铜催化的C-H键活化生成C-O键的最新进展

芳烃酰氧类化合物一直是有机合成中一个重要的合成中间体,有许多的经典方法可以合成它,其中Cu催化的由C-H键直接转化为酰氧类化合物的方法提供了一种方便,简单,有效,廉价的途径,这篇综述仅对铜催化的C-H键活化生成C-O键,特别是生成芳烃酰氧类化合物的最新进展进行了小结。     

Solid-state NMR for metal-containing zeolites: from active sites to reaction mechanism

Metal-containing zeolite catalysts have found a wide range of applications in heterogeneous catalysis. To understand the nature of metal active sites and the reaction mechanism over such catalysts is of great importance for the establishment of structure-activity relationship. The advanced solid-state NMR (SSNMR) spectroscopy is robust in the study of zeolites and zeolite-catalyzed reactions. In this review, we summarize recent developments and applications of SSNMR for exploring the structure and property of active sites in metal-containing zeolites. Moreover, detailed information on host-guest interactions in the relevant zeolite catalysis obtained by SSNMR is also discussed. Finally, we highlight the mechanistic understanding of catalytic reactions on metal-containing zeolites based on the observation of key surface species and active intermediates.     

Chemisorption of Probe Molecules on Metal Oxides

A more complete understanding of the structural and mechanistic details of a catalyzed heterogeneous reaction leads both directly and indirectly to the development of new and better catalysts. For catalyst technology, the most sensitive probe of catalysts performance will continue to be the rate and selectivity of a chemical reaction. However, these macroscopic observations, adequate for determining how good a catalyst is, require supplementary microscopic information to remove ambiguity in the deduction of a catalytic mechanism. This information, almost down to the atomic level, concerning the structure and reactivity of the intermediates, the nature of adsorption sites (and sometimes the active sites) and their number, is the main objective of the science of catalysis. The most promising approach to this problem is the use of suitable probe molecules for the quantitative titration of site density and qualitative characterization of their nature by means of surface spectroscopies of the chemisorbed probe molecules [1, 21. This framework of action is schematically represented in Fig.1.     

Chemisorption of Probe Molecules on Metal Oxides

A more complete understanding of the structural and mechanistic details of a catalyzed heterogeneous reaction leads both directly and indirectly to the development of new and better catalysts. For catalyst technology, the most sensitive probe of catalysts performance will continue to be the rate and selectivity of a chemical reaction. However, these macroscopic observations, adequate for determining how good a catalyst is, require supplementary microscopic information to remove ambiguity in the deduction of a catalytic mechanism. This information, almost down to the atomic level, concerning the structure and reactivity of the intermediates, the nature of adsorption sites (and sometimes the active sites) and their number, is the main objective of the science of catalysis. The most promising approach to this problem is the use of suitable probe molecules for the quantitative titration of site density and qualitative characterization of their nature by means of surface spectroscopies of the chemisorbed probe molecules [1, 21. This framework of action is schematically represented in Fig.1.     

The Mechanism of HDS Catalysis

The mechanism of heterogeneous catalytic reactions is much more difficult to elucidate than that of homogeneous systems. Despite the facilities provided by physical methods for investigating the surface of solids, obtaining detailed information on the structure of the active component in real heterogeneous catalysts presents difficulties due to the nonuniform chemical composition of the surface species. Some of these surface species are totally inactive in catalysis, and others can catalyze the given chemical reaction by different pathways and according to different mechanisms. This results in a change of selectivity to the desired product and the appearance of intermediates and reaction by-products. Furthermore, the effect of the reaction medium on the catalyst gains importance during a catalytic process when, at high temperature and pressure, one type of surface species is transformed into another, thus changing the mechanism and direction of the catalyzed reaction.     

