Homogeneous metal catalysis is an increasingly important area within the field of organic chemistry. Traditionally, many organometallic catalysts have contained platinum-group transition metals, and although these species have played an important role in catalyzing organic transformations they are often expensive and potentially toxic. Thus, an area of growing research interest lies in the development of first-row transition metal catalysts that are inexpensive, benign, and still amenable to organic synthesis. We have synthesized a (cyclopentadienone)iron tricarbonyl compound with trimethylsilane (TMS) groups in the 2- and 5-positions on the cyclopentadienone ring and phenyl groups in the 3- and 4-positions. The aforementioned (cyclopentadienone)iron complex has been assessed for catalytic activity in three classes of transformations: oxidation of an alcohol, reduction of a ketone, and hydrogenation of an imine. The activity of this catalyst will be compared to that of other (cyclopentadienone)iron tricarbonyl compounds in the same transformations in an attempt to gain insight into how cyclopentadienone substitution impacts catalytic activity.

Synthesis and evaluation of the catalytic activity of a (cyclopentadienone)iron tricarbonyl compound in oxidative and reductive transformations

255th National Meeting (2018)

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