Heterometallic Co III Zn II schiff base catalyst for mild hydroxylation of C(sp 3 )–H bonds of unactivated alkanes: Evidence for dual mechanism controlled by the promoter

Oksana V. Nesterova, Katerina V. Kasyanova, Elena A. Buvaylo, Olga Yu Vassilyeva, Brian W. Skelton, Dmytro S. Nesterov, Armando J.L. Pombeiro

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Citations (Web of Science)

Abstract

The novel Schiff base complex [Co III Zn II L 3 Cl 2 ]·CH 3 OH (1) was synthesized by interaction of zinc powder, cobalt(II) chloride and methanol solution of the pre-formed HL in air (HL is the product of condensation of o-vanillin and methylamine) and characterized by IR, UV-Vis and NMR spectroscopy, ESI-MS and single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. In the heterometallic core of 1 the two metal centers are bridged by deprotonated phenoxy groups of the L ligands with the cobalt-zinc separation of 3.123 Å. Catalytic investigations demonstrated a pronounced activity of 1 towards mild alkane oxidation with m-chloroperbenzoic acid (m-CPBA) as an oxidant and cis-1,2-dimethylcyclohexane (cis-1,2-DMCH) as the model substrate. The influence of the nature of different promoting agents of various acidities (from HOTf to pyridine) on the catalytic process was studied in detail and a pronounced activity of 1 in the presence of nitric acid promoter was found, also showing a high retention of stereoconfiguration of the substrate (>99% for cis-1,2-DMCH). The best achieved yield of tertiary cis-alcohol based on the oxidant was 61%, with a turnover number (TON) of 198 for nitric acid as promoter. The 18 O-incorporations into the alcohols when the reactions were performed under 18 O 2 atmosphere using acetic and nitric acid promoters, suggest that the cis-1,2-DMCH hydroxylation proceeds by two distinct pathways, a non-stereoselective and a stereoselective one (with and without involvement of a long-lived free carbon radical, respectively). The former dominates in the case of acetic acid promoter and the latter is realized in the case of HNO 3 promoter.

Original languageEnglish
Article number209
Number of pages15
JournalCatalysts
Volume9
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2019

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Heterometallic Co III Zn II schiff base catalyst for mild hydroxylation of C(sp 3 )–H bonds of unactivated alkanes: Evidence for dual mechanism controlled by the promoter'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this