Metal-Catalyzed C–C Bond Cleavage in Alkanes: Effects of Methyl Substitution on Transition-State Structures and Stability

Methyl substituents at C-C bonds influence hydrogenolysis rates and selectivities of acyclic and cyclic C2-C8 alkanes on Ir, Rh, Ru, and Pt catalysts. C-C cleavage transition states form via equilibrated dehydrogenation steps that replace several C-H bonds with C-metal bonds, desorb H atoms (H*) from saturated surfaces, and form λ H2(g) molecules. Activation enthalpies (ΔH(‡)) and entropies (ΔS(‡)) and λ values for (3)C-(x)C cleavage are larger than for (2)C-(2)C or (2)C-(1)C bonds, irrespective of the composition of metal clusters or the cyclic/acyclic structure of the reactants. (3)C-(x)C bonds cleave through α,β,γ- or α,β,γ,δ-bound transition states, as indicated by the agreement between measured activation entropies and those estimated for such structures using statistical mechanics. In contrast, less substituted C-C bonds involve α,β-bound species with each C atom bound to several surface atoms. These α,β configurations weaken C-C bonds through back-donation to antibonding orbitals, but such configurations cannot form with (3)C atoms, which have one C-H bond and thus can form only one C-M bond. (3)C-(x)C cleavage involves attachment of other C atoms, which requires endothermic C-H activation and H* desorption steps that lead to larger ΔH(‡) values but also larger ΔS(‡) values (by forming more H2(g)) than for (2)C-(2)C and (2)C-(1)C bonds, irrespective of alkane size (C2-C8) or cyclic/acyclic structure. These data and their mechanistic interpretation indicate that low temperatures and high H2 pressures favor cleavage of less substituted C-C bonds and form more highly branched products from cyclic and acyclic alkanes. Such interpretations and catalytic consequences of substitution seem also relevant to C-X cleavage (X = S, N, O) in desulfurization, denitrogenation, and deoxygenation reactions.