Ammonia Oxidation by Abstraction of Three Hydrogen Atoms from a Mo–NH3 ComplexClick to copy article linkArticle link copied!
- Papri Bhattacharya
- Zachariah M. Heiden
- Eric S. Wiedner
- Simone Raugei
- Nicholas A. Piro
- W. Scott Kassel
- R. Morris Bullock
- Michael T. Mock
Abstract

We report ammonia oxidation by homolytic cleavage of all three H atoms from a [Mo—NH3]+ complex using the 2,4,6-tri-tert-butylphenoxyl radical to yield a Mo-alkylimido ([Mo═NR]+) complex (R = 2,4,6-tri-tert-butylcyclohexa-2,5-dien-1-one). Chemical reduction of [Mo═NR]+ generates a terminal Mo≡N nitride complex upon N—C bond cleavage, and a [Mo═NH]+ complex is formed by protonation of the nitride. Computational analysis describes the energetic profile for the stepwise removal of three H atoms from [Mo—NH3]+ and formation of [Mo═NR]+.
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