Phenylacetylene and Carbon Dioxide Activation by an Organometallic Samarium Complex

Abstract

Small molecule activation is a topic of growing importance and the use of low-valent f-elements to perform these reactions is nowadays well established. The complex Cptt2Sm(thf) (1, Cptt = 1,3-(tBu)2Cp) is shown to activate the alkyne C–H bond of phenylacetylene to form the Cptt2Sm(C≡C–Ph)(thf) complex. The subsequent reaction of this Sm(III) complex with CO2 leads to the CO2 insertion, yielding a dimeric [Cptt2Sm(O2C–C≡C–Ph)]2 complex (2), in which the carbon dioxide has been inserted in the Sm–C bond. Along with the experimental chemical structure analysis, theoretical calculations have been performed in order to rationalize the formation of 1 and 2.