Transition metals in organic synthesis: Highlights for the year 2004

Assignment and conformational investigation of asymmetric phenylindenylidene ruthenium complexes bearing N,O-bidentate ligands

The NMR conformational study of three asymmetric phenylindenylidene ruthenium complexes 4.1-4.3, is presented. Complete (1)H and (13)C assignments could be obtained for 4.1-4.3 in benzene solution from multiple 2D homonuclear and heteronuclear NMR techniques. Our NMR analysis shows that each complex exists as a 55:45 mixture of two rotational isomers in slow exchange on the NMR chemical shift timescale. They are shown to be related by a 180 degrees flip of the indenylidene ligand along the Ru=CR bond. Both rotational isomers can be discriminated by means of NOEs contacts between the various ligands coordinating to the Ru. By matching these stereospecific assignments to the chemical shift, a chemical shift based fingerprint of the isomers that may allow straightforward assignment of future asymmetric phenylindenylidene ruthenium complexes is proposed.

Synthetic and structural studies on amine coordination to Pd-N-heterocyclic carbene complexes

The reaction between 2-chlorobenzylamine or 2-chlorobenzylalcohol and Pd(I(t)Bu)(2) (I(t)Bu = 1,3-di-tert-butylimidazol-2-ylidene) in benzene affords the dimeric complexes [Pd(I(t)Bu)(mu-NH{2-CH(2)C(6)H(4)})](2) and [Pd(I(t)Bu)(mu-O{2-CH(2)C(6)H(4)})](2); the latter has been structurally characterised. The syntheses, structural characterisation and reactivity of the Pd-NHC amine complexes [(I(t)Bu)Pd(R-4-C(6)H(4))(morpholine)Cl] (R = Me, OMe, CO(2)Me), intermediates in the Buchwald-Hartwig aryl amination reaction, are also reported.