Dehydrogenation of amine-boranes

Last updated

Dehydrogenation of amine-boranes or dehydrocoupling of amine-boranes is a chemical process in main group and organometallic chemistry wherein dihydrogen is released by the coupling of two or more amine-borane adducts. This process is of due to the potential of using amine-boranes for hydrogen storage.

Contents

Catalysis

Many metal complexes catalyze the dehydrogenation of amine-borane (AB). Catalysis in the absence of metals has also been observed. [1]

Pathways

The dehydrogenation of AB would in principle afford (H2BNH2)n and (HBNH)n. The monomers (n = 1) are highly unstable with respect to oligomerization. DAB primary revised.png DAB secondary path.png

Metal carbonyl catalysts

Group 6 metal carbonyls upon photolytic activation catalyze dehydrogenation of AB. [2] Secondary amine-boranes dehydrogenate to form cyclic dimers, or monomeric aminoboranes in the case of more bulky groups on the amine. Similarly, primary amine-boranes dehydrogenate through a two step intramolecular process to give aminoborane polymers, which further dehydrogenate to form borazines. [2] [CpFe(CO)2]2 is also an effective precatalyst, requiring photolytic activation. The two step process is proposed to occur first by dehydrogenation of the amine-borane coordinated to the metal, followed by cyclodimerization in an off-metal step. [1]

Rhodium and iridium catalysts

The first catalysts for the dehydrogenation of ABs were derived from reduction of Rh(I) complexes to form the active colloidal heterogeneous catalyst. [1] As in the case with the metal carbonyl catalysts, bulky secondary amine-boranes form monomeric aminoboranes. For RhL2- and Rh(H)2L2-derived catalysts, the active species is a homogeneous catalyst, with the phosphine ligands interacting directly with the dehydrocoupling process. [3] Changing the phosphine ligands from PiPr3 to PiBu3 significantly increases the turnover rate of the catalyst. [3] Unlike other Rh(I) catalysts, the rhodium analogue of Wilkinson's catalyst RhCl(PHCy2)3 (Cy=cyclohexyl) behaves like the RhL2 and Rh(H)2L2 catalysts as a homogeneous species. [1]

In comparison to RhCl(PHCy2)3, the iridium analogue has reduced catalytic activity on the dehydrogenation of non sterically hindered amine-boranes, and increased activity on more sterically hindered substrates. [1] Dehydrocoupling of primary diborazanes NH2RBH2NHRBH3 can be catalyzed by Brookhart's catalyst via conversion to the metal-bound species MeNHBH2 and subsequent polymerization/oligomerization. This same reaction has been found to occur in the absence of the iridium metal, upon heating of the reaction mixture. [1] Dehydrogenation of ammonia-borane with Brookhart's catalyst results in quantitative formation of the cyclic pentamer [NH2BH2]5 rather than the typically seen cyclic dimers from other amine-borane dehydrogenations. [4] When catalyzing ammonia-borane dehydrogenation, the catalyst acts homogeneously at a 0.5 mol% catalyst loading. [4] Rather than the typical high temperatures needed for this dehydrogenation, the reaction proceeds cleanly at room temperature, with complete substrate conversion in 14min. [4]

Metallocenes

Group 4 metallocenes also catalyze dehydrogenation of ABs. Activity is affected by metal (Ti > Zr > Hf) and inhibited by bulk. Unlike other catalytic processes, the reaction proceeds via a linear aminoborane [NR2BH2]2, which then cyclodimerizes through a dehydrocoupling process on the metal. [1] Most of the zirconocene complexes contain the zirconium in the +4 oxidation state, and the systems are not very active catalysts for amine-borane dehydrogenation. [5] In contrast to these systems, the cationic zirconocene complex [Cp2ZrOC6H4P(tBu)2]+ effectively catalyzes the reaction, with the most notable example being the dehydrogenation of dimethylamineborane in 10min at room temperature. [5]

Potential applications

Hydrogen storage

Dehydrogenation of amine-boranes is thermodynamically favourable, making the process attractive for hydrogen storage systems. Ammonia borane has attracted particular interest due to its high weight percent of hydrogen (19.6%). [6] [7] Dehydrogenation occurs in three steps, creating polyamino-boranes and borazines as insoluble side products. [6] [7] The dehydrogenation reactions are irreversible, which limits the utility of this process for hydrogen storage.

