An experimental and density functional study of the Sb-C bond activation and organo-Rh bond formation from the spontaneous decay of [RhCl3(SbPh3)3]

The transformation of [RhCl3(SbPh3)3] 1 into [RhCl2(Ph)(SbPh3)3] 2, has been studied via UV-Vis spectroscopy and density functional approaches. The reaction of RhCl3 with SbPh3 produces 1 that later rearranges to 2 via a concerted mechanism. The associated transition state is a Rh(III) hepta-coordinate adduct.