Mechanism of C−H Bond Activation of Alkyl-Substituted Benzenes by Cationic Platinum(II) Complexes

While all methyl- and ethyl-substituted benzenes react with diimine Pt(II) methyl cations to give η 3 -benzyl products, they do not all get there by the same pathway. For toluene and p -xylene, isotopic labeling shows that initial activation occurs at aryl positions with subsequent intermolecular conversion to the benzyl product. For ethylbenzene and 1,4-diethylbenzene, initial activation takes place exclusively at aryl C−H bonds, and conversion to the η 3 -benzyl product takes place via intramolecular isomerization. Only in the most extreme case of steric crowding the reaction of a bulky diimine platinum methyl cation (Ar = Mes) with triethylbenzene does direct activation of the ethyl group become preferred to aryl activation.