The Mechanism of HDS Catalysis

The mechanism of heterogeneous catalytic reactions is much more difficult to elucidate than that of homogeneous systems. Despite the facilities provided by physical methods for investigating the surface of solids, obtaining detailed information on the structure of the active component in real heterogeneous catalysts presents difficulties due to the nonuniform chemical composition of the surface species. Some of these surface species are totally inactive in catalysis, and others can catalyze the given chemical reaction by different pathways and according to different mechanisms. This results in a change of selectivity to the desired product and the appearance of intermediates and reaction by-products. Furthermore, the effect of the reaction medium on the catalyst gains importance during a catalytic process when, at high temperature and pressure, one type of surface species is transformed into another, thus changing the mechanism and direction of the catalyzed reaction.

     

Metal-organic cooperative catalysis in C-H and C-C bond activation and its concurrent recovery

The development of an efficient catalytic activation (cleavage) system for C-H and C-C bonds is an important challenge in organic synthesis, because these bonds comprise a variety of organic molecules such as natural products, petroleum oils, and polymers on the earth. Among many elegant approaches utilizing transition metals to activate C-H and C-C bonds facilely, chelation-assisted protocols based on the coordinating ability of an organic moiety have attracted great attention, though they have often suffered from the need for an intact coordinating group in a substrate. In this Account, we describe our entire efforts to activate C-H or C-C bonds adjacent to carbonyl groups by employing a new concept of metal-organic cooperative catalysis (MOCC), which enables the temporal installation of a 2-aminopyridyl group into common aldehydes or ketones in a catalytic way. Consequently, a series of new catalytic reactions such as alcohol hydroacylation, oxo-ester synthesis, C-C triple bond cleavage, hydrative dimerization of alkynes, and skeletal rearrangements of cyclic ketones was realized through MOCC. In particular, in the quest for an optimized MOCC system composed of a Wilkinson's catalyst (Ph 3P) 3RhCl and an organic catalyst (2-amino-3-picoline), surprising efficiency enhancements could be achieved when benzoic acid and aniline were introduced as promoters for the aldimine formation process. Furthermore, a notable accomplishment of C-C bond activation has been made using 2-amino-3-picoline as a temporary chelating auxiliary in the reactions of unstrained ketones with various terminal olefins and Wilkinson's catalyst. In the case of seven-membered cyclic ketones, an interesting ring contraction to five- or six-membered ones takes place through skeletal rearrangements initiated by the C-C bond activation of MOCC. On the other hand, the fundamental advances of these catalytic systems into recyclable processes could be achieved by immobilizing both metal and organic components using a hydrogen-bonded self-assembled system as a catalyst support. This catalyst-recovery system provides a homogeneous phase at high temperature during the reaction and a heterogeneous phase at room temperature after the reaction. The product could be separated conveniently from the self-assembly support system by decanting the upper layer. The immobilized catalysts of both 2-aminopyridine and rhodium metal species sustained high catalytic activity for up to the eight catalytic reactions. In conclusion, the successful incorporation of an organocatalytic cycle into a transition metal catalyzed reaction led us to find MOCC for C-H and C-C bond activation. In addition, the hydrogen-bonded self-assembled support has been developed for an efficient and effective recovery system of homogeneous catalysts and could be successful in immobilizing both metal and organic catalysts.     

Catalytic sequential reactions involving palladacycle-directed aryl coupling steps

Catalytic methods are important tools for the synthesis of C-C bonds under mild and ambient conditions. Palladium chemistry predominates in this area because it offers the opportunity to form several different types of bonds in one pot. Palladium can also tolerate a variety of functional groups. Among the many investigations of catalytic aryl-aryl couplings, the most successful technique has been the Suzuki reaction, which uses an arylboronic acid to attack an aryl-Pd bond. This Account reports our methodology, based on the cooperative action of Pd and norbornene, that achieves selective aryl-aryl coupling through C-halide and C-H activation. We are primarily interested in Pd-catalyzed sequential reactions. These reactions combine palladium as an inorganic catalyst and a strained olefin such as norbornene as an organic catalyst and can lead to biphenyl derivatives. While the palladium facilitates C-C bond formation through C-halide and C-H activation, the norbornene contributes to the construction of a palladacycle, an intermediate structure that controls and directs the subsequent reaction steps selectively. To achieve regioselective arylation at the carbon ortho to the original C-halide bond, palladacycles require an additional ortho substituent (R(1)). The palladacycle opens, giving rise to a biphenylylnorbornylpalladium complex. Because of the steric hindrance exerted by the two ortho groups, norbornene deinsertion readily occurs to form a biphenylylpalladium complex. Thus, norbornene acts as a removable scaffold. We used this biphenylylpalladium species to form C-C (with olefins, alkynes, or arylboronic acids) or C-H bonds (by hydrogenolysis). Using nonidentical aryl or heteroaryl halides, we also formed a biaryl-bonded Pd species able to undergo the final termination reaction (C-C, C-N, or C-O bond formation) either inter- or intramolecularly. We used this method to synthesize a variety of aromatic and heteroaromatic compounds. We also obtained the key metallacycle able to selectively direct the reactions by replacing norbornene with an aryl-bonded aminocarbonyl group. This method provided a diverse series of condensed heterocycles.     

