Reactivity of Silanes with ( tBu PONOP)Ruthenium Dichloride: Facile Synthesis of Chloro-Silyl Ruthenium Compounds and Formic Acid Decomposition
The coordination of tBu PONOP ( tBu PONOP=2,6-bis(ditert-butylphosphinito)pyridine) to different ruthenium starting materials, to generate ( tBu PONOP)RuCl 2 , was investigated in this paper. The resultant ( tBu PONOP)RuCl 2 reactivity with three different silanes was then investigated and contrasted dramatically with the reactivity of ( iPr PONOP)RuCl 2 (DMSO) ( iPr PONOP=2,6-bis(diisopropylphosphinito)pyridine) with the same silanes. The 16-electron species ( tBu PONOP)Ru(H)Cl was produced from the reaction of triethylsilane with ( tBu PONOP)RuCl 2 . Reactions of ( tBu PONOP)RuCl 2 with both phenylsilane or diphenylsilane afforded the 16-electron hydrido-silyl species ( tBu PONOP)Ru(H)(PhSiCl 2 ) and ( tBu PONOP)Ru(H)(Ph 2 SiCl), respectively. Reactions of all three of these complexes with silver triflate afforded the simple salt metathesis products of ( tBu PONOP)Ru(H)(OTf), ( tBu PONOP)Ru(H)(PhSiCl(OTf)), and ( tBu PONOP)Ru(H)(Ph 2 Si(OTf)). Formic acid dehydrogenation was performed in the presence of triethylamine (TEA), and each species proved competent for gas-pressure generation of CO 2 and H 2 . Finally, the hydride species ( tBu PONOP)Ru(H)Cl, ( tBu PONOP)Ru(H)(OTf), and ( tBu PONOP)Ru(H)(PhSiCl 2 ) exhibited faster catalytic activity than the other compounds tested.