The acid/base properties of aliphatic C-H bonds are relevant to their activity and selectivity in catalysis. One such issue is the deprotonation of the methyl hydrogen, which has shown to be a major competing side reaction especially for catalysis in alkaline conditions. A DFT study of several different complexes comprised of 3d transition metals, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, and Ni bonded to at least one methyl group were analyzed to compute the acid/base properties of methyl C—H bonds. The level of theory used was BMK/6+31G(d) and the SMD method using DMSO as the continuum solvent. Deprotonation of the metal-methyl complex by DMSO resulted in the formation of the conjugate acid of DMSO and the conjugate base (anionic metal-methylidene complex). From this, the pKa of the methyl deprotonation reaction was calculated to show the effects of metal, ligand, oxidation state, and spin on acid/base properties of organometallic C-H bonds.

Computational study of the pKa of transition metal-methyl C–H bonds

Macromolecular Chemistry: The Second Century

[Author Benefits](https://scimeetings.acs.org/?utm_source=pubs_content_marketing&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=0320_MCF_NPI_Launch_Spring_Homepage&ref=pubs_content_marketing)

[How to use SciMeetings](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMeetings-ACSSpring2020-HowToGuide_M3020-Final.pdf)

[Frequently Asked Questions](https://storage.googleapis.com/dl.morressier.com/acs/SciMtng_ACSNMSp2020_FAQ_M3120_Final.pdf)

ACS Spring 2020 National Meeting & Expo

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.