The mechanism of methanol to hydrocarbon catalysis

The process of converting methanol to hydrocarbons on the aluminosilicate zeolite HZSM-5 was originally developed as a route from natural gas to synthetic gasoline. Using other microporous catalysts that are selective for light olefins, methanol-to-olefin (MTO) catalysis may soon become central to the conversion of natural gas to polyolefins. The mechanism of methanol conversion proved to be an intellectually challenging problem; 25 years of fundamental study produced at least 20 distinct mechanisms, but most did not account for either the primary products or a kinetic induction period. Recent experimental and theoretical work has firmly established that methanol and dimethyl ether react on cyclic organic species contained in the cages or channels of the inorganic host. These organic reaction centers act as scaffolds for the assembly of light olefins so as to avoid the high high-energy intermediates required by all "direct" mechanisms. The rate of formation of the initial reaction centers, and hence the duration of the kinetic induction period, can be governed by impurity species. Secondary reactions of primary olefin products strongly reflect the topology and acid strength of the microporous catalyst. Reaction centers form continuously through some secondary pathways, and they age into polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, eventually deactivating the catalyst. It proves useful to consider each cage (or channel) with its included organic and inorganic species as a supramolecule that can react to form various species. This view allows us to identify structure-activity and structure selectivity relationships and to modify the catalyst with degrees of freedom that are more reminiscent of homogeneous catalysis than heterogeneous catalysis.     

C-H bond activation by oxygen-centered radicals over atomic clusters

Saturated hydrocarbons, or alkanes, are major constituents of natural gas and oil. Directly transforming alkanes into more complex organic compounds is a value-adding process, but the task is very difficult to achieve, especially at low temperature. Alkanes can react at high temperature, but these reactions (with oxygen, for example) are difficult to control and usually proceed to carbon dioxide and water, the thermodynamically stable byproducts. Consequently, a great deal of research effort has been focused on generating and studying chemical entities that are able to react with alkanes or efficiently activate C-H bonds at lower temperatures, preferably room temperature. To identify low-temperature methods of C-H bond activation, researchers have investigated free radicals, that is, species with open-shell electronic structures. Oxygen-centered radicals are typical of the open-shell species that naturally occur in atmospheric, chemical, and biological systems. In this Account, we survey atomic clusters that contain oxygen-centered radicals (O(-?)), with an emphasis on radical generation and reaction with alkanes near room temperature. Atomic clusters are an intermediate state of matter, situated between isolated atoms and condensed-phase materials. Atomic clusters containing the O(-?) moiety have generated promising results for low-temperature C-H bond activation. After a brief introduction to the experimental methods and the compositions of atomic clusters that contain O(-?) radicals, we focus on two important factors that can dramatically influence C-H bond activation. The first factor is spin. The O(-?)-containing clusters have unpaired spin density distributions over the oxygen atoms. We show that the nature of the unpaired spin density distribution, such as localization and delocalization within the clusters, heavily influences the reactivity of O(-?) radicals in C-H bond activation. The second factor is charge. The O(-?)-containing clusters can be negatively charged, positively charged, or neutral overall. We discuss how the charge state may influence C-H bond activation. Moreover, for a given charge state, such as the cationic state, it can be demonstrated that local charge distribution around the O(-?) centers can also significantly change the reactivity in C-H bond activation. Through judicious synthetic choices, spin and charge can be readily controllable physical quantities in atomic clusters. The adjustment of these two properties can impact C-H bond activation, thus constituting an important consideration in the rational design of catalysts for practical alkane transformations.     

