Regioselective CF and CH bond activation: synthesis and structure of an asymmetric rhodium complex comprising a η5:η1:η1-cyclopentadienyl-bis(phosphine) ligand

The reaction between [(η5-C5Me4H)RhBr(μ-Br)]2 and (C6F5)2PCH2CH2P(C6F5)2 proceeds in refluxing benzene via the cleavage of two CF and CH bonds and the formation of two CC bonds to give the unexpected asymmetric compound [{η5-C5HMe2-3,4-[CH2C6F4P(C6F5)CH2]2-1,2}RhBr]Br with high selectivity. The formulation has been confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction.