Chemistry Letters, Vol.43, No.4, 417-419, 2014
Synthesis, Structure, and Isomerization of Alkoxycarbonyl(chloro)(cyano)rhodium(III) Complexes, mer-[RhCl(CO2R)(CN)(PMe3)(3)] (R = Me, Et, Pr-n, Pr-i, Bu-n, and Bn), through C-C Bond Cleavage of Cyanoformates
Alkoxycarbonyl(chloro)(cyano)rhodium(III) complexes mer-[RhCl(CO2R)(CN)(PMe3)(3)] (1: R = Me; 2: R = Et; 3: R = Pr-n; 4: R = Pr-i; 5: R = Bu-n; 6: R = Bn) are prepared via oxidative addition of the corresponding cyanoformates to [RhCl(PMe3)(3)], derived in situ from [RhCl(cod)](2) and three equivalents of PMe3 in toluene at 70 degrees C, and their structures are characterized using NMR (H-1, C-13{H-1}, and P-31{H-1)) and X-ray diffraction.