Abstract (eng)
In this thesis iron and manganese complexes were investigated with an emphasis on application in synthetic strategies.
In the first part, iron olefin piano stool complexes were prepared and structurally investigated with NMR spectroscopy. Then, the addition of heteroatomic nucleophiles to the coordinated olefin was examined. Different amines and phosphines were used as nucleophiles and the formation of carbon-heteroatomic bonds was observed. The obtained iron-alkyl complexes were tested for the release of a desired higher amine or phosphine under different reaction conditions. As a proof of concept, ethyl diphenyl phosphine was prepared in a one-pot NMR experiment by nucleophilic addition of diphenylphosphine to an iron-ethylene complex followed by electrophilic cleavage with trifluormethanesulfonic acid. Moreover, investigation on the catalytic hydrophosphination of styrene was conducted.
In the second part, manganese pincer complexes were prepared and their catalytic activity for borrowing hydrogen mediated N-alkylation of amines with alcohols was investigated. Guided by prior research in metal-ligand cooperated catalyst systems, a suitable non-C2-symmetric PN3 pincer ligand (bpy-6NH-P) was identified and its preparation successfully optimized. With the ligand in hand, we were able to develop a manganese based pincer catalyst that performed N-alkylation of anilines and other amines at 60 °C with primary alcohols using substoichiometric amounts of base additive. The high reactivity under mild reaction conditions prompted us to employ more challenging substrates. Therefore, secondary alcohols, benzylic and aliphatic amines were successfully utilized as substrates in N-alkylation reactions. Other dehydrogenation/hydrogenation reactions like aldol condensation and transfer hydrogenation were briefly investigated, as well as the employment of urea and other amides as substrates for both C-N and C-C bond formation. Aside from the development of our most active catalyst system, a modular synthetic approach of other PN3 pincer ligands and their application in catalysis was pursued.