Thermodynamic and reactivity studies of a tin corrole-cobalt porphyrin heterobimetallic complex

Abstract

A heterobimetallic complex, (TPFC)Sn-Co(TAP) (TPFC = 5,10,15-tris(pentafluorophenyl)corrole, TAP = 5,10,15,20-tetrakis(p-methoxyphenyl)porphyrin), was synthesized. The complex featured a Sn-Co bond with a bond dissociation enthalpy (BDE) of 30.2 ± 0.9 kcal mol-1 and a bond dissociation Gibbs free energy (BDFE) of 21.0 ± 0.2 kcal mol-1, which underwent homolysis to produce the (TPFC)Sn radical and (TAP)CoII under either heat or visible light irradiation. The novel tin radical (TPFC)Sn, being the first four-coordinate tin radical observed at room temperature, was studied spectroscopically and computationally. (TPFC)Sn-Co(TAP) promoted the oligomerization of aryl alkynes to give the insertion products (TPFC)Sn-(CHC(Ar))n-Co(TAP) (n = 1, 2, or 3) as well as 1,3,5-triarylbenzenes. Mechanistic studies revealed a radical chain mechanism involving the (TPFC)Sn radical as the key intermediate.