Binuclear Aromatic C-H Bond Activation at a Dirhenium Site

The electronically unsaturated dirhenium complex [Re-2(CO)(8)(mu-H)(mu-Ph)] (1) has been found to exhibit aromatic C-H activation upon reaction with N,N-diethylaniline, naphthalene, and even [D-6] benzene to yield the compounds [Re-2(CO)(8)(mu-H)(mu-eta(1)-NEt2C6H4)] (2), [Re-2(CO)(8)(mu-H)(mu-eta(2)-1,2-C10H7)] (3), and [D-6]-1, respectively, in good yields. The mechanism has been elucidated by using DFT computational analyses, and involves a binuclear C-H bond-activation process.