Metal-free hydrogenation of unsaturated hydrocarbons employing molecular hydrogen

Abstract

The metal-free activation of hydrogen by frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) is a valuable method for the hydrogenation of polarized unsaturated molecules ranging from imines, enamines, and silyl enol ethers to heterocycles. However, one of the most important applications of hydrogenation technology is the conversion of unsaturated hydrocarbons into alkanes or alkenes. Despite the fast development of the FLP chemistry, such reactions proved as highly challenging. This Minireview provides an overview of the basic concepts of FLP chemistry, the challenge in the hydrogenation of unsaturated hydrocarbons, and first solutions to this central transformation.

Keywords: boranes; frustrated Lewis pairs; hydrogenation; metathesis; olefins.