract The thermal substitution kinetics of norbornadiene (NBD) by bis(diphenylphosphino)alkanes (PP), (C 6 H 5 ) 2 P(CH 2 ) n P(C 6 H 5 ) 2 ( n =1, 2, 3) in M(CO) 4 (η 2:2 -NBD) complexes (M=Cr, Mo, W), were studied by quantitative FT-IR spectroscopy. The reaction rate exhibits first-order dependence on the concentration of the starting complex, and the observed rate constant depends on the concentration of the leaving NBD ligand and on the concentration and the nature of the entering PP ligand. In the proposed mechanism there are two competing initial steps: an associative reaction involving the attachment of the entering PP ligand to the transition metal center and a dissociative reaction involving the stepwise detachment of the diolefin ligand from the transition metal center. A rate law is derived from the proposed mechanism. The activation parameters are obtained from the evaluation of the kinetic data. It is found that at higher concentrations of the entering ligand, the associative path is dominant, while at lower concentrations the contribution of the dissociative path becomes significant. Both the observed rate constant and the activation parameters show noticeable variation with the chain length of the diphosphine ligand.