title: Substituent effects in the hydrosilylation of coordinated dinitrogen in a ditantalum complex: cleavage and functionalization of N2.
abstract: The dinitrogen complex ([NPN]Ta)2(mu-eta1:eta2-N2)(mu-H)2, 1, (where [NPN] = (PhNSiMe2CH2)2PPh) undergoes hydrosilylation with primary and secondary alkyl- and arylsilanes, giving a new N-Si bond and a new terminal tantalum hydride derived from one Si-H unit. Various primary silanes can be employed to give isolable complexes of the general formula ([NPN]TaH)(mu-N-N-SiH(n)R(3-n))(mu-H)2(Ta[NPN]) (5, R=Bu, n = 2; 9, R=Ph, n = 2). Analogous complexes featuring secondary silanes are not isolable, because these products, and 5 and 9, are uniformly unstable toward reductive elimination of bridging hydrides as H2, followed by cleavage of the N-N bond to give ([NPN]TaH)(mu-N)(mu-N-SiH(n)R(3-n))(Ta[NPN]) (6, R=Bu, n = 2; 10, R=Ph, n = 2; 15, R=Ph, n = 1; 16, R=Ph and Me, n = 1). The bridging nitrido ligand in these complexes is itself a substrate for a second hydrosilylation when n = 2, and schemes leading to Ta(IV) complexes of the general formula ([NPN]Ta)2(mu-N-SiH2R)(mu-N-SiH2R') via elimination of H2 are reported (4, R=R'=Bu; 12, R=Bu, R' = Ph; 13, R=Bu, R' = CH2CH2SiH3). At this point, the general reaction manifold for these compounds ramifies, with distinct outcomes occurring for different R groups-[NPN] ligand amide migration from Ta to RSi affords 11, whereas stable complex 6 rearranges to give 7, in the presence of excess silane. Ethanediylbissilane reacts with 1 to give 14, isostructural to 7.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, The University of British Columbia, 2036 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z1.
authors.forename: Bruce A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: MacKay
authors.forename: Rui F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Munha
authors.forename: Michael D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Fryzuk