Kinetic and thermodynamic preferences in aryl vs benzylic C-H bond activation with cationic Pt(II) complexes.

Anhydrous cationic Pt(II) complexes [(NN)Pt(CH3)(CF3CD2OD)]+ (1, NN = ArN=C(Me)-C(Me)=NAr), which are obtained by reaction of (NN)Pt(CH3)2 with B(C6F5)3 in CF3CD2OD, activate C-H bonds of benzene and methylbenzenes, with enhanced reactivity compared to the previously prepared equilibrium mixtures with the (thermodynamically favored) aquo complexes. For methylbenzenes (toluene, p-xylene, mesitylene), activation at the aromatic and benzylic positions are kinetically competitive, but the product of the latter is strongly favored thermodynamically. This unusual trend is attributed to formation of eta3-benzyl structures, which can be observed spectroscopically for 1,4-diethylbenzene activation.