Organometallic complexes containing a metal-hydride bond play a central role in many well-known catalytic reactions. These highly versatile bonds can undergo a variety of reactions with a wide range of substrates, making them attractive synthetic targets for understanding fundamental reactivity of certain catalytic systems. This has indeed been the case for many transition metal hydrides, which have been extensively studied for several decades. The hydride chemistry of s-block elements, however, has historically been limited to their use as stoichiometric hydride sources in organic reactions, or as simple desiccants for organic solvents. Recently, main group hydride compounds, such as magnesium hydrides and borohydrides, have garnered attention for their potential use for the reversible storage of H<sub>2</sub>, and as important synthetic moieties and catalyst intermediates in main-group-metal catalyzed reactions. Despite the renewed interest in the chemistry of main-group hydrides, structurally characterized examples of complexes containing M-H bonds to an <i>s</i>-block element remain exceedingly rare due to their high reactivity and instability. These types of molecules are difficult to isolate using standard synthetic means, and require novel synthons which provide new ways of accessing the hydridic complexes. This presentation highlights our initial results in the pursuit of well-defined, molecular group II hydride compounds bound by cyclic carbenes, with a focus on magnesium. We discuss a variety of potential synthons towards the synthesis of the M-H species, including ligated metal halides, low-valent complexes, and investigate the potential of these compounds for bond activation.

Novel synthetic strategies towards the isolation of main group metal hydrides

2019 Spring National Meeting

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