Hydride transfer from transition metal hydrides (MH) to Ph3C+BF4
- gives M−FBF3 and Ph3CH.
Deuterium kinetic isotope effects were determined for several MH/MD pairs (CH2Cl2 solution, 25 °C). For
hydride transfer from Cp*(CO)3MoH (Cp* = η5-C5Me5) to substituted trityl cations containing zero, one,
two, or three p-MeO groups [Ph
n
(p-MeOC6H4)3
-
n
C+BF4
-; n = 3, 2, 1, 0], the isotope effect remains essentially
constant at k
MoH/k
MoD = 1.7−1.9 as the rate constant decreases from k
H
−
= 6.5 × 103 to 1.4 M-1 s-1. For
hydride transfer to Ph3C+BF4
- from five metal hydrides [Cp(CO)3MoH, Cp*(CO)3WH, (indenyl)(CO)3WH,
Cp*(CO)3MoH, and trans-Cp(CO)2(PCy3)MoH; Cp = η5-C5H5] with second-order rate constants k
H
−
≥ 3.8 ×
102 M-1 s-1, the kinetic isotope effects are also k
MH/k
MD = 1.7−1.8. For a series of five tungsten hydrides
with substituted Cp ligands, the kinetic isotope effects decrease from k
WH/k
WD = 1.8 to 0.47 as the rate constant
decreases (from k
H
−
= 2.0 × 103 to 0.72 M-1 s-1). The steadily decreasing values of k
MH/k
MD with decreasing
rate constants of hydride transfer are interpreted as indicating progressively stronger force constants of
isotopically sensitive modes of the transition state, as the reaction slows down in progressing from more electron-donating Cp ligands to less electron-rich Cp ligands. The inverse isotope effect (k
WH/k
WD = 0.47) found for
the slowest tungsten hydride, (C5H4CO2Me)(CO)3WH, is proposed to be due to a product-like transition state
for irreversible hydride transfer.