Room-Temperature Chemoselective Reductive Alkylation of Amines Catalyzed by a Well-Defined Iron(II) Complex Using Hydrogen.

A transition-metal frustrated Lewis pair approach has been envisaged to enhance the catalytic activity of tricarbonyl phosphine-free iron complexes in reduction of amines. A new cyclopentadienyl iron(II) tricarbonyl complex has been isolated, fully characterized, and applied in hydrogenation. This phosphine-free iron complex is the first Earth-abundant metal complex that is able to catalyze chemoselective reductive alkylation of various functionalized amines with functionalized aldehydes.

Highly active phosphine-free bifunctional iron complex for hydrogenation of bicarbonate and reductive amination.

Based on a "transition metal frustrated Lewis pair" approach, a cyclopentadienone iron tricarbonyl complex has been designed and applied in the reductive amination and hydrogenation of bicarbonate. This well-defined phosphine-free complex displays the best activities reported to date for an iron complex in the reduction of bicarbonate into formate and in reductive amination.

Iron(II)-catalysed [2+2+2] cycloaddition for pyridine ring construction.

We report a new, simple and air-stable iron(II) complex pre-catalyst for the synthesis of substituted pyridines via a [2+2+2] cycloaddition between diynes and nitrile derivatives.