Oxygen-Carrying Iridium Complexes: Kinetics, Mechanism, and Thermodynamics

Abstract
The rates of oxygenation and deoxygenation of a series of iridium complexes increase and decrease, respectively, with increasing electron-releasing tendency of the anionic ligands (A) attached to the metal atom in the oxygencarrying compounds, [IrA(CO)(Ph3P)2]. Calculated heats of oxygenation (—ΔH20), related to Ir-O2 bond energies, are proportional to the previously reported O-O bond lengths in the oxygen adducts, [O2IrA(CO)(Ph3P)2].