Contracted CI calculations of models for catalytic reactions involving transition metals

Theoretical models for reductive elimination from transition metal containing molecules have been studied using large scale contracted CI calculations. Four different models were treated, namely, NiH2, PdH2, Ni(CH3)2, and Pd(H2O)2H2, in order to study the effects of adding ligands, exchanging hydrogens with methyl groups, and comparing nickel and palladium. The most interesting result already appeared for the simplest system NiH2. A closed‐shell‐type 1A1 state with a small bond angle of only 57° is bound compared to Ni and H2 with only a very small barrier for formation. The bond distance is short, shorter than in NiH, and the d orbitals are strongly involved in the binding. The hydrogen atoms bind both to nickel and to each other. With methyl groups rather than hydrogens, this double sided bonding situation is destroyed and Ni(CH3)2 has a negative binding energy with the carbon bonds pointing towards nickel. For PdH2 only a weakly bound complex between an essentially unchanged H2 and Pd was found. The bond distance is very long. Adding H2O ligands to Pd shortens the bond distance and significantly opens up the bond angle. The methods used in the investigation and the chemical implications of the results are discussed.