2-Aminopyridinate Titanium Complexes for the Catalytic Hydroamination of Primary Aminoalkenes

Coordination Chemistry of Bulky Aminopryridinates with Main Group and Transition Metals

The coordination chemistry of bidentate aminopyridinato ligands (ApH), in particular 2-aminopyridines, is a highly popular area of research. Due to easy accessibility and versatility, 2-aminopyridines have played a prominent role as alternatives to cyclopentadienyl ligands in coordination chemistry. Easily modifiable steric bulks and the ability for fine-tuning of electronic effects have allowed researchers to control not only the metal-to-ligand stoichiometry but also the properties of their metal complexes. Previously, ligand redistribution was frequently observed for ligands of small steric demands. Bulky aminopyridinato ligands refer to ligands that incorporate alkyl-substituted phenyl groups at the amine/amido nitrogen and at the sixth position of the pyridine ring. The steric crowding allowed the stabilization of transition metals in unusually low oxidation conditions. One of the remarkable developments, for example, is the stabilization of metal-metal quintuple bonds by these ligands, thus providing a diamagnetic platform to study such systems chemically. Application of metal aminopyridinates in homogeneous catalysis has also broadened considerably in recent years. This review provides a comprehensive account of advances made with such ligands since their development for main group and transition elements.

Enhancing the catalytic properties of well-defined electrophilic platinum complexes

Platinum complexes have been often considered as the least reactive of the group 10 triad metals. Slow kinetics are behind this lack of reactivity but, still, some industrially relevant catalytic process are dominated by platinum compounds and sometimes different selectivities can be found in comparison to Ni or Pd. Nevertheless, during the last years, it has been reported that the catalytic behaviour of well-defined platinum derivatives can be improved through a judicious choice of their electronic and steric properties, leading to highly electrophilic or low-electron count platinum systems. In this feature article, we highlight some catalytic processes in which well-defined electrophilic platinum complexes or coordinatively unsaturated systems play an important role in their catalytic activity.

Formation of a dimeric tungsten(i) complex via C-H activation

An aminopyridinato ligand stabilized and coordinatively unsaturated dimeric tungsten(0) complex having an electronic structure with six metal centred HOMOs (σ²,π²,π²,δ²,δ², and δ*²) has been isolated and structurally characterized. Its reaction with a cryptand leads to a C-H bond activation of one of the isopropyl groups of the N-ligand to form a dimeric tungsten(i) complex.

Titanium catalysis for the synthesis of fine chemicals – development and trends

Atlas as a Titan(ium) is holding the earth-abundant chemistry world. Titanium is the second most abundant transition metal, is a key player in important industrial processes (e.g. polyethylene) and shows much promise for diverse applications in the future.

Mono, bis, and tris(phosphoramidate) titanium complexes: synthesis, structure, and reactivity investigations

A series of variously substituted phosphoramidate titanium complexes bearing dimethylamido ligands are reported.

3d Transition Metals for C-H Activation

C-H activation has surfaced as an increasingly powerful tool for molecular sciences, with notable applications to material sciences, crop protection, drug discovery, and pharmaceutical industries, among others. Despite major advances, the vast majority of these C-H functionalizations required precious 4d or 5d transition metal catalysts. Given the cost-effective and sustainable nature of earth-abundant first row transition metals, the development of less toxic, inexpensive 3d metal catalysts for C-H activation has gained considerable recent momentum as a significantly more environmentally-benign and economically-attractive alternative. Herein, we provide a comprehensive overview on first row transition metal catalysts for C-H activation until summer 2018.

Strong Preference of the Redox-Neutral Mechanism over the Redox Mechanism for the TiIV Catalysis Involved in the Carboamination of Alkyne with Alkene and Diazene

Titanium catalysis generally prefers redox-neutral mechanisms. Yet it has been reported that titanium could promote bond formations in a way similar to reductive elimination. Accordingly, redox catalytic cycles involving Ti^IV /Ti^II cycling have been considered. By studying, as an example, the carboamination of alkynes with alkenes and azobenzene catalyzed by the [Ti^IV ]=NPh imido complex, we performed DFT computations to gain an understanding of how the "abnormal" catalysis takes place, thereby allowing us to clarify whether the catalysis really follows Ti^IV /Ti^II redox mechanisms. The reaction first forms an azatitanacyclohexene by alkyne addition to the [Ti^IV ]=NPh bond, followed by alkene insertion. The azatitanacyclohexene can either undergo C^α -C^γ coupling, to afford bicyclo[3.1.0]imine, or β-H elimination, to yield a [Ti^IV ]-H hydride, which then undergoes C^α =C^β or C^γ =C^δ insertion to give an α,β- or β,γ-unsaturated imine, respectively. Both the geometric and electronic structures indicate that the catalytic cycles proceed through redox-neutral mechanisms. The alternative redox mechanisms (e.g., by N-H or C-H reductive elimination) are substantially less favorable. We concluded that electronically, the Ti^IV catalysis intrinsically favors the redox-neutral mechanism, because a redox pathway would involve Ti^II structures either in the triplet ground state or in the high-lying open-shell singlet state, but the involvement of triplet Ti^II structures is spin-forbidden and that of singlet Ti^II structures is energetically disadvantageous.

