Reductive Dimerization of Triruthenium Clusters Containing Cationic Aromatic N-Heterocyclic Ligands

Synthetic Strategies, Reactivity and Applications of 1,5-Naphthyridines

This review covers the synthesis and reactivity of 1,5-naphthyridine derivatives published in the last 18 years. These heterocycles present a significant importance in the field of medicinal chemistry because many of them exhibit a great variety of biological activities. First, the published strategies related to the synthesis of 1,5-naphthyridines are presented followed by the reactivity of these compounds with electrophilic or nucleophilic reagents, in oxidations, reductions, cross-coupling reactions, modification of side chains or formation of metal complexes. Finally, some properties and applications of these heterocycles studied during this period are examined.

The coordination chemistry of organo-hydride donors: new prospects for efficient multi-electron reduction

In biological reduction processes the dihydronicotinamides NAD(P)H often transfer hydride to an unsaturated substrate bound within an enzyme active site. In many cases, metal ions in the active site bind, polarize and thereby activate the substrate to direct attack by hydride from NAD(P)H cofactor. This review looks more widely at the metal coordination chemistry of organic donors of hydride ion--organo-hydrides--such as dihydronicotinamides, other dihydropyridines including Hantzsch's ester and dihydroacridine derivatives, those derived from five-membered heterocycles including the benzimidazolines and benzoxazolines, and all-aliphatic hydride donors such as hexadiene and hexadienyl anion derivatives. The hydride donor properties--hydricities--of organo-hydrides and how these are affected by metal ions are discussed. The coordination chemistry of organo-hydrides is critically surveyed and the use of metal-organo-hydride systems in electrochemically-, photochemically- and chemically-driven reductions of unsaturated organic and inorganic (e.g. carbon dioxide) substrates is highlighted. The sustainable electrocatalytic, photochemical or chemical regeneration of organo-hydrides such as NAD(P)H, including for driving enzyme-catalysed reactions, is summarised and opportunities for development are indicated. Finally, new prospects are identified for metal-organo-hydride systems as catalysts for organic transformations involving 'hydride-borrowing' and for sustainable multi-electron reductions of unsaturated organic and inorganic substrates directly driven by electricity or light or by renewable reductants such as formate/formic acid.

Deprotonation of C-alkyl groups of cationic triruthenium clusters containing cyclometalated C-alkylpyrazinium ligands: experimental and computational studies

The C-alkyl groups of cationic triruthenium cluster complexes of the type [Ru3(μ-H)(μ-κ(2)N(1),C(2)-L)(CO)10](+) (HL represents a generic C-alkyl-N-methylpyrazium species) have been deprotonated to give kinetic products that contain unprecedented C-alkylidene derivatives and maintain the original edge-bridged decacarbonyl structure. When the starting complexes contain various C-alkyl groups, the selectivity of these deprotonation reactions is related to the atomic charges of the alkyl H atoms, as suggested by DFT/natural-bond orbital (NBO) calculations. Three additional electronic properties of the C-alkyl C-H bonds have also been found to correlate with the experimental regioselectivity because, in all cases, the deprotonated C-H bond has the smallest electron density at the bond critical point, the greatest Laplacian of the electron density at the bond critical point, and the greatest total energy density ratio at the bond critical point (computed by using the quantum theory of atoms in molecules, QTAIM). The kinetic decacarbonyl products evolve, under appropriate reaction conditions that depend upon the position of the C-alkylidene group in the heterocyclic ring, toward face-capped nonacarbonyl derivatives (thermodynamic products). The position of the C-alkylidene group in the heterocyclic ring determines the distribution of single and double bonds within the ligand ring, which strongly affects the stability of the neutral decacarbonyl complexes and the way these ligands coordinate to the metal atoms in the nonacarbonyl products. The mechanisms of these decacarbonylation processes have been investigated by DFT methods, which have rationalized the structures observed for the final products and have shed light on the different kinetic and thermodynamic stabilities of the reaction intermediates, thus explaining the reaction conditions experimentally required by each transformation.

