The hydrogenation of molecules with polar bonds catalyzed by a ruthenium(II) complex bearing a chelating N-heterocyclic carbene with a primary amine donor

Wylie W N O; Alan J Lough; Robert H Morris

doi:10.1039/c0cc02664f

The hydrogenation of molecules with polar bonds catalyzed by a ruthenium(II) complex bearing a chelating N-heterocyclic carbene with a primary amine donor

Chem Commun (Camb). 2010 Nov 21;46(43):8240-2. doi: 10.1039/c0cc02664f. Epub 2010 Sep 27.

Authors

Wylie W N O¹, Alan J Lough, Robert H Morris

Affiliation

¹ Davenport Laboratory, Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, 80 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H6, Canada.

PMID: 20871933
DOI: 10.1039/c0cc02664f

Abstract

The complex [RuCp*(C-NH(2))(py)]PF(6) bearing a chelating N-heterocyclic carbene with an NH(2) group (C-NH(2)) is an active catalyst for the H(2)-hydrogenation of ketones, an epoxide, ester and ketimine in basic solution. A maximum turnover frequency of 17,600 h(-1) is achieved under mild reaction conditions (25 °C) and economical use of hydrogen (8 bar) while the TOF of a related complex with a phosphine-amine ligand is much smaller.