High Quantum Yield Molecular Bromine Photoelimination from Mononuclear Platinum(IV) Complexes Alice Raphael Karikachery, † Han Baek Lee, † Mehdi Masjedi, † Andreas Ross, † Morgan A. Moody, † Xiaochen Cai, ‡ Megan Chui, ‡ Carl D. Hoff,* ,‡ and Paul R. Sharp* ,† † 125 Chemistry, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, United States ‡ Department of Chemistry, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States * S Supporting Information ABSTRACT: Pt(IV) complexes trans-Pt(PEt 3 ) 2 (R)(Br) 3 (R = Br, aryl and polycyclic aromatic fragments) photoeliminate molecular bromine with quantum yields as high as 82%. Photoelimination occurs both in the solid state and in solution. Calorimetry measurements and DFT calculations (PMe 3 analogs) indicate endothermic and endergonic photoeliminations with free energies from 2 to 22 kcal/mol of Br 2 . Solution trapping experiments with high concentrations of 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene suggest a radical- like excited state precursor to bromine elimination. ■ INTRODUCTION Efficient photochemical solar energy conversion to stored energy in chemical bonds is an important goal for global energy needs. 1 A promising process for the realization of this goal is the splitting of stable molecules into a reduced component (reductant) and an oxidized component (oxidant) that can then be recombined to release the stored energy. 2 Most often this concept is applied to water splitting into molecular hydrogen (reductant) and molecular oxygen (oxidant) 3-6 but may also be applied to the simpler and, in some ways, more advantageous 7 process of splitting hydrohalic acids into molecular hydrogen and molecular halogens (eq 1, X = a halogen). 5,8-11 A closely related alternative water splitting process, yielding molecular hydrogen and hydrogen peroxide (eq 1, X = OH), has also been proposed. 12 A potential key step in a transition metal catalyzed hydrohalic acid splitting process is the photoelimination of a halogen molecule from a dihalide complex (eq 2, X = a halide). Although there have been recent advances in this area, 10,11,13-16 halogen photoelimination from transition metal halide complexes (L n MX 2 ) remains rare and poorly understood. Herein, we report our studies on a family of mononuclear platinum(IV) bromo complexes that photoeliminate molecular bromine with quantum yields as high as 82%. Calorimetry and DFT calculations show that these are endergonic reactions that store between 2 and 22 kcal/mol. Bromine trapping experi- ments indicate that, in addition to reacting with the released bromine, more reactive traps also react directly with the excited state that precedes bromine elimination and the products indicate that this excited state has radical character. ■ RESULTS Complex Synthesis and Characterization. Details may be found in the Experimental Section located in the Supporting Information. Platinum(IV) complexes trans-Pt(PEt 3 ) 2 (R)(Br) 3 (2, Scheme 1) are easily prepared by Br 2 addition to the corresponding Pt(II) complexes, trans-Pt(PEt) 2 (R)(Br) (1). In the case of 1(NPh), 1(MeOPh) and 1(Per), simultaneous ring bromination results in the isolation of 2 (BrNPh), 2(BrMeOPh), and 2(BrPer). Ring bromination subsequent to oxidative addition can also occur and 2(BrNap) is formed when additional Br 2 is added to 2(1-Nap). 31 P NMR spectra of 2 are diagnostic of the Pt center oxidation shown in Scheme 1 and the Pt(IV) complexes 2 all show singlets with satellites in the δ -8 to -10 region, shifts that are about 20 units negative of those for the corresponding Pt(II) precursors 1 (δ 12 to 13). Ring bromination generally leads to a small, but visible, shift decrease (<1 unit) from the corresponding unbrominated analog. 195 Pt- 31 P coupling constants for 2 are in the rather tight range of 1600 to 1636 Hz and are reduced from those for 1 (2680 to 2770 Hz). Received: February 27, 2013 Published: March 13, 2013 Article pubs.acs.org/IC © 2013 American Chemical Society 4113 dx.doi.org/10.1021/ic4004998 | Inorg. Chem. 2013, 52, 4113-4119