Comparative study of C^N and N^C type cyclometalated ruthenium complexes with a NAD+/NADH function

Cyclometalated ruthenium complexes having C(^)N and N(^)C type coordinating ligands with NAD(+)/NADH function have been synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic methods. The variation of the coordinating position of σ-donating carbon atom leads to a drastic change in their properties. Both the complex Ru(phbn)(phen)(2)]PF(6) ([1]PF(6)) and [Ru(pad)(phen)(2)]PF(6) ([2]PF(6)) reduced to Ru(phbnHH)(phen)(2)]PF(6) ([1HH]PF(6)) and [Ru(padHH)(phen)(2)]PF(6) ([2HH]PF(6)) by chemical and electrochemical methods. Complex [1]PF(6) photochemically reduced to [1HH]PF(6) in the presence of the sacrificial agent triethylamine (TEA) upon irradiation of visible light (λ ≥ 420 nm), whereas photochemical reduction of [2]PF(6) was not successful. Both experimental results and theoretical calculations reveal that upon protonation the energy level of the π* orbital of either of the ligands phbn or pad is drastically stabilized compared to the nonprotonated forms. In the protonated complex [Ru(padH)(phen)(2)](PF(6))(2) {[2H](PF(6))(2)}, the Ru-C bond exists in a tautomeric equilibrium with Ru═C coordination and behaves as a remote N-heterocyclic carbene (rNHC) compex; on the contrary, this behavior could not be observed in protonated complex [Ru(phbnH)(phen)(2)](PF(6))(2) {[1H](PF(6))(2)}.

Reactions of phthalazine, quinazoline, 4,7-phenanthroline and 2,3'-bipyridine with ruthenium carbonyl

The reactions of [Ru(3)(CO)(12)] with four aromatic diazines have been studied in THF at reflux temperature. With phthalazine (L(1)), the compound [Ru(3)(μ-κ(2)N(2)N(3)-L(1))(μ-CO)(3)(CO)(7)] (1), which contains an intact phthalazine ligand in an axial position bridging an Ru-Ru edge through both N atoms, is initially formed but it reacts with more phthalazine to give [Ru(3)(κN(2)-L(1))(μ-κ(2)N(2)N(3)-L(1))(μ-CO)(3)(CO)(6)] (2), in which a π-π stacking interaction between the aromatic rings of both ligands determines their position in cluster axial sites on the same face of the Ru(3) triangle. With quinazoline (HL(2)), the cyclometalated hydrido decacarbonyl derivative [Ru(3)(μ-H)(μ-κ(2)N(3)C(4)-L(2))(CO)(10)] (3) is initially produced but it partially decarbonylates under the reaction conditions to give [Ru(6)(μ-H)(2)(μ-κ(2)N(3)C(4)-L(2))(μ(3)-κ(3)-N(1)N(3)C(4)-L(2))(CO)(19)] (4), which results from the displacement of a CO ligand of 3 by the uncoordinated N(1) atom of another molecule of 3. With 4,7-phenanthroline (H(2)L(3)), the stepwise formation of the cyclometalated derivatives [Ru(3)(μ-H)(μ-κ(2)N(4)C(3)-HL(3))(CO)(10)] (5) and two isomers of [Ru(6)(μ-H)(2)(μ(4)-κ(4)N(4)C(3)N(7)C(8)-L(3))(CO)(20)] (6a, 6b) takes place. In compounds 6a and 6b, two Ru(3)(μ-H)(CO)(10) trinuclear units are symmetrically (C(2) in 6a or C(S) in 6b) bridged by a doubly-cyclometalated 4,7-phenanthroline ligand. With 2,3'-bipyridine (HL(4)), two products have been isolated, [Ru(3)(μ-H)(μ-κ(2)N(3')C(4')-L(4))(CO)(10)] (7) and [Ru(3)(μ-H)(μ-κ(3)N(2)N(3')C(2')-L(4))(CO)(9)] (8). While compound 7 contains an N(3')C(4')-cyclometalated 2,3'-bipyridine, in compound 8 an N(3')C(2')-cyclometalation is accompanied by the coordination of the N(2) atom of the remaining pyridine fragment. The structures of compounds 2, 3, 4, 6a and 8 have been determined by X-ray diffraction crystallography.

Deprotonation of C-alkyl groups of cationic N-heterocyclic ligands

The C-alkyl groups of C-alkylpyrazinium-derived ligands have been selectively deprotonated by K[N(SiMe(3))(2)], through charge-controlled processes, to give neutral products that contain C-alkylidenepyrazine-derived ligands.

Proton-induced dynamic equilibrium between cyclometalated ruthenium rNHC (remote N-heterocyclic carbene) tautomers with an NAD+/NADH function

Cyclometalated ruthenium(II) complexes having acridine moieties have been synthesized and characterized by spectroscopic methods. Protonation of the acridine nitrogen of the ruthenium(II) complexes not only causes dynamic equilibrium with remote N-heterocyclic carbene Ru═C complexes but also generates the NAD(+)/NADH redox function driven by a proton-coupled two-electron transfer accompanying a reversible C-H bond formation in the pyridinium ring.