Molecular surface science of C–H bond activation and polymerization catalysis

Surface science studies of heterogeneous catalysis use model systems ranging from single crystals to monodispersed nanoparticles in the 1–10 nm range. Molecular studies reveal that bond activation (C–H, H–H, C–C, C≡O) occurs at 300 K or below as the active metal sites simultaneously restructure. The strongly adsorbed molecules must be mobile to free up these sites for continued turnover of reaction. Oxide–metal interfaces are also active for catalytic turnover. Examples using C–H and C = O activation are described to demonstrate these properties. Polymerization catalysis demonstrates a strong dependence upon catalyst surface structure, which allows for the selectivity to be tuned by the choice of Ziegler-Natta surface preparation. Novel preparation methods of model catalyst arrays in two and three dimensions are opening the door to a complete understanding of catalytic reaction selectivity.     

Electron Spin Echo Modulation Studies of Dipolar Hyperfine Interactions of Catalytic Reaction Intermediates Involving Transition Metal Ions on Oxide Surfaces

The application of electron spin echo modulation (ESEM) pulsed electron spin resonance methods to detect dipolar hyperfine interactions of catalytic reaction intermediates involving transition metal ions on oxide surfaces is described. This provides a method to determine critical aspects of the geometrical structure of such intermediates. One example involves catalysis of ethylene dimerization by paramagnetic Ni⁺ on silica. ESEM results show direct coordination of two and three ethylene molecules to Ni⁺ as reaction intermediates in ethylene dimerization, depending on the activation temperature of the catalyst pretreatment. A second example involves catalysis of ethylene dimerization by paramagnetic Pd⁺ in X—zeolite. ESEM results show direct coordination of successively one and two molecules of ethylene to Pd⁺ prior to dimerization. Thus ESEM methods provide a powerful tool to develop a molecular picture of the course of catalytic reactions on surfaces.     

N-heterocyclic carbene gold(I) and copper(I) complexes in C-H bond activation

Environmental concerns have and will continue to have a significant role in determining how chemistry is carried out. Chemists will be challenged to develop new, efficient synthetic processes that have the fewest possible steps leading to a target molecule, the goal being to decrease the amount of waste generated and reduce energy use. Along this path, chemists will need to develop highly selective reactions with atom-economical pathways producing nontoxic byproduct. In this context, C-H bond activation and functionalization is an extremely attractive method. Indeed, for most organic transformations, the presence of a reactive functionality is required. In Total Synthesis, the "protection and deprotection" approach with such reactive groups limits the overall yield of the synthesis, involves the generation of significant chemical waste, costs energy, and in the end is not as green as one would hope. In turn, if a C-H bond functionalization were possible, instead of the use of a prefunctionalized version of the said C-H bond, the number of steps in a synthesis would obviously be reduced. In this case, the C-H bond can be viewed as a dormant functional group that can be activated when necessary during the synthetic strategy. One issue increasing the challenge of such a desired reaction is selectivity. The cleavage of a C-H bond (bond dissociation requires between 85 and 105 kcal/mol) necessitates a high-energy species, which could quickly become a drawback for the control of chemo-, regio-, and stereoselectivity. Transition metal catalysts are useful reagents for surmounting this problem; they can decrease the kinetic barrier of the reaction yet retain control over selectivity. Transition metal complexes also offer important versatility in having distinct pathways that can lead to activation of the C-H bond. An oxidative addition of the metal in the C-H bond, and a base-assisted metal-carbon bond formation in which the base can be coordinated (or not) to the metal complexes are possible. These different C-H bond activation modes provide chemists with several synthetic options. In this Account, we discuss recent discoveries involving the versatile NHC-gold(I) and NHC-copper(I) hydroxide complexes (where NHC is N-heterocyclic carbene) showing interesting Br?nsted basic properties for C-H bond activation or C-H bond functionalization purposes. The simple and easy synthesis of these two complexes involves their halide-bearing relatives reacting with simple alkali metal hydroxides. These complexes can react cleanly with organic compounds bearing protons with compatible pK(a) values, producing only water as byproduct. It is a very simple protocol indeed and may be sold as a C-H bond activation, although the less flashy "metalation reaction" also accurately describes the process. The synthesis of these complexes has led us to develop new organometallic chemistry and catalysis involving C-H bond activation (metalation) and subsequent C-H bond functionalization. We further highlight applications with these reactions, in areas such as photoluminescence and biological activities of NHC-gold(I) and NHC-copper(I) complexes.     