Hydrogen transfer

Amine-borane dehydrogenation can be coupled with hydride transfer to unsaturated functional groups, usually olefins in an anti-Markovnikov fashion. [8] [9] Hydroboration of the olefin and release of H2 from the amine-borane occur in parallel reactions, reducing the percent of olefin reduced. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydrogenation</span> Chemical reaction between molecular hydrogen and another compound or element

Hydrogenation is a chemical reaction between molecular hydrogen (H2) and another compound or element, usually in the presence of a catalyst such as nickel, palladium or platinum. The process is commonly employed to reduce or saturate organic compounds. Hydrogenation typically constitutes the addition of pairs of hydrogen atoms to a molecule, often an alkene. Catalysts are required for the reaction to be usable; non-catalytic hydrogenation takes place only at very high temperatures. Hydrogenation reduces double and triple bonds in hydrocarbons.

Hydroboration–oxidation reaction is a two-step hydration reaction that converts an alkene into an alcohol. The process results in the syn addition of a hydrogen and a hydroxyl group where the double bond had been. Hydroboration–oxidation is an anti-Markovnikov reaction, with the hydroxyl group attaching to the less-substituted carbon. The reaction thus provides a more stereospecific and complementary regiochemical alternative to other hydration reactions such as acid-catalyzed addition and the oxymercuration–reduction process. The reaction was first reported by Herbert C. Brown in the late 1950s and it was recognized in his receiving the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1979.

In chemistry, dehydrogenation is a chemical reaction that involves the removal of hydrogen, usually from an organic molecule. It is the reverse of hydrogenation. Dehydrogenation is important, both as a useful reaction and a serious problem. At its simplest, it is useful way of converting alkanes, which are relatively inert and thus low-valued, to olefins, which are reactive and thus more valuable. Alkenes are precursors to aldehydes, alcohols, polymers, and aromatics. As a problematic reaction, the fouling and inactivation of many catalysts arises via coking, which is the dehydrogenative polymerization of organic substrates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilkinson's catalyst</span> Chemical compound

Wilkinson's catalyst is the common name for chloridotris(triphenylphosphine)rhodium(I), a coordination complex of rhodium with the formula [RhCl(PPh3)3] (Ph = phenyl). It is a red-brown colored solid that is soluble in hydrocarbon solvents such as benzene, and more so in tetrahydrofuran or chlorinated solvents such as dichloromethane. The compound is widely used as a catalyst for hydrogenation of alkenes. It is named after chemist and Nobel laureate Sir Geoffrey Wilkinson, who first popularized its use.

In organic chemistry, hydrocyanation is a process for conversion of alkenes to nitriles. The reaction involves the addition of hydrogen cyanide and requires a catalyst. This conversion is conducted on an industrial scale for the production of precursors to nylon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Organoboron chemistry</span> Study of compounds containing a boron-carbon bond

Organoborane or organoboron compounds are chemical compounds of boron and carbon that are organic derivatives of BH3, for example trialkyl boranes. Organoboron chemistry or organoborane chemistry is the chemistry of these compounds.

