Although pincer ligands have garnered ever increasing attention in recent years, monoanionic NNN-frameworks have been less studied than other variants, especially with platinum group metals. Accordingly, we have utilized our recently reported monoanionic, pyrrole-based bisphosphinimine pincer ligands1 with late transition metals in an effort to access low-coordinate, 14-electon species that we expected would participate in various bond activation processes relevant to industrially important catalytic transformations. Specifically, we have prepared a series of rhodium(I) alkene and alkyne complexes that catalyze the hydrogenation of small alkenes, including ethylene. The catalyst resting state, which exhibits an unprecedented Rh–hydride 1H NMR chemical shift of δ –36.01 (1JHRh = 23 Hz), has been identified, and a synthetic cycle for regenerating the catalytically active species has been established. 1. K. R. D. Johnson, M. A. Hannon, J. S. Ritch and P. G. Hayes, Dalton Trans., 2012, 41, 7873.

Synthesis, characterization, and hydrogenation catalysis of a rhodium NNN-pincer complex

249th National Meeting (2015)

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Synthesis, characterization, and hydrogenation catalysis of a rhodium NNN-pincer complex<br />