Journal of Physical Chemistry A, Vol.117, No.3, 541-549, 2013
Chemical Kinetics of a Bipalladium Complex
A theoretical model is presented, for reductive elimination in a bipalladium complex, based on the model of Ariafard et al. (2011). This reaction is of particular interest due to the novel Pd(III) intermediate. A thermo-kinetic model is proposed for this reaction scheme, and the rate laws and energy balance are given as a system of ordinary differential equations. A simplified model is then derived that only involves two key variables, so that the system can be analyzed completely in a phase plane. It is shown that kinetic oscillations do not occur, but that there are multiple steady states for the reaction. These new features are confirmed by a numerical analysis of the full model scheme. The predictions provide a mechanism to test the model and the underlying computational chemistry.