Facile Alkene Insertion into a Rhodium(III)−Acetyl Bond: Potential Catalysts for CO/Alkene Copolymerization

Cationic Rh(III) methyl complexes, [(η 5 -ligand)Rh(CO) 2 Me] + (η 5 -ligand = C 5 Me 5, C 9 Me 7, C 9 Me 3 H 4 ), undergo facile reactions with strained alkenes (e.g. norbornadiene) to give products resulting from insertion of the alkene into a Rh−acetyl bond. Kinetic, mechanistic, and structural results are presented, along with evidence of catalytic activity for CO/alkene copolymerization.