title: Mechanistic investigations of the catalytic formation of lactams from amines and water with liberation of H2.
abstract: The mechanism of the unique lactam formation from amines and water with concomitant H2 liberation with no added oxidant, catalyzed by a well-defined acridine-based ruthenium pincer complex was investigated in detail by both experiment and DFT calculations. The results show that a dearomatized form of the initial complex is the active catalyst. Furthermore, reversible imine formation was shown to be part of the catalytic cycle. Water is not only the oxygen atom source but also acts as a cocatalyst for the H2 liberation, enabled by conformational flexibility of the acridine-based pincer ligand.
authors: †Department of Organic Chemistry and ∥Department of Chemical Research Support, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100, Israel.
authors: Urs
authors: U
authors: Gellrich
authors: †Department of Organic Chemistry and ∥Department of Chemical Research Support, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100, Israel.
authors: Julia R
authors: JR
authors: Khusnutdinova
authors: †Department of Organic Chemistry and ∥Department of Chemical Research Support, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100, Israel.
authors: Gregory M
authors: GM
authors: Leitus
authors: †Department of Organic Chemistry and ∥Department of Chemical Research Support, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100, Israel.
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Milstein
mesh_terms: D000166:Acridines / Q000737:chemistry; D000588:Amines / Q000737:chemistry*; D002384:Catalysis; D006859:Hydrogen / Q000737:chemistry*; D007536:Isomerism; D007769:Lactams / Q000737:chemistry*; D008024:Ligands; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D012428:Ruthenium / Q000737:chemistry; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000166:Acridines; D000588:Amines; D007769:Lactams; D008024:Ligands; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D014867:Water; D012428:Ruthenium; D006859:Hydrogen