Isotope effects in C-H bond activation reactions by transition metals

The activation of alkane C-H bonds by oxidative addition and its reverse reaction, reductive elimination, are believed to occur via transient sigma-alkane complexes. This Account summarizes how isotope effects can be used to probe the nature of these intermediates and points out some pitfalls in interpreting kinetic data. Comparisons are made with arene C-H activation and other activation systems.     

In situ Raman spectroscopy studies of catalysts

In situ Raman spectroscopy is rapidly becoming a very popular catalyst characterization method because Raman cells are being designed that can combine in situ molecular characterization studies with simultaneous fundamental quantitative kinetic studies. The dynamic nature of catalyst surfaces requires that both sets of information be obtained for a complete fundamental understanding of catalytic phenomena under practical reaction conditions. Several examples are chosen to highlight the capabilities of in situ Raman spectroscopy to problems in heterogeneous catalysis: the structural determination of the number of terminal M=O bonds in surface metal oxide species that are present in supported metal oxide catalysts; structural transformations of the MoO₃/SiO₂ and MoO₃/TiO₂ supported metal oxide catalysts under various environmental conditions, which contrast the markedly different oxide–oxide interactions in these two catalytic systems; the location and relative reactivity of the different surface M–OCH₃ intermediates present during CH₃OH oxidation over V₂O₅/SiO₂ catalysts; the different types of atomic oxygen species present in metallic silver catalysts and their role during CH₃OH oxidation to H₂CO and C₂H₄ epoxidation to C₂H₄O; and information about the oxidized and reduced surface metal oxide species, isolated as well as polymerized species, present in supported metal oxide catalysts during reaction conditions. In summary, in situ Raman spectroscopy is a very powerful catalyst characterization technique because it can provide fundamental molecular‐level information about catalyst surface structure and reactive surface intermediates under practical reaction conditions. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Reactions of late transition metal complexes with molecular oxygen

Limited natural resources, high energy consumption, economic considerations, and environmental concerns demand that we develop new technologies for the sustainable production of chemicals and fuels. New methods that combine the selective activation of C-H bonds of hydrocarbons with oxidation by a green oxidant such as molecular oxygen would represent huge advances toward this goal. The spectacular selectivity of transition metals in cleaving C-H bonds offers the potential for the direct use of hydrocarbons in the production of value-added organics such as alcohols. However, the use of oxygen, which is abundant, environmentally benign, and inexpensive (particularly from air), has proven challenging, and more expensive and less green oxidants are often employed in transition-metal-catalyzed reactions. Advances in the use of oxygen as an oxidant in transition-metal-catalyzed transformations of hydrocarbons will require a better understanding of how oxygen reacts with transition metal alkyl and hydride complexes. For alkane oxidations, researchers will need to comprehend and predict how metals that have shown particularly high activity and selectivity in C-H bond activation (e.g. Pt, Pd, Rh, Ir) will react with oxygen. In this Account, we present our studies of reactions of late metal alkyls and hydrides with molecular oxygen, emphasizing the mechanistic insights that have emerged from this work. Our studies have unraveled some of the general mechanistic features of how molecular oxygen inserts into late metal hydride and alkyl bonds along with a nascent understanding of the scope and limitations of these reactions. We present examples of the formation of metal hydroperoxide species M-OOH by insertion of dioxygen into Pt(IV)-H and Pd(II)-H bonds and show evidence that these reactions proceed by radical chain and hydrogen abstraction pathways, respectively. Comparisons with recent reports of insertion of oxygen into other Pd(II)-H complexes, and also into Ir(III)-H and Rh(III)-H complexes, point to potentially general mechanisms for this type of reaction. Additionally, we observed oxygen-promoted C-H and H-H reductive elimination reactions from five-coordinate Ir(III) alkyl hydride and dihydride complexes, respectively. Further, when Pd(II)Me(2) and Pt(II)Me(2) complexes were exposed to oxygen, insertion processes generated M-OOMe complexes. Mechanistic studies for these reactions are consistent with radical chain homolytic substitution pathways involving five-coordinate M(III) intermediates. Due to the remarkable ability of Pt(II) and Pd(II) to activate the C-H bonds of hydrocarbons (RH) and form M-R species, this reactivity is especially exciting for the development of partial alkane-oxidation processes that utilize molecular oxygen. Our understanding of how late transition metal alkyls and hydrides react with molecular oxygen is growing rapidly and will soon approach our knowledge of how other small molecules such as olefins and carbon monoxide react with these species. Just as advances in understanding olefin and CO insertion reactions have shaped important industrial processes, key insight into oxygen insertion should lead to significant gains in sustainable commercial selective oxidation catalysis.     

