ABSTRACT
Pyridine is a ubiquitous building block for the design of very diverse ligand platforms, many of which have become indispensable for catalytic transformations. Nevertheless, the isosteric pyrazine, pyrimidine, and triazine congeners have enjoyed thus far a less privileged role in ligand design. In this review, several applications of such fragments in the design of new catalysts are presented. In a significant number of cases described, diazine- and triazine-based ligands either outperform their pyridine congeners or offer alternative catalytic pathways which enable new reactivities. The potential opportunities unlocked by using these building blocks in ligand design are discussed, and the origin of the enhanced catalytic activity is highlighted where mechanistic studies are available.
ABSTRACT
A detailed investigation of the electronic structure of diazinediimine iron complexes and their comparison with the pyridine analogues reveals subtle but important differences, imparted by the supporting heterocycle. In the case of LFe(CO)2 complexes (L = pyrazine- and pyrimidinediimine), the characterization of three available redox states confirmed that whereas the nature of the electron-transfer processes is similar, the differences in π-acidity of the supporting heterocycle significantly affect the redox potentials. The reduction of LFe(CO)2 can yield either a ligand-centered radical (for L = pyrimidine) or a C-C-bonded dimer (for L = pyrazine), supported by a dearomatized core. In the latter case, the C-C bond can be reversibly cleaved oxidatively. Compared to the carbonyl analogues, employing weak-field N2 ligands triggers changes in electronic structure for the neutral and reduced LFe(N2) complexes (L = pyrimidinediimine). En route to the synthesis of the nitrogen complexes, the square-planar LFeCl (L = pyrimidinediimine) was isolated. The monoradical character of the supporting chelate triggers the asymmetric distribution of electron density around the heterocycle.
