Organometallics
Article
important to remark that 1 does not react with water on its
own even under more forcing conditions (80 °C, 24 h).
However, in the presence of zinc halides formation of trans-
[PtHX(PtBu3)2] (X = Cl, Br, and I; 4, Scheme 3) is evidenced
Formation of 6 suggests a catalytic role of Zn(OTf)2 during
the hydrogenation of 1, which has previously been observed
for the hydrogenation of imines catalyzed by the same zinc
species.21 In fact, decreasing the amount of Zn(OTf)2 to only 5
mol % with respect to 1 under otherwise identical conditions
led to the formation of 6 in comparable yields. In fact, the
amount of zinc and the nature of the solvent did not have any
apparent influence on the extent of dihydride produced, which
was obtained in yields between 80 and 90% in all cases.
Attempts to reach full hydrogenation of 1 were unsuccessful
despite longer reaction times, higher temperatures and
increasing loadings of zinc. These observations imply that
hydrogenation of 1 is a reversible process. We confirmed this
idea by adding Zn(OTf)2 (10 mol %) to a THF-d8/C6D6 (2:1)
solution of dihydride 6 in a sealed NMR tube (Scheme 4c).
Reaction monitoring evidenced evolution to a mixture of both
1 and 6 in a ca. 2:3 ratio after 5 h, as well a minute amount of
free H2 identified by an 1H NMR peak at 4.42 ppm. Replacing
the atmosphere by H2 (1 bar) led to 6 in around 85% yield.
The presence of zinc is also essential for dehydrogenation,
since in its absence the release of H2 could not be detected
even by heating 6 under dynamic vacuum (70 °C, 50·mbar,
Scheme 4d). This process resembles both the dehydrogenation
of [PtH2(PCy3)2] promoted by C60,22 as well as the role played
by Zn(C6F5)2 in facilitating biaryl reductive elimination from
Zn(II) complexes.6
The mechanism of reversible heterolytic dihydrogen
splitting holds great interest due to its connection to hydrogen
production and the action of hydrogenase enzymes. It has also
been largely studied as a benchmark transformation to gauge
FLP behavior and, despite its apparent simplicity, remains a
topic of intense research.23 In this line, the absence of adduct
formation from the pair 1/Zn(OTf)2 along with its cooperative
bond activation could be understood in terms of FLP
principles.24 We performed several experiments to gain some
preliminary mechanistic information. First, we determined the
kinetic isotopic effect (KIE) for H2 versus D2 splitting, which
has a strong inverse value of 0.59 0.1 (see the Supporting
compares well with our previously reported Pt(0)/Au(I)
1
by a distinctive low-frequency H NMR resonance due to the
metal hydride (δ = −19.2 (4a, Cl), −18.4 (4b, Br), and −16.4
(4c, I) ppm), exhibiting scalar coupling to both 31P (2JHP ≈ 12
Hz) and 195Pt (1JHPt ≈ 1100 Hz) nuclei. In the case of
Zn(OTf)2, the reduced coordinating capacity of the triflate
moiety compared to halide anions led to the cationic hydride-
aquo complex trans-[PtH(OH2)(PtBu3)2]+(5) as the only
observable product. Formation of compounds 4 and 5 is
accompanied by the appearance of a fine precipitate of zinc
hydroxide salts.
As mentioned briefly above, water activation by combining 1
11
with transition metal Lewis acids [Cu(CH3CN)4]PF6 and
AgNTf2,12 has recently been reported. Formation of an
intermediate characterized by a Pt → M dative interaction is
proposed as the initial step in both cases, after which the
cooperative cleavage of the O−H bond takes place. Our
experiments indicate that bimetallic adduct formation is not
favored for zinc salts; thus, an FLP-type mechanism seems
more likely. In fact, we have already demonstrated that
compound 1 acts as a Lewis basic site in bimetallic FLPs by
partnering it with sterically crowded Au(I) compounds.19 Our
prior mechanistic investigations allowed us to conclude that
those Pt(0)/Au(I) pairs mediate the cleavage of the H−H
bond in dihydrogen by a genuine FLP mechanism.19b We
wondered if the same would apply for the Pt/Zn pairs
investigated herein. Once again, it is worth mentioning that
neither 1 nor zinc (pseudo)halides react with H2 on their own
(Scheme 4a). Similarly, the combination of 1 and zinc halides
Scheme 4. Reactivity of Bimetallic Pair 1/Zn(OTf)2 with H2
bimetallic FLP (KIE = 0.46
0.04), where a genuine
frustrated mechanism was ascertained.19b We postulated that
the origin for such a strong inverse KIE derived from an FLP
productlike transition state whose bimetallic structure offered
an assortment of H-containing bending modes that contribute
to the zero-point energy (ZPE). We anticipate that a similar
transition state in the present system (B in Scheme 5) would
analogously derive in a strong inverse KIE, as observed
experimentally. Direct oxidative addition of dihydrogen over 1
to form cis-[PtH2(PtBu3)2] followed by Zn-assisted isomer-
ization4 could be considered an alternative mechanism (C in
Scheme 5). However, solutions of 1/Zn(OTf)2 catalyze rapid
(t1/2 < 15 min) exchange between H2 and D2 to produce HD
1
(δ = 4.36 ppm, JHD = 42.6 Hz) in a statistical amount, which
seems to disfavor a classical oxidative addition route. In fact,
the individual monometallic species mediate the exchange at a
considerable slower pace (t1/2 > 2 days). Interestingly,
compound [PtH(PtBu3)2]+, which would be an intermediate
during FLP-type H2 activation, promotes H/D scrambling at a
rate comparable to the bimetallic pair. This agrees with its
existence as a transient intermediate during the hydrogenation
of 1, thus supporting the idea of a bimetallic FLP mechanism
(through B in Scheme 5). Nevertheless, these preliminary
in benzene or THF did not provide any reactivity upon
exposure to H2 (2 bar, 70 °C). However, in the presence of the
more acidic Zn(OTf)2, dihydrogen activation proceeds
smoothly to generate Pt(II) dihydride 620 even under mild
conditions (H2 1 bar, 25 °C, 5 h; Scheme 4b). Compound 6 is
produced in ca. 85% spectroscopic yield, exhibiting a
1
characteristic H NMR resonance at −2.91 ppm (2JHP = 16.4
1
Hz, JHPt = 780.6 Hz).
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Organometallics 2021, 40, 1113−1119