Catalytic self-transfer hydrogenolysis of lignin with endogenous hydrogen: road to the carbon-neutral future

Due to the depletion of fossil sources, it is imperative to develop a sustainable and carbon-neutral biorefinery for supporting the fuel and chemical supply in modern society. Lignin, the only renewable aromatic source, is still an underutilized component in lignocellulose. Very recently, it has been found that hydrogenolysis is a promising technology for lignin valorization. However, high-pressure H₂ is necessary during lignin hydrogenolysis, resulting in safety problems. Furthermore, H₂ is mainly produced from steam reforming of fossil sources in industry, which makes the conversion of renewable lignin unsustainable and costly. Plentiful aliphatic hydroxyl and methoxy groups exist in native lignin and offer a renewable alternative to H₂, and can be hydrogen sources for the depolymerization and upgradation of lignin via the intramolecular catalytic transfer hydrogenation. The hydrogen source in situ generated from lignin is a type of green hydrogen, decreasing the carbon footprint. The purpose of this review is to provide a summary and perspective of lignin valorization via self-transfer hydrogenolysis, mainly focusing on a comprehensive understanding of the mechanism of catalytic self-transfer hydrogenolysis at the molecular level and developing highly effective catalytic systems. Moreover, some opportunities and challenges within this attractive field are given to discuss future research directions.

Impact of the Novel Z-Acceptor Ligand Bis{(ortho-diphenylphosphino)phenyl}zinc (ZnPhos) on the Formation and Reactivity of Low-Coordinate Ru(0) Centers

The preparation and reactivity with H₂ of two Ru complexes of the novel ZnPhos ligand (ZnPhos = Zn(o-C₆H₄PPh₂)₂) are described. Ru(ZnPhos)(CO)₃ (2) and Ru(ZnPhos)(IMe₄)₂ (4; IMe₄ = 1,3,4,5-tetramethylimidazol-2-ylidene) are formed directly from the reaction of Ru(PPh₃)(C₆H₄PPh₂)₂(ZnMe)₂ (1) or Ru(PPh₃)₃HCl/LiCH₂TMS/ZnMe₂ with CO and IMe₄, respectively. Structural and electronic structure analyses characterize both 2 and 4 as Ru(0) species in which Ru donates to the Z-type Zn center of the ZnPhos ligand; in 2, Ru adopts an octahedral coordination, while 4 displays square-pyramidal coordination with Zn in the axial position. Under photolytic conditions, 2 loses CO to give Ru(ZnPhos)(CO)₂ that then adds H₂ over the Ru-Zn bond to form Ru(ZnPhos)(CO)₂(μ-H)₂ (3). In contrast, 4 reacts directly with H₂ to set up an equilibrium with Ru(ZnPhos)(IMe₄)₂H₂ (5), the product of oxidative addition at the Ru center. DFT calculations rationalize these different outcomes in terms of the energies of the square-pyramidal Ru(ZnPhos)L₂ intermediates in which Zn sits in a basal site: for L = CO, this is readily accessed and allows H₂ to add across the Ru-Zn bond, but for L = IMe₄, this species is kinetically inaccessible and reaction can only occur at the Ru center. This difference is related to the strong π-acceptor ability of CO compared to IMe₄. Steric effects associated with the larger IMe₄ ligands are not significant. Species 4 can be considered as a Ru(0)L₄ species that is stabilized by the Ru→Zn interaction. As such, it is a rare example of a stable Ru(0)L₄ species devoid of strong π-acceptor ligands.

Exploration of new reaction tools for late-stage functionalization of complex chemicals

Chemistry has always had as a target the conversion of molecules into valuable materials. Nevertheless, the aim of past synthesis has primarily focused on achieving a given transformation, regardless of the environmental impact of the synthetic route. Given the current global situation, the demand for sustainable alternatives has substantially increased. Our group focuses on developing selective chemical transformations that benefit from mild conditions, improved atom economy, and that can make use of renewable feedstocks as starting materials. This account summarizes our work over the past two decades specifically regarding the selective removal, conversion, and addition of functional groups that can, later on, be applied at a late stage for the modification of complex molecules.

