RuII complexes of 1,2,3-triazole appended tertiary phosphines, [P(Ph){(o-C6H4)(1,2,3-N3C(Ph)CH}2] and [P(Ph){o-C6H4(CCH)-(1,2,3-N3-Ph)}2]: highly active catalysts for transfer hydrogenation of carbonyl/nitro compounds and for α-alkylation of ketones.

The synthesis of two new 1,2,3-triazole appended monophosphines [P(Ph){(o-C6H4)(1,2,3-N3C(Ph)CH}2] (1) and [P(Ph){o-C6H4(CCH)(1,2,3-N3-Ph)}2] (2) and their RuII complexes is described. The reactions of 1 and 2 with [Ru(PPh3)3Cl2] in a 1 : 1 molar ratio produced cationic complexes 3 and 4, respectively. Both the complexes showed very high catalytic activity towards transfer hydrogenation, nitro reduction, and α-alkylation reactions and afforded the corresponding products in good to excellent yields. The free energy of ß-hydride elimination from the respective Ru-alkoxide intermediates, a key mechanistic step common to all the three catalytic pathways, was calculated to be close to ergoneutral by density functional theory-based calculations, which is posited to rationalize the catalytic activity of 3. The reduction of aromatic nitro compounds was found to be highly chemoselective and produced the corresponding amines as major products even in the presence of a carbonyl group. The triazolyl-N2 coordinated RuII-NPN complex 3 showed better catalytic activity compared to the triazolyl-N3 coordinated complex 4.

New 1,2,3-triazole based bis- and trisphosphine ligands: synthesis, transition metal chemistry and catalytic studies.

The syntheses and transition metal chemistry of triazole-based bis- and tris-phosphines, 5-(diphenylphosphanyl)-1-(2-(diphenylphosphanyl)phenyl)-4-phenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazole (2), 5-(diphenylphosphanyl)-4-(2-(diphenylphosphanyl)phenyl)-1-phenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazole (5), 1,4-bis(2-(diphenylphosphanyl)phenyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazole (6) and 5-(diphenylphosphanyl)-1,4-bis(2-(diphenylphosphanyl)phenyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazole (7), are described. Bisphosphines 5 and 6 show versatile coordination behavior due to the presence of at least four donor atoms. The reactions of 5 and 6 with group VI metal carbonyl derivatives were found to be highly sensitive to the reaction conditions. Bisphosphine 5 upon treatment with [M(CO)4(piperidine)2] (M = Mo and W) yielded both P,P and P,N coordinated complexes [M(CO)4(5)] [M = Mo-κ2-P,N (8); W-κ2-P,N (9); Mo-κ2-P,P (10); W-κ2-P,P (11)], whereas 6 afforded only P,N coordinated complexes [{o-Ph2P(C6H4){1,2,3-N3C(o-Ph2P(C6H4))CH}-κ2-P,N}Mo(CO)4] (12) and [{o-Ph2P(C6H4){1,2,3-N3C(o-Ph2P(C6H4))CH}-κ2-P,N}W(CO)4] (13). The reactions of 5 with [M(COD)Cl2] (M = Pd and Pt) yielded κ2-P,P chelate complexes 14 and 15, respectively, whereas the treatment of 6 with [Pd(COD)Cl2] at ambient temperature resulted in the formation of a rare fused six-membered PCP pincer complex [{o-Ph2P(C6H4){1,2,3-N3C(o-Ph2P(C6H4))C}-κ3-P,C,P}PdCl] (16). Similar reactions of 6 with [NiCl2(DME)] and [Pt(COD)Cl2] in the presence of LiHMDS yielded [{o-Ph2P(C6H4){1,2,3-N3C(o-Ph2P(C6H4))C}-κ3-P,C,P}NiCl] (17) and [{o-Ph2P(C6H4){1,2,3-N3C(o-Ph2P(C6H4))C}-κ3-P,C,P}PtCl] (18), respectively. The reaction between 6 and [M(COD)Cl]2 (M = Rh and Ir) produced cationic complexes [{o-Ph2P(C6H4){1,2,3-N3C(o-Ph2P(C6H4))CH}-κ2-P,N}Rh(C8H12)]Cl (19) and [{o-Ph2P(C6H4){1,2,3-N3C(o-Ph2P(C6H4))CH}-κ2-P,N}Ir(C8H12)]Cl (20), respectively, whereas the reaction with [Rh(acac)(CO)2] resulted in a pincer complex [{o-Ph2P(C6H4){1,2,3-N3C(o-Ph2P(C6H4))C}-κ3-P,C,P}Rh(CO)] (21). The structures of most of the compounds have been determined by single crystal X-ray analyses. The fused six-membered PCP palladium pincer complex 16 is found to be an excellent catalyst for the Mizoroki-Heck coupling reaction.