In organic chemistry, hydroboration refers to the addition of a hydrogen-boron bond to certain double and triple bonds involving carbon. This chemical reaction is useful in the organic synthesis of organic compounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crabtree's catalyst</span> Chemical compound

Crabtree's catalyst is an organoiridium compound with the formula [C8H12IrP(C6H11)3C5H5N]PF6. It is a homogeneous catalyst for hydrogenation and hydrogen-transfer reactions, developed by Robert H. Crabtree. This air stable orange solid is commercially available and known for its directed hydrogenation to give trans stereoselectivity with respective of directing group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ammonia borane</span> Chemical compound

Ammonia borane (also systematically named amminetrihydridoboron), also called borazane, is the chemical compound with the formula H3NBH3. The colourless or white solid is the simplest molecular boron-nitrogen-hydride compound. It has attracted attention as a source of hydrogen fuel, but is otherwise primarily of academic interest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane</span> Chemical compound

Tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane, sometimes referred to as "BCF", is the chemical compound (C6F5)3B. It is a white, volatile solid. The molecule consists of three pentafluorophenyl groups attached in a "paddle-wheel" manner to a central boron atom; the BC3 core is planar. It has been described as the “ideal Lewis acid” because of its high thermal stability and the relative inertness of the B-C bonds. Related fluoro-substituted boron compounds, such as those containing B−CF3 groups, decompose with formation of B-F bonds. Tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane is thermally stable at temperatures well over 200 °C, resistant to oxygen, and water-tolerant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydroamination</span> Addition of an N–H group across a C=C or C≡C bond

In organic chemistry, hydroamination is the addition of an N−H bond of an amine across a carbon-carbon multiple bond of an alkene, alkyne, diene, or allene. In the ideal case, hydroamination is atom economical and green. Amines are common in fine-chemical, pharmaceutical, and agricultural industries. Hydroamination can be used intramolecularly to create heterocycles or intermolecularly with a separate amine and unsaturated compound. The development of catalysts for hydroamination remains an active area, especially for alkenes. Although practical hydroamination reactions can be effected for dienes and electrophilic alkenes, the term hydroamination often implies reactions metal-catalyzed processes.

In organometallic chemistry, a migratory insertion is a type of reaction wherein two ligands on a metal complex combine. It is a subset of reactions that very closely resembles the insertion reactions, and both are differentiated by the mechanism that leads to the resulting stereochemistry of the products. However, often the two are used interchangeably because the mechanism is sometimes unknown. Therefore, migratory insertion reactions or insertion reactions, for short, are defined not by the mechanism but by the overall regiochemistry wherein one chemical entity interposes itself into an existing bond of typically a second chemical entity e.g.:

In chemistry, a frustrated Lewis pair (FLP) is a compound or mixture containing a Lewis acid and a Lewis base that, because of steric hindrance, cannot combine to form a classical adduct. Many kinds of FLPs have been devised, and many simple substrates exhibit activation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shvo catalyst</span> Chemical compound

The Shvo catalyst is an organoruthenium compound that catalyzes the hydrogenation of polar functional groups including aldehydes, ketones and imines. The compound is of academic interest as an early example of a catalyst for transfer hydrogenation that operates by an "outer sphere mechanism". Related derivatives are known where p-tolyl replaces some of the phenyl groups. Shvo's catalyst represents a subset of homogeneous hydrogenation catalysts that involves both metal and ligand in its mechanism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydrogen auto-transfer</span>

Hydrogen auto-transfer, also known as borrowing hydrogen, is the activation of a chemical reaction by temporary transfer of two hydrogen atoms from the reactant to a catalyst and return of those hydrogen atoms back to a reaction intermediate to form the final product. Two major classes of borrowing hydrogen reactions exist: (a) those that result in hydroxyl substitution, and (b) those that result in carbonyl addition. In the former case, alcohol dehydrogenation generates a transient carbonyl compound that is subject to condensation followed by the return of hydrogen. In the latter case, alcohol dehydrogenation is followed by reductive generation of a nucleophile, which triggers carbonyl addition. As borrowing hydrogen processes avoid manipulations otherwise required for discrete alcohol oxidation and the use of stoichiometric organometallic reagents, they typically display high levels of atom-economy and, hence, are viewed as examples of Green chemistry.

In chemistry, metal-catalysed hydroboration is a reaction used in organic synthesis. It is one of several examples of homogeneous catalysis.

