Mechanistic Study on the Ruthenium-Catalyzed Direct Amination of Alcohols

Dennis Pingen, Martin Lutz, Dieter Vogt

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The Ru-catalyzed direct amination of alcohols with ammonia was investigated for the RuHCl(CO)(PPh3)3/Xantphos system in order to gain mechanistic insight. For several Ru(II) precursor complexes the influence of different additives on catalytic performance was investigated. NMR studies revealed that the reaction of RuHCl(CO)(PPh3)3/Xantphos with the alcohol in the presence of a strong base initially formed an inactive dihydrido Ru species. However, by addition of a ketone, the dihydride was (re)activated, where the corresponding imine is the actual activator, formed by immediate condensation of the ketone with ammonia. In the absence of a base, added ketone significantly enhanced catalyst activity. Catalytically inactive RuCl2(PPh3)3 could be activated by base, demonstrating that also complexes without the CO ligand give active catalysts. On the basis of these observations a mechanism was proposed, closely related to known transfer hydrogenation mechanisms.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1623-1629
JournalOrganometallics
Volume33
Issue number7
Early online date17 Mar 2014
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Apr 2014

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Mechanistic Study on the Ruthenium-Catalyzed Direct Amination of Alcohols'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this