CO reductive oligomerization by a divalent thulium complex and CO2-induced functionalization

The divalent thulium complex [Tm(Cp-ttt)(2)] (Cp-ttt = 1,2,4-tris(tert-butyl)cyclopentadienyl) reacts with CO to afford selective CO reductive dimerization and trimerization into ethynediolate (C-2) and ketenecarboxylate (C-3) complexes, respectively. DFT calculations were performed to shed light on the elementary steps of CO homologation and support a stepwise chain growth. The attempted decoordination of the ethynediolate fragment by treatment with Me3SiI led to dimerization and rearrangement into a 3,4-dihydroxyfuran-2-one complex. Investigation of the reactivity of the C-2 and C-3 complexes towards other electrophiles led to unusual functionalization reactions: while the reaction of the ketenecarboxylate C-3 complex with electrophiles yielded new multicarbon oxygenated complexes, the addition of CO2 to the ethynediolate C-2 complex resulted in the formation of a very reactive intermediate, allowing C-H activation of aromatic solvents. This original intermolecular reactivity corresponds to an unprecedented functionalization of CO-derived ligands, which is induced by CO2.