煤及油母中常见C-X(X=N,S)的解离能

煤及油页岩中除了碳、氢和氧原子是主要的组成元素外,氮和硫等杂原子大都以C-X（X=N,S）的键合形式存在,在其结构及转化利用中同样发挥重要的作用。认识C-X的解离能,有助于建立氮、硫热解过程中的迁移模型,丰富对煤及油母中常见化学键性质的认识,对发展高效清洁的能源利用技术至关重要。利用双杂化密度泛函方法,系统研究了煤及油母中典型C-X键的解离能（BDE）范围。研究结果表明,煤及油母中常见C-N和C-S键的BDE值范围分别是154.1~55.7 kcal·mol^-1和83.0~56.6 kcal·mol^-1。在热解过程中,苯硫类自由基以及苯胺类自由基会在初期产生,其次才是巯基、胺类自由基等侧链取代自由基脱落。C-S键的整体BDE值范围比其他类型化学键更低,各类化学键最低BDE值的高低顺序符合O-H > C-H > C-C > C-N > C-S > C-O的规律,其中,只有当有PhOx生成时,C-S > C-O,否则C-O > C-S。     

Infrared studies of the reactive adsorption of organic molecules over metal oxides and of the mechanisms of their heterogeneously-catalyzed oxidation

The use of IR spectroscopic techniques to provide information on the mechanisms of catalytic oxidation over metal oxide catalysts is briefly discussed. The data published on studies of the catalytic oxidation of methanol, of linear C₄ hydrocarbons and of methylaromatics over different metal oxide surfaces are reviewed and discussed. Lattice oxygen appears to act as the active oxygen species in both selective and total oxidation. Generalized mechanisms of these complex oxidation reactions are proposed and the catalyst features affecting selectivities in these reactions are discussed. The reaction network is apparently essentially governed by the organic chemistry of the reacting molecule (thus being substantially the same over the different oxide catalysts). However, the catalyst surface governs the rate of the different steps, favoring some paths over others. Thus, selectivity is determined by the catalyst chemical behavior and by the reaction variables (contact time, temperature, gas-phase composition, presence of steam, etc.). IR studies, if performed under conditions where some intermediates are actually detectable and jointly with other techniques, can give valuable information on the catalysis mechanisms. On the other hand, it has been concluded that in situ studies frequently do not give reliable information on reaction mechanisms, because under reaction conditions spectators rather than intermediates are detected.     

