Hydrogenation and Redox Isomerization of Allylic Alcohols Catalyzed by a New Water-Soluble Pd–tetrahydrosalen Complex

For applications in aqueous media, sulfonated tetrahydrosalen (sulfosalan, HSS) was synthesized by sulfonation of tetrahydrosalen in fuming sulfuric acid. The Pd(II) complex of this ligand, [Pd(HSS)], showed outstanding activity in hydrogenation and redox isomerization of allylic alcohols in homogeneous aqueous solutions or in aqueous–organic biphasic systems (for oct-1-en-3-ol TOF(hydrogenation) = 1580 h–1, TOF(redox isomerization) = 400 h–1). DFT calculations revealed that H2 is activated heterolytically, resulting in a Pd(II)–hydride complex, [Pd(H)(HSS-Hphen)], in which one of the phenolate oxygens is protonated. Both hydrogenation and redox isomerization take place via concerted transfer of a proton and a hydride from the hydrogenated catalyst to the allylic alcohol.