Alkanes remain a difficult resource to harness through chemical transformation. Iridium pincer complexes can catalyze alkane dehydrogenation at elevated temperatures (generally &gt; 180 °C) and display high thermal stability and modularity.<sup> </sup>Based on the precedent with zeolite and micellar materials, we hypothesize that incorporating an iridium complex into a macromolecular framework will lead to catalysts with increased stability, compatibility, and reactivity and will overcome several limitations of the iridium-catalyzed reaction, namely the need for high catalyst loading and high reaction temperatures as well as the poor long-term stability of the catalyst. To that end, small molecule iridium POCOP pincer complexes were synthesized including a vinyl-appended complex for direct polymerization into a polymer chain. To explore the effects of polymeric scaffolding for catalyst isolation and enhancement, both linear and star polymer structures were targeted. These systems are currently being studied as alkane dehydrogenation catalysts using a range of temperatures and concentrations to examine their reactivity under various conditions.

Incorporating iridium pincer complexes in polymeric scaffolds for site-isolated catalytic alkane dehydrogenation

2019 Fall National Meeting

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