Facile Aerobic Alkylation of Rhodium Porphyrins with Alkyl Halides

Abstract

Alkylation of rhodium porphyrins was achieved in moderate to high yields in the presence of air and water. With this facile alkylation method, various alkyl Rh^III(por) species, including those with tertiary alkyl, were synthesized. Mechanistic investigations suggest a parallel S_N2 via [Rh^I(ttp)]⁻ with halogen atom transfer pathway via [Rh^II(ttp)]^•