CO reductive oligomerization by a divalent thulium complex and CO₂-induced functionalization

The divalent thulium complex [Tm(Cp^ttt)₂] (Cp^ttt = 1,2,4-tris(tert-butyl)cyclopentadienyl) reacts with CO to afford selective CO reductive dimerization and trimerization into ethynediolate (C₂) and ketenecarboxylate (C₃) complexes, respectively. DFT calculations were performed to shed light on the elementary steps of CO homologation and support a stepwise chain growth. The attempted decoordination of the ethynediolate fragment by treatment with Me₃SiI led to dimerization and rearrangement into a 3,4-dihydroxyfuran-2-one complex. Investigation of the reactivity of the C₂ and C₃ complexes towards other electrophiles led to unusual functionalization reactions: while the reaction of the ketenecarboxylate C₃ complex with electrophiles yielded new multicarbon oxygenated complexes, the addition of CO₂ to the ethynediolate C₂ complex resulted in the formation of a very reactive intermediate, allowing C-H activation of aromatic solvents.