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The hydrogenation of benzaldehyde in cyclohexane over a 5 wt% Pd/Al2O3 catalyst at 313 K is firstly investigated at ambient pressure in a stirred batch reactor. The formation of benzyl alcohol is a facile process and a small mass imbalance is indirectly attributed to the formation of benzene as a by-product. No hydrogenolysis reaction to form toluene is observed. Secondly, examination of this reaction system by attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy enables the chemistry at the liquid/solid interface to be probed. Specifically, the ν(C=O) modes of solvated and adsorbed benzaldehyde are evident at 1712 and 1691 cm−1 respectively, providing information on how the reagent is partitioning within the reaction medium. Spectral acquisition on initiation of hydrogenation then enables the benzaldehyde → benzyl alcohol transition to be tracked. The additional presence of a broad CO stretching band of chemisorbed carbon monoxide (1852–1929 cm−1) is attributed to the hydrogen-assisted decarbonylation pathway that forms the benzene by-product.

The liquid-phase hydrogenation of the aromatic cyanohydrin mandelonitrile (MN, C6H5CH(OH)CN) over a carbon-supported Pd catalyst to produce the primary amine phenethylamine (PEA, C6H5CH2CH2NH2) is investigated with respect to the transition from operation in single-batch mode to repeat-batch mode. While a single-batch reaction returns a complete mass balance, product analysis alongside mass balance measurements for a six-addition repeat-batch procedure shows an attenuation in the rate of product formation and an incomplete mass balance from the fourth addition onward. This scenario potentially hinders possible commercial operation of the phenethylamine synthesis process, so it is investigated further. With reference to a previously reported reaction scheme, the prospects of sustained catalytic performance are examined in terms of acid concentration, stirrer agitation rate, catalyst mass, and hydrogen availability. Gas-liquid mass transfer coefficient measurements indicate efficient gas → liquid transfer kinetics within the experimental constraints of the Henry's law limitation on hydrogen solubility in the process solvent (methanol). Deviations from the optimized product selectivity are attributed to mass transport constraints, specifically the H2(solv) → 2H(ads) transition, which is ultimately restrained by the availability of H2(solv). Finally, in an attempt to better understand the deactivation pathways, inelastic neutron scattering measurements on a comparable industrial-grade catalyst operated in an analogous reaction in fed-batch mode indicate the presence of an oligomeric overlayer postreaction. This overlayer is thought to be formed via oligomerization of hydroxyimine or imine species via specific pathways that are identified within a postulated global reaction scheme.

The selective production of primary amines is a problem that plagues heterogeneously catalysed nitrile hydrogenation reactions. Whilst the target amine tyramine (HOC6H4CH2CH2NH2) is biochemically available through the action of enzymes, synthetic routes to this species are not widely reported. Here, a heterogeneously catalysed method is proposed that utilises a Pd/C catalyst to effect the selective hydrogenation of 4-hydroxybenzyl cyanide within a three-phase reactor. The aforementioned selectivity issues are overcome by adjustment of various experimental parameters (hydrogen supply, agitation rate, temperature, use of an auxiliary agent) that result in improved catalytic performance, such that the desired tyramine salt (tyramine hydrogen sulphate) can be produced in quantitative yield. Accordingly, through consideration of the interconnectivity of hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis processes, a selective synthetic strategy is achieved with the findings suitable for extension to other substrates of this nature.

A carbon supported Pd catalyst is used in the liquid phase hydrogenation of the aromatic cyanohydrin mandelonitrile (C6H5CH(OH)CH2CN) to afford the primary amine phenethylamine (C6H5CH2CH2NH2). Employing a batch reactor, the desired primary amine is produced in 87% selectivity at reaction completion. Detection of the by-product 2-amino-1-phenylethanol (C6H5CH(OH)CH2NH2) accounts for the remaining 13% and closes the mass balance. The reaction mechanism is investigated, with a role for both hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis processes established.

The liquid phase hydrogenation of benzonitrile over a 5wt% Pd/C catalyst using a stirred autoclave is investigated. The reaction conforms to a consecutive reaction sequence: firstly benzonitrile is hydrogenated to produce benzylamine, which subsequently undergoes a hydrogenolysis step to form toluene. Benzonitrile hydrogenation obeys first order kinetics with an activation energy of 27.6 kJ mol−1. In contrast, the benzylamine hydrogenolysis stage obeys zero order kinetics and exhibits an activation energy of 80.1 kJ mol−1. A 1wt% Pd/Al2O3 catalyst is additionally examined, which is also seen to support hydrogenolysis activity alongside the hydrogenation pathway. Gas phase transmission infrared spectroscopic measurements of the hydrogenation of benzonitrile and benzylamine over the 1wt% Pd/Al2O3 catalyst utilising hydrogen and deuterium are undertaken, which enable reaction schemes incorporating adsorption geometries of intermediate adsorption complexes to be proposed.

