An important aspect of green chemistry is the development more efficient and environmentally acceptable chemical processes by the reduction of waste through catalysis. Hydrogenation reactions, an example of an industrially important catalytic process, are common in the pharmaceutical industry as they provide a cost-effective and reliable approach to a wide range of compounds. However common hydrogenation catalysts are composed of expensive and toxic metals, such as Ru, Ir, and Rh. The ultimate goal of this research is to develop hydrogenation catalysts based on iron that will be less expensive and more environmentally acceptable than catalysts currently used in the pharmaceutical industry. The key design element in the targeted hydrogenation catalysis mechanism is the hydrogenation activation step that proceeds through ligand-assisted heterolytic cleavage of H<sub>2</sub>. In the proposed mechanism, pyridone-based ligands act as a base and activate H<sub>2</sub> to form a catalytically active iron-hydride complex. Several pyridone-based ligands were synthesized and many iron complex precursors have been obtained. The attachment of ligands to these precursors was tested by reactions involving 2,2’-bipyridine as a model ligand. Once the ligands are successfully attached to an iron center, the complexes will be transformed into the targeted catalysts.

Synthesis of pyridone ligands and iron precursors for the development of iron-based hydrogenation catalysts

251st National Meeting (2016)

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