Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Owing to its fundamental properties as the parent olefin, its outstanding industrial relevance, and the challenges associated with its activation, ethylene remains a benchmark substrate, especially in main group chemistry. Here we report the unprecedented activation of ethylene and related simple α-olefins by well-defined cationic bismuth complexes. The polarization of a substrate by a softly Lewis-acidic central atom and a nucleophilic functional group positioned in a constrained geometry is for the first time exploited in the activation of ethylene and related olefins by compounds of a heavy p-block element. Mechanistic investigations point toward a coordination-insertion-reaction mechanism. The bonding properties of the cationic bismuth species facilitate unprecedented reversible reactivity patterns and unusual characteristics in chemoselectivity.
Language: English
Subfield: Inorganic Chemistry
Field: Chemistry
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $5,510
Awards: G2819873011, G734693063
OpenAlex ID: W4409487225