Room-temperature catalytic hydrodefluorination of pentafluoro-pyridine by zirconocene fluoro complexes and diisobutylaluminumhydride

Expanding Zirconocene Hydride Catalysis: In Situ Generation and Turnover of ZrH Catalysts Enabling Catalytic Carbonyl Reductions

Despite the wide use and popularity of metal hydride catalysis, methods utilizing zirconium hydride catalysts remain underexplored. Here, we report the development of a mild method for the in situ preparation and use of zirconium hydride catalysts. This robust method requires only 2.5-5 mol % of zirconocene dichloride in combination with a hydrosilane as the stoichiometric reductant and does not require careful air- or moisture-free techniques. A key finding of this study concerns an amine-mediated ligand exchange en route to the active zirconocene hydride catalyst. A mechanistic investigation supports the intermediacy of an oxo-bridged dimer precatalyst. The application of this method to the reduction of a wide variety of carbonyl-containing substrates, including ketones, aldehydes, enones, ynones, and lactones, is demonstrated with up to 92% yield and exhibits broad functional group tolerability. These findings open up alternative avenues for the catalytic application of chlorozirconocenes, potentially serving as the foundation for broader applications of zirconium hydride catalysis.

Hydrodehalogenation of organohalides by Et3SiH catalysed by group 4 metal complexes and B(C6F5)3

The use of the Et₃SiH/B(C₆F₅)₃ system for the activation of group 4 metal catalysts allows the efficient and selective catalytic hydrodefluorination of trifluorotoluenes.

Advantages of Group 4 Metallocene Bis(trimethylsilyl)acetylene Complexes as Metallocene Sources Towards Other Synthetically used Systems

Active species for synthetic and catalytic applications are formed from well defined complexes or mixtures of compounds. For group 4 metallocenes, three pathways for the formation of the reactive complex fragment [Cp'2M] are known: (i) reductive mixtures and well defined complexes which are able to form the metallocene fragments either by (ii) addition or (iii) substitution reactions. In this account for each of theses systems (i)-(iii) a prominent example will be discussed in detail, (i) the Negishi reagent Cp2ZrCl2/n-BuLi, (ii) bis(η5 : η1-pentafulvene) complexes and (iii) metallocene bis(trimethylsilyl)acetylene complexes, to show the advantages and the disadvantages for each of these methods for synthetic applications. This account summarizes some main advantages of group 4 metallocene bis(trimethylsilyl)acetylene complexes as metallocene generating agents over other synthetically used systems. For each of the special purposes, all described systems have advantages as well as disadvantages. The aim of this overview is to help synthetic chemists in selecting the most effective system on the basis of [Cp'2M] (M=Ti, Zr) for synthetic or catalytic puposes.

Gallium Hydrides and O/N-Donors as Tunable Systems in C-F Bond Activation

The gallium hydrides (iBu)₂ GaH (1 a), LiGaH₄ (1 b) and Me₃ N⋅GaH₃ (1 c) hydrodefluorinate vinylic and aromatic C-F bonds when O and N donor molecules are present. 1 b exhibits the highest reactivity. Quantitative conversion to the hydrodefluorination (HDF) products could be observed for hexafluoropropene and 1,1,3,3,3-pentafluoropropene, 94 % conversion of pentafluoropyridine and 49 % of octafluorotoluene. Whereas for the HDF with 1 b high conversions are observed when catalytic amounts of O donor molecules are added, for 1 a, the addition of N donor molecules lead to higher conversions. The E/Z selectivity of the HDF of 1,1,3,3,3-pentafluoropropene is donor-dependent. DFT studies show that HDF proceeds in this case via the gallium hydride dimer-donor species and a hydrometallation/elimination sequence. Selectivities are sensitive to the choice of donor, as the right donor can lead to an on/off switching during catalysis, that is, the hydrometallation step is accelerated by the presence of a donor, but the donor dissociates prior to elimination, allowing the inherently more selective donorless gallium systems to determine the selectivity.