Activation of propane C-h and C-C bonds by gas-phase pt atom: a theoretical study

The reaction mechanism of the gas-phase Pt atom with C(3)H(8) has been systematically investigated on the singlet and triplet potential energy surfaces at CCSD(T)//BPW91/6-311++G(d, p), Lanl2dz level. Pt atom prefers the attack of primary over secondary C-H bonds in propane. For the Pt + C(3)H(8) reaction, the major and minor reaction channels lead to PtC(3)H(6) + H(2) and PtCH(2) + C(2)H(6), respectively, whereas the possibility to form products PtC(2)H(4) + CH(4) is so small that it can be neglected. The minimal energy reaction pathway for the formation of PtC(3)H(6) + H(2), involving one spin inversion, prefers to start at the triplet state and afterward proceed along the singlet state. The optimal C-C bond cleavages are assigned to C-H bond activation as the first step, followed by cleavage of a C-C bond. The C-H insertion intermediates are kinetically favored over the C-C insertion intermediates. From C-C to C-H oxidative insertion, the lowering of activation barrier is mainly caused by the more stabilizing transition state interaction ΔE(≠) (int), which is the actual interaction energy between the deformed reactants in the transition state.     

C-F and C-H bond activation of fluorobenzenes and fluoropyridines at transition metal centers: how fluorine tips the scales

In this Account, we describe the transition metal-mediated cleavage of C-F and C-H bonds in fluoroaromatic and fluoroheteroaromatic molecules. The simplest reactions of perfluoroarenes result in C-F oxida tive addition, but C-H activation competes with C-F activation for partially fluorinated molecules. We first consider the reactivity of the fluoroaromatics toward nickel and platinum complexes, but extend to rhenium and rhodium where they give special insight. Sections on spectroscopy and molecular structure are followed by discussions of energetics and mechanism that incorporate experimental and computational results. We highlight special characteristics of the metal-fluorine bond and the influence of the fluorine substituents on energetics and mechanism. Fluoroaromatics reacting at an ML(2) center initially yield η(2)-arene complexes, followed usually by oxidative addition to generate MF(Ar(F))(L)(2) or MH(Ar(F))(L)(2) (M is Ni, Pd, or Pt; L is trialkylphosphine). The outcome of competition between C-F and C-H bond activation is strongly metal dependent and regioselective. When C-H bonds of fluoroaromatics are activated, there is a preference for the remaining C-F bonds to lie ortho to the metal. An unusual feature of metal-fluorine bonds is their response to replacement of nickel by platinum. The Pt-F bonds are weaker than their nickel counterparts; the opposite is true for M-H bonds. Metal-fluorine bonds are sufficiently polar to form M-F···H-X hydrogen bonds and M-F···I-C(6)F(5) halogen bonds. In the competition between C-F and C-H activation, the thermodynamic product is always the metal fluoride, but marked differences emerge between metals in the energetics of C-H activation. In metal-fluoroaryl bonds, ortho-fluorine substituents generally control regioselectivity and make C-H activation more energetically favorable. The role of fluorine substituents in directing C-H activation is traced to their effect on bond energies. Correlations between M-C and H-C bond energies demonstrate that M-C bond energies increase far more on ortho-fluorine substitution than do H-C bonds. Conventional oxidative addition reactions involve a three-center triangular transition state between the carbon, metal, and X, where X is hydrogen or fluorine, but M(d)-F(2p) repulsion raises the activation energies when X is fluorine. Platinum complexes exhibit an alternative set of reactions involving rearrangement of the phosphine and the fluoroaromatics to a metal(alkyl)(fluorophosphine), M(R)(Ar(F))(PR(3))(PR(2)F). In these phosphine-assisted C-F activation reactions, the phosphine is no spectator but rather is intimately involved as a fluorine acceptor. Addition of the C-F bond across the M-PR(3) bond leads to a metallophosphorane four-center transition state; subsequent transfer of the R group to the metal generates the fluorophosphine product. We find evidence that a phosphine-assisted pathway may even be significant in some apparently simple oxidative addition reactions. While transition metal catalysis has revolutionized hydrocarbon chemistry, its impact on fluorocarbon chemistry has been more limited. Recent developments have changed the outlook as catalytic reactions involving C-F or C-H bond activation of fluorocarbons have emerged. The principles established here have several implications for catalysis, including the regioselectivity of C-H activation and the unfavorable energetics of C-F reductive elimination. Palladium-catalyzed C-H arylation is analyzed to illustrate how ortho-fluorine substituents influence thermodynamics, kinetics, and regioselectivity.