N-Heterocyclic Carbene-Carbodiimide ("NHC-CDI") Adduct or Zwitterionic-Type Neutral Amidinate-Supported Magnesium(II) and Zinc(II) Complexes.

A series of structurally characterized magnesium and zinc complexes of the form L4-tBuPh-M{N(SiMe3)2}2 [M = Mg (1) and Zn (2); L4-tBuPh = 1,3-diethyl-4,5-dimethylimidazolium-2-{N,N'-bis(4-tert-butylphenyl)amidinate}], L4-iPrPh-M{N(SiMe3)2}2 [M = Mg (3) and Zn (4); L4-iPrPh = 1,3-diethyl-4,5-dimethylimidazolium-2-{N,N'-bis(4-isopropylphenyl)amidinate}], and L4-iPrPh-ZnEt2 (5) bearing a zwitterionic-type neutral amidinate or N-heterocyclic carbene-carbodiimide ("NHC-CDI") adduct and monoanionic amido or alkyl ligands have been reported. The synthesis of compounds 1-5 was achieved by the direct addition of a "NHC-CDI" adduct to a corresponding metal bis(amide) or dialkyl reagent. All compounds 1-5 exist as monomers in the solid state. In all cases, the metal (magnesium or zinc) centers adopt a distorted four-coordinate tetrahedral geometry bonded to one N,N'-chelated neutral zwitterionic ligand and two monoanionic amido or alkyl moieties. In contrast, sterically bulky zwitterionic amidinate 1,3-diethyl-4,5-dimethylimidazolium-2-{N,N'-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)amidinate} (LDipp) upon treatment with lithium bis[(trimethylsilyl)amide], Li{N(SiMe3)2}, affords the NHC-lithium complex MeIEt-[Li{N(SiMe3)2}]2 (6), in which one molecule of NHC (MeIEt = 1,3-diethyl-4,5-dimethylimidazol-2-ylidene) coordinates to one of the two lithium centers. In a similar way, the reaction between LDipp and Mg{N(SiMe3)2}2 allowed the formation of a NHC adduct of metal bis(amide), MeIEt-Mg{N(SiMe3)2}2 (7), instead of a zwitterionic adduct of metal bis(amide). Alternatively, the synthesis of both compounds 6 and 7 was achieved by the direct addition of 1 equiv of NHC, i.e., MeIEt to Li{N(SiMe3)2} (2.0 equiv) and Mg{N(SiMe3)2}2 (1.0 equiv) in benzene-d6, respectively. All compounds (1-7) were characterized by multinuclear {1H, 13C, and 29Si (for 1-4, 6, and 7) and 7Li (for compound 6)} magnetic resonance spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, elemental analysis, and single-crystal X-ray structural analysis. In addition, preliminary reactivity studies of zwitterion-supported metal complexes have been investigated. Furthermore, density functional theory calculations have been carried out to obtain the energetics of zwitterion-supported lithium and magnesium complexes.

NHC-stabilized 1-hydrosilaimine: synthesis, structure and reactivity.

A facile, straightforward synthesis of N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-stabilized 1-hydrosilaimine starting from a silicon(iv)-precursor is reported. It has been employed for the addition of an O-H bond of water under ambient conditions without any additional catalyst.

Magnesium amide catalyzed selective hydroboration of esters.

Magnesium amide complexes such as Mg{N(SiMe3)2}2 (1) xylLMgN(SiMe3)2·THF (2) [xylL = ArNC(NiPr2)NAr; (Ar = 2,6-Me2-C6H3)] and dippLMgN(SiMe3)2·THF (3) [dippL = ArNC(NiPr2)NAr; (Ar = 2,6-iPr2-C6H3)] are reported as highly efficient pre-catalysts for the hydroboration of a wide range of esters using pinacolborane (HBpin) under mild reaction conditions. Moreover, we have shown compound 1 catalyzed chemoselective reduction of esters in the presence of other reducible functional groups such as alkene, alkyne and nitro.

Aluminum Monohydride Catalyzed Selective Hydroboration of Carbonyl Compounds.

The well-defined aluminum monohydride compound [{(2,4,6-Me3-C6H2)NC(Me)}2(Me)(H)]AlH·(NMe2Et) (1) catalyzes hydroboration of a wide range of aldehydes and ketones under mild reaction conditions. Moreover, compound 1 displayed chemoselective hydroboration of aldehydes over ketones at rt.