Iridium complex catalyst, hydrogenation

Bolm and Lu synthesized a series of naphthalene bridged P,N type sulfoximine ligands and their iridium complexes. Asymmetric hydrogenation of quinolines was explored using these iridium complexes as catalyst, and 55 92% ee with moderate conversions were detected [18]. It was noted that iodine was also not necessary in the hydrogenation of quinolines, and the enantioselectivity was reduced when iodine was added (Scheme 10.14). 

In 1996, consumption in the western world was 14.2 tonnes of rhodium and 3.8 tonnes of iridium. Unquestionably the main uses of rhodium (over 90%) are now catalytic, e.g. for the control of exhaust emissions in the car (automobile) industry and, in the form of phosphine complexes, in hydrogenation and hydroformylation reactions where it is frequently more efficient than the more commonly used cobalt catalysts. Iridium is used in the coating of anodes in chloralkali plant and as a catalyst in the production of acetic acid. It also finds small-scale applications in specialist hard alloys. 

More recently, the same type of hgand was used to form chiral iridium complexes, which were used as catalysts in the hydrogenation of ketones. The inclusion of hydrophihc substituents in the aromatic rings of the diphenylethylenediamine (Fig. 23) allowed the use of the corresponding complexes in water or water/alcohol solutions [72]. This method was optimized in order to recover and reuse the aqueous solution of the catalyst after product extraction with pentane. The combination of chiral 1,2-bis(p-methoxyphenyl)-N,M -dimethylethylenediamine and triethyleneglycol monomethyl ether in methanol/water was shown to be the best method, with up to six runs with total acetophenone conversion and 65-68% ee. Only in the seventh run did the yield and the enantioselectivity decrease slightly. 

The iridium complex 35 has been also used as catalyst for the transfer hydrogenation of substituted nitroarenes [34]. Good to very good conversions were observed (2.5 mol%, in refluxing isopropanol, 12 h). A mixture of two products was obtained, the relative ratio of which depends on the concentration of added base (KOH) and catalyst. (Scheme 2.5)... 

In 1998, Ruiz et al. reported the synthesis of new chiral dithioether ligands based on a pyrrolidine backbone from (+ )-L-tartaric acid. Their corresponding cationic iridium complexes were further evaluated as catalysts for the asymmetric hydrogenation of prochiral dehydroamino acid derivatives and itaconic acid, providing enantioselectivities of up to 68% ee, as shown in Scheme 8.18. 

To our knowledge, the first published report of a photocatal-ytic reaction at elevated pressure was W. Strohmeyer1s hydrogenation of 1,3-cyclohexadiene under hydrogen at 10 atm /22/. On photolysis, the iridium complex 8 formed a very active catalyst, probably by dissociation of a phosphine ligand (Equation 17). At 70 C, with hydrogen at 10 atm, and a catalyst/substrate ratio of 1/100,000, the activity was 196 per minute and the turnover number was 96,000 mol of product/mol catalyst. 

Iridium-catalyzed transfer hydrogenation of aldehyde 73 in the presence of 1,1-dimethylallene promotes tert-prenylation [64] to form the secondary neopentyl alcohol 74. In this process, isopropanol serves as the hydrogen donor, and the isolated iridium complex prepared from [Ir(cod)Cl]2, allyl acetate, m-nitrobenzoic acid, and (S)-SEGPHOS is used as catalyst. Complete levels of catalyst-directed diastereoselectivity are observed. Exposure of neopentyl alcohol 74 to acetic anhydride followed by ozonolysis provides p-acetoxy aldehyde 75. Reductive coupling of aldehyde 75 with allyl acetate under transfer hydrogenation conditions results in the formation of homoallylic alcohol 76. As the stereochemistry of this addition is irrelevant, an achiral iridium complex derived from [Ir(cod)Cl]2, allyl acetate, m-nitrobenzoic acid, and BIPHEP was employed as catalyst (Scheme 5.9). 

The stereoselective isomerization of allyl silyl ethers to (E)- or (Z)-silyl enol ethers was carried out in the presence of a cationic iridium(i) catalyst. The complex, prepared in situ by treating [Ir(cod)2]PFf,/2PPi3 with hydrogen was... 

The iridium complex [Ir(cod)(//2-,PrPCH2CH2OMe)]+BF4 (22) in dichloro-methane at 25 °C at 1 bar H2 is a particularly active catalyst for the hydrogenation of phenyl acetylene to styrene [29]. In a typical experiment, an average TOF of 50 mol mol-1 h-1 was obtained (calculated from a turnover number, TON, of 125) with a selectivity close to 100%. The mechanism of this reaction has been elucidated by a combination of kinetic, chemical and spectroscopic data (Scheme 14.10). 

Henbest and Mitchell [78] have shown that water can be used as hydrogen source with chloroiridic acid (6) as the catalyst through oxidation of phosphorous acid (59) to phosphoric acid (60) in aqueous 2-propanol. Under these conditions, no hydrogen transfer occurs from 2-propanol. However, iridium complexes with sulfoxide or phosphine ligands show the usual transfer from 2-pro-panol [79-81]. 

In the hydrogenation of alkenes, rhodium-, ruthenium- and iridium-phosphine catalysts are typically used [2-4]. Rhodium-phosphine complexes, such as Wilkinson s catalyst, are effective for obtaining alkanes under atmospheric pres-... 

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