Aldehyde binding through reversible C-C coupling with the pincer ligand upon alcohol dehydrogenation by a PNP-ruthenium catalyst.
Primary alcohol dehydrogenation by a PNP-Ru(II) catalyst was probed by low-temperature NMR experiments. Facile dehydrogenation occurred at -30 °C, but the resulting aldehydes were not found in solution, as they were trapped by the catalyst through a new mode of metal-ligand cooperation involving Ru-O coordination and an unusual, highly reversible C-C coupling with the PNP pincer ligand.
Department of Organic Chemistry, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76000, Israel.
Michael
M
Montag
Jing
J
Zhang
David
D
Milstein