Productive Alkyne Metathesis with "Canopy Catalysts" Mandates Pseudorotation.

ABSTRACT: Molybdenum alkylidyne complexes of the "canopy catalyst" series define new standards in the field of alkyne metathesis. The tripodal ligand framework lowers the symmetry of the metallacyclobutadiene complex formed by [2 + 2] cycloaddition with the substrate and imposes constraints onto the productive [2 + 2] cycloreversion; pseudorotation corrects this handicap and makes catalytic turnover possible. A combined spectroscopic, crystallographic, and computational study provides insights into this unorthodox mechanism and uncovers the role that metallatetrahedrane complexes play in certain cases.

SUBMITTER: Haack A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8154524 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature