Small Molecule Activation at the acriPNP Pincer-Supported Nickel Sites

ConspectusNickel pincer systems have recently attracted much attention for applications in various organometallic reactions and catalysis involving small molecule activation. Their exploration is in part motivated by the presence of nickel in natural systems for efficient catalysis. Among such systems, the nickel-containing metalloenzyme carbon monoxide dehydrogenase (CODH) efficiently and reversibly converts CO2 to CO at its active site. The generated CO moves through a channel from the CODH active site and is transported to a dinuclear nickel site of acetyl-coenzyme A synthase (ACS), which catalyzes organometallic C–S and C–C bond forming reactions. An analogous C–S bond activation process is also mediated by the nickel containing enzyme methyl-coenzyme M reductase (MCR). The nickel centers in these systems feature sulfur- and nitrogen-rich environments, and in the particular case of lactate racemase, an organometallic nickel pincer motif revealing a Ni–C bond is observed. These bioinorganic systems inspired the development of several nickel pincer scaffolds not only to mimic enzyme active sites and their reactivity but also to further extend low-valent organonickel chemistry. In this Account, we detail our continuing efforts in the chemistry of nickel complexes supported by acridane-based PNP pincer ligands focusing on our long-standing interest in biomimetic small molecule activation. We have employed a series of diphosphinoamide pincer ligands to prepare various nickel(II/I/0) complexes and to study the conversion of C1 chemicals such as CO and CO2 to value-added products. In the transformation of C1 chemicals, the key C–O bond cleavage and C–E bond (E = C, N, O, or S, etc.) formation steps typically require overcoming high activation barriers. Interestingly, enzymatic systems overcome such difficulties for C1 conversion and operate efficiently under ambient conditions with the use of nickel organometallic chemistry. Furthermore, we have extended our efforts to the conversion of NOx anions to NO via the sequential deoxygenation by nickel mediated carbonylation, which was applied to catalytic C–N coupling to produce industrially important organonitrogen compound oximes as a strategy for NOx conversion and utilization (NCU). Notably, the rigidified acriPNP pincer backbone that enforces a planar geometry at nickel was found to be an important factor for diversifying organometallic transformations including (a) homolysis of various σ-bonds mediated by T-shaped nickel(I) metalloradical species, (b) C–H bond activation mediated by a nickel(0) dinitrogen species, (c) selective CO2 reactivity of nickel(0)–CO species, (d) C–C bond formation at low-valent nickel(I or 0)–CO sites with iodoalkanes, and (e) catalytic deoxygenation of NOx anions and subsequent C–N coupling of a nickel–NO species with alkyl halides for oxime production. Broadly, our results highlight the importance of molecular design and the rich chemistry of organonickel species for diverse small molecule transformations.