Transient Formation and Reactivity of a High-Valent Nickel(IV) Oxido Complex

Abstract

A reactive high-valent dinuclear nickel(IV) oxido bridged complex is reported that can be formed at room temperature by reaction of [(L) 2 Ni(II) 2 (μ-X) 3 ]X (X = Cl or Br) with NaOCl in methanol or acetonitrile (where L = 1,4,7-trimethyl-1,4,7-triazacyclononane). The unusual Ni(IV) oxido species is stabilized within a dinuclear tris-μ-oxido-bridged structure as [(L) 2 Ni(IV) 2 (μ-O) 3 ] 2+ . Its structure and its reactivity with organic substrates are demonstrated through a combination of UV-vis absorption, resonance Raman, 1 H NMR, EPR, and X-ray absorption (near-edge) spectroscopy, ESI mass spectrometry, and DFT methods. The identification of a Ni(IV)-O species opens opportunities to control the reactivity of NaOCl for selective oxidations