New diphosphine ligands containing ethylene glycol and amino alcohol spacers for the rhodium-catalyzed carbonylation of methanol

The new diphosphine ligands Ph2PC6H4C(O)X(CH2)2OC(O)C6H4PPh2 (X = NH; X = NPh; X = O) and Ph2PC6H4C(O)O(CH2)2O(CH2)2OC (O)C6H4PPh2 (I) as well as the monophosphine ligand Ph2PC6H4C(O)X(CH2)2OH (II) have been prepd. from 2-diphenylphosphinobenzoic acid and the corresponding amino alcs. or diols. Coordination of the diphosphine ligands to rhodium, iridium, and platinum resulted in the formation of the square-planar complexes. In all complexes, the diphosphine ligands are trans coordinated to the metal center, thanks to the large spacer groups, which allow the two phosphorus atoms to occupy opposite positions in the square-planar coordination geometry. The trans coordination is demonstrated unambiguously by the single-crystal X-ray structure anal. of on of these complexes. In the case of the diphosphine ligand I, the spacer group is so large that dinuclear complexes with ligand I in bridging positions are formed, maintaining the trans coordination of the P atoms on each metal center, as shown by the crystal structure anal. of another complex. The monophosphine ligand II reacts with [{Ir(cod)Cl}2] (III) (cod = cyclooctadiene) to give the simple deriv. [Ir(cod)Cl] which is converted into the carbonyl complex [Ir(CO)2Cl] with carbon monoxide. The crystal structure anal. of III also reveals a square-planar coordination geometry in which the phosphine ligand occupies a position cis with respect to the chloro ligand. Some of these diphosphine ligands have been tested as cocatalysts in combination with the catalyst precursors [{Rh(CO)2Cl}2] and [{Ir(cod)Cl}2] or [H2IrCl6] for the carbonylation of methanol at 170°C and 22 bar CO. The best results (TON 800 after 15 min) are obtained for the combination X = NPh/[{Rh(CO)2Cl}2]. After the catalytic reaction, one complex is identified in the reaction mixt. and can be isolated; it is active for further runs without loss of catalytic activity. [on SciFinder(R)]