Reaction of (TBBP)AlMe⋅THF with [Cp*2 Zr(Me)OH] gave [(TBBP)Al(THF)-O-Zr(Me)Cp*2 ] (TBBP=3,3',5,5'-tetra-tBu-2,2'-biphenolato). Reaction of [DIPPnacnacAl(Me)-O-Zr(Me)Cp2 ] with [PhMe2 NH](+) [B(C6 F5 )4 ](-) gave a cationic Al/Zr complex that could be structurally characterized as its THF adduct [(DIPPnacnac)Al(Me)-O-Zr(THF)Cp2 ](+) [B(C6 F5 )4 ](-) (DIPPnacnac=HC[(Me)C=N(2,6-iPr2 -C6 H3 )]2 ). The first complex polymerizes ethene in the presence of an alkylaluminum scavenger but in the absence of methylalumoxane (MAO). The adduct cation is inactive under these conditions. Theoretical calculations show very high energy barriers (ΔG=40-47 kcal mol(-1) ) for ethene insertion with a bridged AlOZr catalyst. This is due to an unfavorable six-membered-ring transition state, in which the methyl group bridges the metal and ethene with an obtuse metal-Me-C angle that prevents synchronized bond-breaking and making. A more-likely pathway is dissociation of the Al-O-Zr complex into an aluminate and the active polymerization catalyst [Cp*2 ZrMe](+) .

International audience; Chiral square-planar Rh(I) complexes based on new C2-symmetric NHC ligands have been synthesized selectively in a few steps as single diastereoisomers. These chiral pre-catalysts were applied to the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of 1-phe-nylpropanone and to the 1,2-addition of arylboronic acids to aldehydes. We demonstrated a proper functionalization of the aromatic rings connected to the nitrogen atoms of the NHC ligand improved significantly the asymmetric induction of the chiral Rh(I) NHC catalysts. Bulky substituents allowed a better control of the steric features of the catalyst quadrants because they behaved as confor-mational and chirality relays of the NHC chiral backbone.

A mechanistic exploration of the liquid phase hydrogenation of the aromatic cyanohydrin mandelonitrile (C6H5CH(OH)CH2CN) over a carbon supported Pd catalyst to produce the primary amine, phenethylamine (C6H5CH2CH2NH2) is conducted. Prior examination showed the reaction to involve the production of the ketone intermediate 2-aminoacetophenone (C6H5C(O)CH2NH2), formed as a consequence of the presence of an acid catalysed tautomeric side reaction. The corresponding deuteration reaction, reported here and analysed by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy and mass spectrometry, is employed to further investigate accessible pathways. Examination of the resultant product distribution of the deuteration, and the location of deuterium incorporation establishes the role of a hydroxy-imine species as a key reaction intermediate. In addition, the acid catalysed tautomerism to the ketone is shown to be a reversible side reaction, but also a contributor to desired product formation. Moreover, an order for the three critical hydrogen consuming steps in phenethylamine formation is established. Hydrogenation of the nitrile functionality to afford the hydroxy-imine precedes hydrogenolysis of the hydroxyl group, with the final step being hydrogenation of the imine to form the target product, phenethylamine.

The selective production of primary amines is a problem that plagues heterogeneously catalysed nitrile hydrogenation reactions. Whilst the target amine tyramine (HOC

A bimetallic aluminum/zirconium complex Cp*Zr-2(Me)OAl(DIPH) [DIPH-H-2 = 3,3-bis(2-methylallyl)-(1,1-biphenyl)-2,2-diol; Cp* = C5Me5] was prepared in good yield by the reaction of (DIPH)AlMe with Cp*Zr-2(Me)OH. In contrast to Roesky's catalyst, Cp2Zr(Me)O(Me)Al(DIPP-nacnac) {DIPP-nacnac = CH[(CMe)(2,6-iPr(2)C(6)H(3)N)](2)}, it contains no Al-Me functionality and has increased Lewis acidity at Al. Crystal structures and the NMR spectra of the aluminum complex (DIPH)AlMe and the bimetallic Al/Zr species reveal in both cases dimeric complexes. The crystal structure of [Cp*Zr-2(Me)OAl(DIPH)](2) shows a planar Al2O2 core and a terminal Cp*Zr-2(Me)O group. Ethylene polymerization in toluene was studied for the bimetallic complex with a variety of scavengers. Under comparable polymerization conditions, the methylalumoxane-activated species show high activities that are similar to those obtained with Cp*2ZrCl2 and Roesky's bimetallic complex Cp2Zr(Me)OAl(Me)(DIPP-nacnac), with a relatively narrow polydispersity index (2.47).

