The Kinetics of the Insertion Reaction of Tin(II) Chloride with Hexacarbonylbis(triphenylphosphite)dicobalt
The kinetics of the thermal insertion reaction of SnCl2 with the metal–metal bonded complex [P(OC6H5)3Co(CO)3]2 have been studied by following the change in the visible spectrum in THF over the temperature range 35.0 to 55.0 °C. The activation enthalpy and entropy for the reaction are 24.7 ± 0.4 kcal/mol and 2.4 ± 1.3 cal mol−l deg−1 respectively. The data are consistent with a two-stage mechanism identical to that proposed for the corresponding reaction with [P(n-C4H9)3Co(CO)3]2 and from a comparison of the two reactions it is concluded that the cobalt–cobalt bond is slightly weakened when tributylphosphine is replaced by the better π-electron acceptor triphenylphosphite. The insertion products [LCo(CO)3]2SnCl2 are shown to undergo further reaction with [LCo(CO)3]2 to form [LCo(CO)3]3SnCl (L = CO, P(n-C4H9)3, P(OC6H5)3).