Many reactions of transition metal compounds involve a change in spin. These reactions may proceed faster, slower--or at the same rate as--otherwise equivalent processes in which spin is conserved. For example, ligand substitution in [CpMo(Cl)2(PR3)2] is faster than expected, whereas addition of dinitrogen to [Cp*Mo(Cl)(PMe3)2] is slow. Spin-forbidden oxidative addition of ethylene to [Cp*Ir(PMe3)] occurs competitively with ligand association. To explain these observations, we discuss the shape of the different potential energy surfaces (PESs) involved, and the energy of the minimum energy crossing points (MECPs) between them. This computational approach is of great help in understanding the mechanisms of spin-forbidden reactions, provided that accurate calculations can be used to predict the relevant PESs. Density functional theory, especially using gradient-corrected and hybrid functionals, performs reasonably well for the difficult problem of predicting the energy splitting between different spin states of transition metal complexes, although careful calibration is needed.

Over the past few years, cobalt-mediated radical polymerization (CMRP) has proved efficient in controlling the radical polymerization of very reactive monomers, such as vinyl acetate (VAc). However, the reason for this success and the intimate mechanism remained basically speculative. Herein, two mechanisms are shown to coexist: the reversible termination of the growing poly(vinyl acetate) chains by the Co(acac)2 complex (acac: acetylacetonato), and a degenerative chain-transfer process. The importance of one contribution over the other strongly depends on the polymerization conditions, including complexation of cobalt by ligands, such as water and pyridine. This significant progress in the CMRP mechanism relies on the isolation and characterization of the very first cobalt adducts formed in the polymerization medium and their use as CMRP initiators. The structure proposed for these adducts was supported by DFT calculations. Beyond the control of the VAc polymerization, which is the best ever achieved by CMRP, extension to other monomers and substantial progress in macromolecular engineering are now realistic forecasts.