Brønsted acid-catalysed intramolecular hydroamination of unactivated alkenes: metal triflates as an in situ source of triflic acid

Hydroamination of alkenes or alkynes is one of the most straightforward methods to form C-N bonds and nitrogen-containing heterocycles. A simple Lewis acid Al(OTf)₃ was found to be an effective precatalyst for the hydroamination of unactivated primary and secondary alkenylamines between 110 and 150 °C. Subsequent studies show that other metal triflates are also effective precatalysts for the hydroamination reactions. For metal triflate salts, mechanistic studies, including kinetics, are consistent with the in situ generation of triflic acid, which likely serves as the active catalyst.

Differences between the elimination of early and late transition metals: DFT mechanistic insights into the titanium-catalyzed synthesis of pyrroles from alkynes and diazenes

Early transition metals (TMs), such as titanium, generally resist undergoing reductive elimination to form C-X bonds due to their weak electronegativity. By analyzing the mechanism of the titanium-catalyzed synthesis of pyrroles from alkynes and diazenes, the present study revealed that titanium is able to promote C-N bond formation via an unconventional elimination pathway, passing through a comparatively stable masked Ti^II complex (i.e., IM4) rather than pyrrole directly. The formation of IM4 originates from the bilateral donation and back-donation between Ti and the pyrrole ligand. Formally, it could be considered that the two electrons resulting from the unconventional reductive elimination are temporarily buffered by back-donation to a symmetry-allowed unoccupied π-orbital of the pyrrole ring in IM4 rather than becoming a lone pair on a Ti center as adopted in the catalysis of late TMs. Because of its stability, IM4 requires additional oxidation by diazene to liberate pyrrole. The triplet counterpart (IM4^T ) of IM4 is more stable than IM4, but the elimination is unlikely to reach IM4^T , because the process is spin-forbidden and the spin-orbit coupling is weak. Alternatively, one may consider the forming pyrrole in IM4 as a redox-active ligand, reserving the two electrons resulting from the formal reductive elimination and then releasing the electrons when IM4 is oxidized by diazene. These insights allow us to propose the conditions for early TMs to undergo a similar elimination, whereby the forming product will have symmetry-allowed frontier molecular orbitals to form donation and back-donation bonding with a TM center and a substrate possessing a comparatively strong oxidizing ability to oxidize an IM4-like intermediate for product release. These insights may provide another way of constructing C-X bonds through a similar reductive elimination pathway, using early TM catalysts.

Recent developments in alkene hydro-functionalisation promoted by homogeneous catalysts based on earth abundant elements: formation of C-N, C-O and C-P bond

This Perspective article provides an overview of the recent advancements in the field of intra- and inter-molecular C-N, C-O and C-P bond formation by hydroamination, hydroalkoxylation, hydrophosphination, hydrophosphonylation or hydrophosphinylation of unactivated alkenes, including allenes, 1,3-dienes and strained alkenes, promoted by (chiral) homogeneous catalysts based on earth abundant elements of the s and p blocks, the first row transition metals and the rare-earth metals. The relevant literature from 2009 until late 2014 has been covered.

Novel yttrium and zirconium catalysts featuring reduced Ar-BIANH2 ligands for olefin hydroamination (Ar-BIANH2 = bis-arylaminoacenaphthylene)

Even demanding aminoalkenes can be cyclized by Ar-BIANH₂ yttrium complexes; a related zirconium complex has been crystallographically characterized.

Intramolecular hydroamination reactions catalyzed by zirconium complexes bearing bridged bis(phenolato) ligands

Cationic species derived from zirconium complexes stabilized by bridged bis(phenolato) ligands showed good activities in catalyzing intramolecular hydroamination/cyclization of primary and secondary amines.

Robustly supported rhodium nanoclusters: synthesis and application in selective hydrogenation of lignin derived phenolic compounds

Rh@SiCN catalysts synthesized using a one-pot process afford selective hydrogenation of phenolic compounds.

N,O-Chelating Four-Membered Metallacyclic Titanium(IV) Complexes for Atom-Economic Catalytic Reactions

