Mechanistic elucidation of the role of metal oxidation states in nickel mediated electrocatalytic coupling of benzyl halides

Pradip K. Das, Priyanka Chakraborty, Sandeep Suryabhan Gholap, Theo Goncalves, Changguang Yao, Huaifeng Li, Zhiping Lai, Abdul-Hamid M. Emwas, Kuo-Wei Huang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

We present the mechanistic understanding of an electrochemically-driven nickel-catalyzed coupling reaction. Computational analysis reveals that the spin density is mostly residing on the nickel (Ni) center when NiII is reduced to NiI. Ni-mediated halogen atom abstraction through outer-sphere electron-transfer pathway to yield coupling products under mild conditions is demonstrated. Importantly, we have elucidated the role of NiI and Ni0 for successive coupling of benzyl bromide and benzyl chloride derivatives, respectively, to corresponding bibenzyl products. The Ni-catalyst bearing a PN3P-ligand is an effective catalyst, producing a strong ligand effect on the reactivity and selectivity for the homocoupling reactions.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)143-149
Number of pages7
JournalGreen Synthesis and Catalysis
Volume1
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2020

Bibliographical note

KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2021-02-16
Acknowledgements: We acknowledge the generous financial support from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Mechanistic elucidation of the role of metal oxidation states in nickel mediated electrocatalytic coupling of benzyl halides'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this