Evaluation of Fe and Ru Pincer-Type Complexes as Catalysts for the Racemization of Secondary Benzylic Alcohols.
Fe and Ru pincer-type catalysts are used for the racemization of benzylic alcohols. Racemization with the Fe catalyst was achieved within 30 minutes under mild reaction conditions, with a catalyst loading as low as 2 mol %. This reaction constitutes the first example of an iron-catalyzed racemization of an alcohol. The efficiency for racemization of the Fe catalyst and its Ru analogue was evaluated for a wide range of sec-benzylic alcohols. The commercially available Ru complex proved to be highly robust and even tolerated the presence of water in the reaction mixture.
Department of Organic Chemistry, Arrhenius Laboratory, Stockholm University, 10691, Stockholm, Sweden.|Leibniz-Institut für Katalyse e.V. an der Universität Rostock (LIKAT Rostock), Albert-Einstein-Strasse 29a, 18059, Rostock, Germany.
Christoph
C
Bornschein
Department of Organic Chemistry, Arrhenius Laboratory, Stockholm University, 10691, Stockholm, Sweden.
Karl P J
KP
Gustafson
Department of Organic Chemistry, Arrhenius Laboratory, Stockholm University, 10691, Stockholm, Sweden.
Oscar
O
Verho
Leibniz-Institut für Katalyse e.V. an der Universität Rostock (LIKAT Rostock), Albert-Einstein-Strasse 29a, 18059, Rostock, Germany.
Matthias
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5709-0965
M
Beller
Department of Organic Chemistry, Arrhenius Laboratory, Stockholm University, 10691, Stockholm, Sweden. jeb@organ.su.se.
Jan-E
JE
Bäckvall
iron; pincer ligands; racemization; ruthenium; secondary alcohols