Ni-Catalyzed α-Alkylation of Unactivated Amides and Esters with Alcohols by Hydrogen Auto-Transfer Strategy

A transition-metal-catalyzed borrowing hydrogen/hydrogen auto-transfer strategy allows the utilization of feedstock alcohols as an alkylating partner, which avoids the formation of stoichiometric salt waste and enables a direct and benign approach for the construction of C-N and C-C bonds. In this study, a nickel-catalyzed α-alkylation of unactivated amides and ester (tert-butyl acetate) is carried out by using primary alcohols under mild conditions. This C-C bond-forming reaction is catalyzed by a new, molecularly defined nickel(II) NNN-pincer complex (0.1-1 mol %) and proceeds through hydrogen auto-transfer, thereby releasing water as the sole byproduct. In addition, N-alkylation of cyclic amides under Ni-catalytic conditions is demonstrated.

Amide versus amine ligand paradigm in the direct amination of alcohols with Ru-PNP complexes

Ruthenium complexes of PNP-ligands bearing secondary amines were found to be inactive in the alcohol amination with NH₃, while all complexes of homologous ligands bearing tertiary amines gave active catalysts!

General and Mild Cobalt-Catalyzed C-Alkylation of Unactivated Amides and Esters with Alcohols

The borrowing hydrogen or hydrogen autotransfer methodology is an elegant and sustainable or green concept to construct carbon-carbon bonds. In this concept, alcohols, which can be obtained from barely used and indigestible biomass, such as lignocellulose, are employed as alkylating reagents. An especially challenging alkylation is that of unactivated esters and amides. Only noble metal catalysts based on iridium and ruthenium have been used to accomplish these reactions. Herein, we report on the first base metal-catalyzed α-alkylation of unactivated amides and esters by alcohols. Cobalt complexes stabilized with pincer ligands, recently developed in our laboratory, catalyze these reactions very efficiently. The precatalysts can be synthesized easily from commercially available starting materials on a multigram scale and are self-activating under the basic reaction conditions. This Co catalyst class is also able to mediate alkylation reactions of both esters and amides. In addition, we apply the methodology to synthesize ketones and to convert alcohols into aldehydes elongated by two carbon atoms.

En Route to a Practical Primary Alcohol Deoxygenation

A long-standing scientific challenge in the field of alcohol deoxygenation has been direct catalytic sp(3) C-O defunctionalization with high selectivity and efficiency, in the presence of other functionalities, such as free hydroxyl groups and amines widely present in biological molecules. Previously, the selectivity issue had been only addressed by classic multistep deoxygenation strategies with stoichiometric reagents. Herein, we propose a catalytic late-transition-metal-catalyzed redox design, on the basis of dehydrogenation/Wolff-Kishner (WK) reduction, to simultaneously tackle the challenges regarding step economy and selectivity. The early development of our hypothesis focuses on an iridium-catalyzed process efficient mainly with activated alcohols, which dictates harsh reaction conditions and thus limits its synthetic utility. Later, a significant advancement has been made on aliphatic primary alcohol deoxygenation by employing a ruthenium complex, with good functional group tolerance and exclusive selectivity under practical reaction conditions. Its synthetic utility is further illustrated by excellent efficiency as well as complete chemo- and regio-selectivity in both simple and complex molecular settings. Mechanistic discussion is also included with experimental supports. Overall, our current method successfully addresses the aforementioned challenges in the pertinent field, providing a practical redox-based approach to the direct sp(3) C-O defunctionalization of aliphatic primary alcohols.

Benzimidazolin-2-ylidene N-heterocyclic carbene complexes of ruthenium as a simple catalyst for the N-alkylation of amines using alcohols and diols

Simple non-chelating ruthenium benzimidazolin-2-ylidene complexes as efficient N-alkylation catalysts using alcohols and diols following a hydrogen borrowing strategy.

Iridium-catalyzed alpha-alkylation of acetates with primary alcohols and diols

Acetates were successfully alkylated with primary alcohols and alpha,omega-diols in the presence of tert-BuOK under the influence of [IrCl(cod)](2). For instance, the reaction of tert-butyl acetate with n-butanol in the presence of tert-BuOK as a base and [IrCl(cod)](2) as a catalyst in tert-BuOH at 100 degrees C produced tert-butyl hexanoate in good yield. When the alpha,omega-diol 1,9-nonanediol was employed, di-tert-butyl tridecanoate was obtained. These reactions are the first report of the alkylation of acetates using alcohols as alkylating agents. This method provides a very convenient direct route to carboxylates, which are very important raw materials in organic and industrial chemistry.