syn-Selective hydrosilylation and hydroboration of alkynes at room temperature catalyzed by a phosphine-free (NNN)Fe(ii) complex

Abstract

Catalytic hydrofunctionalization of alkynes is the ideal and atom-economical route to synthesize vinylsilanes and vinylboronates, which are valuable organic building blocks. However, the process suffers from using expensive phosphine-ligated catalysts, sensitive organometallic activators, and elevated reaction temperatures. To overcome these challenges, herein, we developed a series of phosphine-free (NNN)-ligated iron complexes and demonstrated their potential as efficient catalysts for the hydrosilylation and hydroboration of both internal and terminal alkynes using NaO^tBu as an activator. The reactions proceeded smoothly using 1.5 mol% catalyst loading at room temperature and provided syn-selective vinylsilanes and vinylboronates. This hydrofunctionalization exclusively delivered mono-silylated and mono-borylated vinyls with tolerance of sensitive functionalities. At the same time, terminal alkynes provided excellent anti-Markovnikov selectivity with thermodynamically feasible β-(E)-vinylsilanes and β-(E)-vinylboronates. The presence of an N–H moiety in the ligand backbone is crucial in generating an Fe(II) active catalyst and facilitating the catalytic process. Mechanistic investigations, including controlled reactions and external additive experiments, were performed to propose a redox-neutral reaction mechanism with iron maintaining its +2 oxidation state throughout the cycle. The DFT energy calculations unanimously support the proposed reaction mechanism.