Facile Access to Tuneable Schwartz’s Reagents: Oxidative Addition Products from the Reaction of Amide NH Bonds with Reduced Zirconocene Complexes

Mild Divergent Semireductive Transformations of Secondary and Tertiary Amides via Zirconocene Hydride Catalysis

The mild catalytic partial reduction of amides to imines has proven to be a challenging synthetic transformation, with many transition metals directly reducing these substrates to amines. Herein, we report a mild, catalytic method for the semireduction of both secondary and tertiary amides via zirconocene hydride catalysis. Utilizing just 5 mol % of Cp2ZrCl2, the reductive deoxygenation of secondary amides is demonstrated to furnish a diverse array of imines in up to 94% yield with excellent chemoselectivity and without the need for glovebox handling. Moreover, a novel reductive transamination of tertiary amides is also achievable when the catalytic protocol is carried out in the presence of a primary amine at room temperature, providing access to an expanded assortment of imines in up to 98% yield. Through slight procedural tuning, the single-flask conversion of amides to imines, aldehydes, amines or enamines is feasible, including multicomponent syntheses.

Zirconium-Catalyzed Hydroalumination of C═O Bonds: Site-Selective De-O-acetylation of Peracetylated Compounds and Mechanistic Insights

An unprecedented hydroalumination of C ═ O bonds catalyzed by zirconocene dichloride is reported herein and applied to the site-selective deprotection of peracetylated functional substrates. A mixed metal hydride, with 1:1 zirconium/aluminum stoichiometry, is also shown to be the reductive species. A catalytic cycle is finally proposed for this transformation with no precedent in the field of zirconium catalysis.

Hydrogenation of titanocene and zirconocene bis(trimethylsilyl)acetylene complexes

Reactions following the addition of dihydrogen under maximum atmospheric pressure to bis(trimethylsilyl)acetylene (BTMSA) complexes of titanocenes, [(η5-C5H5-nMen)2Ti(η2-BTMSA)] (n = 0, 1, 3, and 4) (1A-1D), and zirconocenes, [(η5-C5H5-nMen)2Zr(η2-BTMSA)] (n = 2-5) (4A-4D), proceeded in diverse ways and, depending on the metal, afforded different products. The former complexes lost, in all cases, their BTMSA ligand via its hydrogenation to bis-1,2-(trimethylsilyl)ethane when reacted at 80 °C for a prolonged reaction time. For n = 0, 1, and 3, the titanocene species formed in situ dimerised via the formation of fulvalene ligands and two bridging hydride ligands, giving known green dimeric titanocenes (2A-2C). For n = 4, a titanocene hydride [(η5-C5HMe4)2TiH] (2D) was formed, similarly to the known [(η5-C5Me5)2TiH] (2E) for n = 5; however, in contrast to this example, 2D in the absence of dihydrogen spontaneously dehydrogenated to the known Ti(iii)-Ti(iii) dehydro-dimer [{Ti(η5-C5HMe4)(μ-η1:η5-C5Me4)}2] (3B). This complex has now been fully characterised via spectroscopic methods, and was shown through EPR spectroscopy to attain an intramolecular electronic triplet state. The zirconocene-BTMSA complexes 4A-4D reacted uniformly with one hydrogen molecule to give Zr(iv) zirconocene hydride alkenyls, [(η5-C5H5-nMen)2ZrH{C(SiMe3)[double bond, length as m-dash]CH(SiMe3)}] (n = 2-5) (5A-5D). These were identified through their 1H and 13C NMR spectra, which show features typical of an agostically bonded proton, [double bond, length as m-dash]CH(SiMe3). Compounds 5A-5D formed equilibria with the BTMSA complexes 4A-4D depending on hydrogen pressure and temperature.

Isocyanate deinsertion from κ1-O amidates: facile access to perfluoroaryl rhodium(i) complexes

Perfluorophenyl-subsituted amidates undergo unprecedented C₆F₅ migration to Rh(i) on heating, providing a new route to Rh-C₆F₅ organometallic fragments.

(Cyanido-κC)(2,2-di-phenyl-acetamido-κ(2) N,O)bis-(η(5)-penta-methyl-cyclo-penta-dien-yl)zirconium(IV)

In the title compound, [Zr(C₁₀H₁₅)₂(C₁₄H₁₂NO)(CN)], the Zr^IV atom is coordinated by two penta­methyl­cyclo­penta­dienyl ligands, the amidate ligand via the N and O atoms, and an additional C N ligand. The four-membered metallacycle is nearly planar (r.m.s. deviation = 0.008 Å). In the crystal, the mol­ecules are connected into centrosymmetric dimers via pairs of N—H⋯N hydrogen bonds.