Titanium, as the second most abundant transition metal in the earth's crust, lends itself as a sustainable and inexpensive resource in catalysis. Its nontoxicity and biocompatibility are also attractive features for handling and disposal. Titanium has excelled as a catalyst for a broad range of transformations, including ethylene and α-olefin polymerizations. However, many reactions relevant to fine chemical synthesis have preferrentially employed late transition metals, and reactive, inexpensive early transition metals have been largely overlooked. In addition to promising reactivity, titanium complexes feature more robust character compared with some other highly Lewis-acidic metals such as those found in the lanthanide series. Since the advent of modulating ligand scaffolds, titanium has found use in a growing variety of reactions as a versatile homogeneous catalyst. These catalytic transformations include hydrofunctionalization reactions (adding an element-hydrogen (E-H) bond across a C-C multiple bond), as well as the ring-opening polymerization of cyclic esters, all of which are atom-economic transformations. Our investigations have focused on tight bite angle monoanionic N,O-chelating ligands, forming four-membered metallacycles. These ligand sets, including amidates, ureates, pyridonates, and sulfonamidates, have flexible binding modes offering a range of stable and reactive intermediates necessary for catalytic activity. Additionally, the simple form of these ligands leads to easily prepared proligands, along with facile tuning of steric and electronic factors. A sterically bulky titanium amidate complex has proven to be a leading catalyst for the selective formation of anti-Markovnikov addition products via intermolecular hydroamination of terminal alkynes, while sterically less demanding titanium pyridonates have opened the path to the selective formation of amine substituted cycloalkanes via the intramolecular hydroaminoalkylation of aminoalkenes over the competing hydroamination pathway. Sulfonamidates have boosted reactivity for hydrofunctionalization and polymerization reactions compared with amide ligands not bearing a sulfonyl group. N,O-Chelated titanium complexes have been used to synthesize ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene and have been utilized in the challenging task of realizing equal incorporation of two different cyclic esters in a random ring-opening copolymerization. These discrete complexes have allowed for careful study of fundamental coordination chemistry and stoichiometric organometallic investigations. With inexpensive starting materials and modular ligands, titanium N,O-chelated complexes are well-suited to address the challenges of achieving greener chemical processes while accessing useful reaction manifolds for sustainable synthesis.

Aluminium-catalysed intramolecular hydroamination of aminoalkenes: computational perusal of alternative pathways for aminoalkene activation

A comprehensive computational examination of alternatively plausible mechanistic pathways for the intramolecular hydroamination (HA) of aminoalkenes utilising a recently reported novel phenylene-diamine aluminium amido compound is presented. On the one hand, a proton-assisted concerted N-C/C-H bond-forming pathway to afford the cycloamine in a single step can be invoked, and, on the other, a stepwise σ-insertive pathway that involves a relatively fast, reversible migratory olefin 1,2-insertion step linked to a less rapid, irreversible Al-C alkyl bond protonolysis. The present study, which employs a sophisticated and reliable computational methodology, supports the prevailing mechanism to be a stepwise σ-insertive pathway. The predicted effective barrier for turnover-limiting aminolysis compares favourably with reported catalytic performance data. Non-competitive kinetic demands militates against the operation of the concerted proton-assisted pathway, which describes N-C bond-forming ring closure triggered by concomitant amino proton delivery at the C[double bond, length as m-dash]C linkage evolving through a six-centre transition state structure. The valuable insights into mechanistic intricacies of aluminium-mediated intramolecular HA reported herein will help guide the rational design of group 13 metal-based HA catalysts.

Imido-pyridine Ti(IV) compounds: synthesis of unusual imido-amido heterobimetallic derivatives

The reaction of lithiated picolines and [TiCl3(η(5)-C5Me5)] leads to several bridging or terminal imido compounds, each of which can be selectively formed by controlling the stoichiometry and temperature. Specifically, the dinuclear imido-bridged [TiCl(η(5)-C5Me5)(μ-NR)]2 (1a, NR = 2-imido-3-picoline; 1b, NR = 2-imido-5-picoline) species and the unusual Ti-Li imido-amido heterobimetallic complex [{Li(THF)}{Ti(η(5)-C5Me5)(NR)(NHR)2}] (2a, NR = 2-imido-3-picoline; 2b, NR = 2-imido-5-picoline) were isolated. Compounds 2 are in effect the first structurally characterized examples of titanium(IV) coordinated to terminal imido-pyridines. DFT-D calculations for 2a denote a multiple bond character between titanium and the imido ligand and a strong polarization of the electron density by the alkali cation in spite of the lack of intermetallic bonding.

Zirconium catalysed intermolecular hydroamination reactions of secondary amines with alkynes

The first example of group 4 metal catalysts capable of mediating intermolecular hydroamination reactions of secondary aromatic amines is reported.

Zirconium complexes stabilized by amine-bridged bis(phenolato) ligands as precatalysts for intermolecular hydroamination reactions

Pentacoordinate zirconium complexes 5 and 7 stabilized by amine-bridged bis(phenolato) ligands are more active than hexacoordinate complexes 1–4 in catalyzing intermolecular hydroamination reactions.

2-Pyridonate titanium complexes for chemoselectivity. Accessing intramolecular hydroaminoalkylation over hydroamination

Chemoselectivity of intramolecular hydroaminoalkylation over hydroamination has been achieved with a bis(3-phenyl-2-pyridonate) titanium complex. Primary aminoalkenes are selectively α-alkylated by C-H functionalization adjacent to nitrogen to access five- and six-membered cycloalkylamines with a good substrate-dependent diastereoselectivity of up to 19:1.