Alane-centered ring expansion of n-heterocyclic carbenes

Mathew D. Anker, Annie L. Colebatch, Kalon J. Iversen, David J.D. Wilson, Jason L. Dutton, Lucía García, Michael S. Hill*, David J. Liptrot, Mary F. Mahon

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The β-diketiminato aluminum dihydrides, [HC{(Me)-CNAr}2AlH2] [4: Ar = 2,6-di-isopropylphenyl (Dipp), 5:2,4,6-trimethylphenyl (Mes)] react directly with N-aryl-substituted N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) by C-N bond activation to afford aluminum amido-alkyl derivatives of the form [HC{(Me)-CNAr}2AlCH2(N(Ar')CH)2]. The more sterically congested alane (4), bearing N-Dipp substitution, does not react with either 1,3-bis(2,6-di-isopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene (IPr) or 1,3-bis(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene (IMes), even under forcing conditions. In contrast, in situ generation of 1,3-bis(phenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene through deprotonation of the corresponding imidazolium tetrafluoroborate by KN(SiMe3)2 in the presence of compound 4 provides facile ring opening of the NHC at room temperature to yield [HC{(Me)CNDipp}2AlCH2(N(Ph)CH)2]. Although compound 5 also does not react with IPr, relaxation of the steric demands of the supporting β-diketiminate ligand to N-mesityl substitution enables analogous ring opening of IMes, with the formation of [HC{(Me)CNMes}2AlCH2(N(Mes)CH)2] (7), when the reaction is heated to 80 °C. DFT calculations performed on model systems suggest that in comparison to the parent alane (AlH3) the enhanced propensity of these systems to induce NHC ring cleavage is a consequence of the relative stability of the initially formed five- and fourcoordinate adducts as well as the augmented hydridic character of the Al-H bonds within the β-diketiminate-supported molecules.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1173-1178
Number of pages6
JournalOrganometallics
Volume36
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 27 Mar 2017
Externally publishedYes

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Alane-centered ring expansion of n-heterocyclic carbenes'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this