Multinuclear Zn(II)-arylhydrazone complexes as catalysts for cyanosilylation of aldehydes

Synthesis, Crystal Structure, Hirschfeld Surface Analysis and Catalytic Activity of a New Binuclear Zn(II) Complex Based on Homophthalic Acid and 2,2'-Bipyridine Ligands

A new binuclear Zn(II) complex, [Zn2L2(BIPY)2(H2O)2](1) (H2L = homophthalic acid, BIPY = 2,2'-bipyridine) has been synthesized by one-pot method of homophthalic acid, 2,2'-bipyridine, zinc acetate dihydrate, and NaOH in water/ethanol (v:v = 1:1) solution. The structure of complex (1) was characterized by IR and X-ray single-crystal diffraction analysis. The results show that each Zn(II) ion is five-coordinated with two carboxylic O atoms from two homophthalate ligands (O2, O3 or O2a, O3a), two N atoms from two 2,2'-bipyridine ligands (N1, N2 or N1a, N2a) and one O atom from coordinated water molecule (O5 or O5a), and forms a distorted trigonal bipyramid coordination geometry. Complex (1) forms 1D chained structure and 3D network structure by the p-p interaction of 2,2'-bipyridine ligands. The Hirschfeld surface analysis of complex (1) was calculated. The catalytic performance of complex (1) has also been investigated for the oxidation of benzyl alcohol under O2 atmosphere. The optimal reaction temperature and pressure were 100 °C and 0.3 MPa for complex (1). Copyright © 2022 by Authors, Published by BCREC Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). 

Incorporating heterogeneous lacunary Keggin anions as efficient catalysts for solvent-free cyanosilylation of aldehydes and ketones

Polyoxometalates (POMs) as efficient catalysts can be used a wide range of chemical transformations due to their tunable Brønsted/Lewis-acidity and redox properties. Herein, we reported two hybrid and heterogeneous lacunary Keggin catalysts: (TBA)₇[PW₁₁O₃₉] (TBA-PW₁₁) and (TBA)₈[SiW₁₁O₃₉]·4H₂O (TBA-SiW₁₁) (TBA⁺: tetrabutylammonium) in which [XW₁₁O₃₉]ⁿ⁻ anions were coated by TBA⁺ cations. In this form, TBA⁺ can easily trap reactants on the surface of the catalysts and increase the catalytic reaction. Therefore, the catalytic performance of both POMs was tested in cyanosilylation of numerous compounds bearing-carbonyl group and trimethylsilyl cyanide under solvent-free conditions. TBA-PW₁₁ is more effective than TBA-SiW₁₁, conceivably due to the higher Lewis acidity of the P than the Si center and to the higher accessibility of the metal centers in the framework structure. Noteworthy, the recyclability and heterogeneity of both POMs catalysts were also examined, and the results confirmed that they remain active at least after three recycling procedures.

Synthesis, Crystal Structure and Catalytic Activity of Tri-Nuclear Zn(II) Complex Based on 6-Phenylpyridine-2-carboxylic Acid and Bis(4-pyridyl)amine Ligands

A new trinuclear Zn (II) complex, [Zn3(L1)4(L2)2(CH3COO)2] (1) (HL1 = 6-phenylpyridine-2-carboxylic acid, L2 = bis(4-pyridyl)amine) has been synthesized by 6-phenylpyridine-2-carboxylic acid, NaOH, bis(4-pyridyl)amine and Zn(CH3COO)2•2H2O. The complex 1 has also been structural characterized by elemental analysis and single crystal X-ray diffraction. The results reveals that complex 1 is made up of three Zn(II) ions, four L1 ligands, two L2 ligands and two CH3COO- anions. In 1, both Zn1 ion and Zn1a ion are five-coordinated with two O atoms from two different L1 ligands, two N atoms from two different L1 ligands, and one N atoms from bis(4-pyridyl)amine ligand, respectively, and forms a distorted trigonal biyramid geometry. And Zn2 ion is four-coordinated with two O atoms from two different CH3COO− anions and two N atoms from two different L2 ligands, forming a distorted tetrahedral geometry. Complex 1 displays a 3D network structure by the intermolecular N−H···O hydrogen bonds. The catalytic performance for oxidation of benzyl alcohol with O2 was studied under mild reaction conditions using complex 1 as catalyst. The results demonstrated that the catalysts were very active, and the yield of benzaldehyde was 50.8% at 90 °C with THF as solvent under 0.5 MPa O2 within 3 h. Copyright © 2022 by Authors, Published by BCREC Group. This is an open access article under the CC BY-SA License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). 

Germyliumylidene: A Versatile Low Valent Group 14 Catalyst

Bis‐NHC stabilized germyliumylidenes [RGe(NHC)₂]⁺ are typically Lewis basic (LB) in nature, owing to their lone pair and coordination of two NHCs to the vacant p‐orbitals of the germanium center. However, they can also show Lewis acidity (LA) via Ge−C^NHC σ* orbital. Utilizing this unique electronic feature, we report the first example of bis‐NHC‐stabilized germyliumylidene [^MesTerGe(NHC)₂]Cl (1), (^MesTer=2,6‐(2,4,6‐Me₃C₆H₂)₂C₆H₃; NHC= IMe₄=1,3,4,5‐tetramethylimidazol‐2‐ylidene) catalyzed reduction of CO₂ with amines and arylsilane, which proceeds via its Lewis basic nature. In contrast, the Lewis acid nature of 1 is utilized in the catalyzed hydroboration and cyanosilylation of carbonyls, thus highlighting the versatile ambiphilic nature of bis‐NHC stabilized germyliumylidenes.