Oxygen Reduction Mechanism of Monometallic Rhodium Hydride Complexes

The reduction of O2 to H2O mediated by a series of electronically varied rhodium hydride complexes of the form cis,trans-RhIIICl2H(CNAd)(P(4-X-C6H4)3)2 (2) (CNAd = 1-adamantylisocyanide; X = F (2a), Cl (2b), Me (2c), OMe (2d)) was examined through synthetic and kinetic studies. Rhodium(III) hydride 2 reacts with O2 to afford H2O with concomitant generation of trans-RhIIICl3(CNAd)(P(4-X-C6H4)3)2 (3). Kinetic studies of the reaction of the hydride complex 2 with O2 in the presence of HCl revealed a two-term rate law consistent with an HX reductive elimination (HXRE) mechanism, where O2 binds to a rhodium(I) metal center and generates an η2-peroxo complex intermediate, trans-RhIIICl(CNAd)(η2-O2)(P(4-X-C6H4)3)2 (4), and a hydrogen-atom abstraction (HAA) mechanism, which entails the direct reaction of O2 with the hydride. Experimental data reveal that the rate of reduction of O2 to H2O is enhanced by electron-withdrawing phosphine ligands. Complex 4 was independently prepared by the addition of O2 to trans-RhI...