The methyl cyclopropyl hydrotris(3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl)borate complex TpMe2NbMe(c-C3H5)(MeCCMe) reacts smoothly with different alkylaromatics XH at 308 K to yield methane and TpMe2NbX(c- C3H5)(MeCCMe). NMR data show that for mesitylene and 1,4-dimethylbenzene, selective benzylic CH bond activation is observed, giving the benzyl cyclopropyl complexes TpMe2Nb(CH2Ar′)(c- C3H5)(MeCCMe) (Ar′ = 3,5-Me2C 6H3, 4-MeC6H4, respectively). Selective arene CH bond activation is observed with 1,2-dimethylbenzene, yielding TpMe2Nb(3,4-Me2C6H3)(c- C3H5)(MeCCMe). With 1,3-dimethylbenzene, a 3:1 mixture of arene and benzylic CH activated products, TpMe2Nb(3,5-Me 2C6H3)(c-C3H5)(MeCCMe) and TpMe2Nb(CH2-3-MeC6H4)(c-C 3H5)(MeCCMe), is observed, translating to a 18:1 preference for aromatic versus benzylic CH bond activation on a per CH bond basis. Kinetic studies are consistent with rate-limiting intramolecular β-H abstraction of methane to yield a transient unsaturated η2- cyclopropene intermediate. This intermediate reacts rapidly with the aromatic or benzylic CH bond of the arene via 1,3-addition across a Nb(η2- cyclopropene) bond. DFT calculations suggest that the observed selectivities are a result of the steric influence of the methyl groups on the arene ring, which blocks activation of an ortho C-H bond. © 2011 American Chemical Society.

We report the synthesis of a niobium cyclopropyl complex, Tp(Me2)NbMe(c-C(3)H(5))(MeCCMe), and show that thermal loss of methane from this compound generates an intermediate that is capable of activating both aliphatic and aromatic C-H bonds. Isotopic labeling, trapping studies, a detailed kinetic analysis, and density functional theory all suggest that the active intermediate is an η(2)-cyclopropene complex formed via β-hydrogen abstraction rather than an isomeric cyclopropylidene species. C-H activation chemistry of this type represents a rather unusual reactivity pattern for η(2)-alkene complexes but is favored in this case by the strain in the C(3) ring which prevents the decomposition of the key intermediate via loss of cyclopropene.

The stereospecificity of ligand exchange at the Ir(III) centre of a cycloiridium arenetricarbonylchromium complex has been established experimentally by various analytical methods as well as by X-ray diffraction structural analysis and computational investigations. Two new cases of phenyl and methyl iridium(III) complexes have been prepared by reaction of (S(P)*,R(Ir)*-chlorido{2-[(tricarbonyl)(eta(6)-phenylene-kappaC(1'))chromium(0)]pyridine-kappaN}(pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)iridium(III) with PhMgBr and MeMgBr. The determining influence of electrostatic repulsion has been established by means of density functional theory at the Becke-Perdew/TZP(ZORA) level by using, among other means, energy partitioning analysis. It is also shown that the Cr(CO)(3) fragment is likely to ease the ionic cleavage of the Ir-Cl bond in chlorido cycloiridium tricarbonylchromium complexes in a way similar to that already established for the solvolysis of benzyl halide complexes, that is, through a direct interaction of the Cr(0) centre with the cationic Ir(III) centre.

In contrast to structural parameters extracted from X-ray diffraction experiments, CC coupling constants (Jcc) prove to be reliable and sensitive probes of a-C- C agostic character. © 2009 American Chemical Society.

The intermolecular C-H bond activation of benzene occurs under very mild conditions (room temperature) via a rare stereospecific 1,3-H addition on an unsaturated eta2-cyclopropene intermediate generated by a beta-H abstraction of CH4 from TpMe2NbMe(c-C3H5)(MeCCMe) to give TpMe2NbPh(c-C3H5)(MeCCMe).

The reactivity of ruthenacyclic compounds towards ammonia-borane's dehydrogenation was investigated by considering both hydrolytic and anhydrous conditions. The study shows that the highly soluble μ-chlorido dicarbonylruthenium(II) dimeric complex derived from 4-tert-butyl,2-(p-tolyl)pyridine promotes, with an activation energy E(a) of 22.8 kcal mol(-1), the complete hydrolytic dehydrogenation of NH(3)BH(3) within minutes at ca. 40 °C. The release of 3 eq. of H(2) entails the formation of boric acid derivatives and the partly reversible protonolysis of the catalyst, which produces free 2-arylpyridine ligand and a series of isomers of "Ru(CO)(2)(H)(Cl)". Under anhydrous conditions, hydrogen gas release was found to be slower and the dehydrogenation of NH(3)BH(3) results in the formation of conventional amino-borane derivatives with concomitant protonolysis of the catalyst and release of isomers of "Ru(CO)(2)(H)(Cl)". The mechanism of the protonolysis of the ruthenacycle was investigated with state-of-the-art DFT-D methods. It was found to proceed by the concerted direct attack of the catalyst by NH(3)BH(3) leading either to the formation of a coordinatively unsaturated "Ru(CO)(2)(H)(Cl)" species. The key role of "Ru(CO)(2)(H)(Cl)" species in the dehydrogenation of ammonia-borane was established by trapping and quenching experiments and inferred from a comparison of the catalytic activity of a series of dicarbonylruthenium(II) complexes.