Palladium-Catalyzed Reductive Coupling Reaction of Terminal Alkynes with Aryl Iodides Utilizing Hafnocene Difluoride as a Hafnium Hydride Precursor Leading to trans-Alkenes

Herein, we describe a reductive cross-coupling of alkynes and aryl iodides by using a novel catalytic system composed of a catalytic amount of palladium dichloride and a promoter precursor, hafnocene difluoride (Cp₂ HfF₂ , Cp=cyclopentadienyl anion), in the presence of a mild reducing reagent, a hydrosilane, leading to a one-pot preparation of trans-alkenes. In this process, a series of coupling reactions efficiently proceeds through the following three steps: (i) an initial formation of hafnocene hydride from hafnocene difluoride and the hydrosilane, (ii) a subsequent hydrohafnation toward alkynes, and (iii) a final transmetalation of the alkenyl hafnium species to a palladium complex. This reductive coupling could be chemoselectively applied to the preparation of trans-alkenes with various functional groups, such as an alkyl group, a halogen, an ester, a nitro group, a heterocycle, a boronic ester, and an internal alkyne.

Constructing a Catalytic Cycle for C-F to C-X (X = O, S, N) Bond Transformation Based on Gold-Mediated Ligand Nucleophilic Attack

A tricoordinated gold(I) chloride complex, tBuXantphosAuCl, supported by a sterically bulky 9,9-dimethyl-4,5-bis(di-tert-butylphosphino)xanthene ligand (tBuXantphos) was synthesized. This complex features a remarkably longer Au-Cl bond length [2.632(1) Å] than bicoordinated linear gold complexes (2.27-2.30 Å) and tricoordinated XantphosAuCl [2.462(1) Å]. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis of a cocrystal of tBuXantphosAuCl and pentafluoronitrobenzene (PFNB) and UV-vis spectroscopic titration experiments revealed the existence of an anion-π interaction between the Cl anion ligand and PFNB. Stoichiometric reaction between PFNB and tBuXantphosAuOtBu, after replacement of Cl by a more nucleophilic tBuO anion ligand, showed higher reactivity and para selectivity in the transformation of C-F to C-OtBu bond, distinctively different from that when only KOtBu was used (ortho selectivity) under the identical condition. Mechanistic studies including density functional theory calculations suggested a gold-mediated nucleophilic ligand attack of the C-F bond pathway via an SNAr process. On the basis of these results, using trimethylsilyl derivatives TMS-X (X = OMe, SEt, NEt2) as the nucleophilic ligand source and the fluorine acceptor, catalytic transformation of the C-F bond of aromatic substrates to the C-X (X = O, S, N) bond was achieved with tBuXantphosAuCl as the catalyst (up to 20 turnover numbers).

Synthesis of a rhodium(i) germyl complex: a useful tool for C–H and C–F bond activation reactions

The rhodium(i) germyl complex [Rh(GePh₃)(PEt₃)₃] is a useful tool for C–F and C–H bond activation reactions. For instance, treatment with hexafluoropropene results in the formation of two isomeric C–F activation products [Rh{(E)-CFCF(CF₃)}(PEt₃)₃] and [Rh{(Z)-CFCF(CF₃)}(PEt₃)₃] in a 3 : 1 ratio.

Improving selectivity in catalytic hydrodefluorination by limiting SNV reactivity

Competition of HM, SBM and S_NV in hydrodefluorination can lead to low selectivity which can be improved via solvent change.

Light induced catalytic hydrodefluorination of perfluoroarenes by porphyrin rhodium

Photocatalytic hydrodefluorination of a series of perfluoroarenes by rhodium porphyrin complexes was described. The key intermediate (por)Rh-C₆F₄R underwent fast photo-cleavage of Rh–C bonds to produce hydrodefluorination products.

Bond and small-molecule activation with low-valent nickel complexes

The use of nickel compounds in low oxidation states allowed a variety of useful transformations of interest for academia, industry and in the solution of environmental issues.

Photocatalytic hydrodefluorination: facile access to partially fluorinated aromatics

Polyfluorinated aromatics are essential to materials science as well as the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries and yet are often difficult to access. This Communication describes a photocatalytic hydrodefluorination approach which begins with easily accessible perfluoroarenes and selectively reduces the C-F bonds. The method allows facile access to a number of partially fluorinated arenes and takes place with unprecedented catalytic activity using a safe and inexpensive amine as the reductant.