Trihydridoboron, also known as borane or borine, is an unstable and highly reactive molecule with the chemical formula BH
3
. The preparation of borane carbonyl, BH3(CO), played an important role in exploring the chemistry of boranes, as it indicated the likely existence of the borane molecule. However, the molecular species BH3 is a very strong Lewis acid. Consequently, it is highly reactive and can only be observed directly as a continuously produced, transitory, product in a flow system or from the reaction of laser ablated atomic boron with hydrogen.

Karen Ila Goldberg is an American chemist, currently the Vagelos Professor of Energy Research at University of Pennsylvania. Goldberg is most known for her work in inorganic and organometallic chemistry. Her most recent research focuses on catalysis, particularly on developing catalysts for oxidation, as well as the synthesis and activation of molecular oxygen. In 2018, Goldberg was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

R. Tom Baker is an inorganic chemist known for the development and application of inorganic transition metal-based catalysis.

Germanium(II) hydrides, also called germylene hydrides, are a class of Group 14 compounds consisting of low-valent germanium and a terminal hydride. They are also typically stabilized by an electron donor-acceptor interaction between the germanium atom and a large, bulky ligand.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Staubitz, A.; Robertson, A. P. M.; Manners, I., "Ammonia-Borane and Related Compounds as Dihydrogen Sources", Chemical Reviews 2010, volume 110, pp. 4079–4124.. doi : 10.1021/cr100088b
  2. 1 2 Kawano, Y.; Uruichi, M.; Shimoi, M.; Taki, S.; Kawaguchi, T.; Kakizawa, T.; Ogino, H. "Dehydrocoupling Reactions of Borane-Secondary and -Primary Amine Adducts Catalyzed by Group-6 Carbonyl Complexes: Formation of Aminoboranes and Borazines" J. Amer. Chem. Soc. 2009, 131, 14946-14957. doi:10.1021/ja904918u
  3. 1 2 Chaplin, A.B.; Weller, A.S. "Amine- and Dimeric Amino-Borane Complexes of the {Rh(PiPr3)2}+ Fragment and their Relevance to the Transition-Metal-Mediated Dehydrocoupling of Amine-Boranes" Inorg. Chem. 2010, 49, 1111–1121. doi:10.1021/ic9020542
  4. 1 2 3 Denney, M.C.; Pons, V.; Hebden, T.J.; Heinekey, D.M.; Goldberg, K.I. "Efficient Catalysis of Ammonia Borane Dehydrogenation" J. Amer. Chem. Soc. 2006, 128, 12048-12049. doi:10.1021/ja062419g
  5. 1 2 Chapman, A.M.; Haddow, M.F.; Wass, D.F. "Frustrated Lewis Pairs beyond the Main Group: Cationic Zirconocene-Phosphinoaryloxide Complexes and Their Application in Catalytic Dehydrogenation of Amine Boranes" J. Amer. Chem. Soc. 2011, 133, 8826–8829. doi:10.1021/ja201989c
  6. 1 2 Frueh, S.; Kellett, R.; Mallery, C.; Molter, T.; Willis, W.S.; King'ondu, C.; Suib, S.L. "Pyrolytic Decomposition of Ammonia Borane to Boron Nitride" Inorg. Chem. 2011, 50, 783–792. doi:10.1021/ic101020k
  7. 1 2 Mal, S.S.; Stephens, F.H.; Baker, R.T. "Transition metal catalyzed dehydrogenation of fuel blends." Chem. Commun. 2011,47,2922–2924. doi:10.1039/c0cc03585h
  8. 1 2 Sewell, L.J.; Chaplin, A.B.; Weller, A.S. "Hydroboration of an alkene by amine-boranes catalyzed by a [Rh(PR3)2]+ fragment. Mechanistic insight and tandem hydroboration/dehydrogenation" Dalton Trans. 2011, 40, 7499–7501. doi:10.1039/C1DT10819K
  9. Couturier, M.; