Overriding the inherent alkalinity to dual phosphinito bimetallic catalyst for C(sp^(2))-C(sp^(3))formation:A combined computational and experimental study

Unraveling the catalytic reaction mechanism is a long-term challenge for developing efficient catalysts.The blooming bimetallic catalyst have enabled to activate inert bonds and realize complex C-C formation.Herein,we theoretically discover a dual-phosphinito bridged hetero-bimetallic species that verified by NMR experiments.Our results indicate only dual-phosphinito Ni-Al model can be an active catalyst in asymmetric cycloadditions via C-C activation and C-H activation,which can well rationalize the experimental observations for both reactivity and stereo-selectivity.An unprecedented tandem redox dehydrogenation mechanism was revealed to control the formation of this active species overriding the inherent basicity.Synergistic Lewis acid and eg orbital interactions,including dz2 orbital reoccupation and d_(x^(2)−y^(2))orbital recombination,were disclosed to understand both thermodynamic and kinetic advance of dual-bridged model,displaying feasible redox properties.