Jin Y, Ramadoss B, Asako S, Ilies L. Noncovalent interaction with a spirobipyridine ligand enables efficient iridium-catalyzed C-H activation.
Nat Commun 2024;
15:2886. [PMID:
38632241 PMCID:
PMC11024094 DOI:
10.1038/s41467-024-46893-6]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Exploitation of noncovalent interactions for recognition of an organic substrate has received much attention for the design of metal catalysts in organic synthesis. The CH-π interaction is especially of interest for molecular recognition because both the C-H bonds and the π electrons are fundamental properties of organic molecules. However, because of their weak nature, these interactions have been less utilized for the control of organic reactions. We show here that the CH-π interaction can be used to kinetically accelerate catalytic C-H activation of arenes by directly recognizing the π-electrons of the arene substrates with a spirobipyridine ligand. Computation and a ligand kinetic isotope effect study provide evidence for the CH-π interaction between the ligand backbone and the arene substrate. The rational exploitation of weak noncovalent interactions between the ligand and the substrate will open new avenues for ligand design in catalysis.
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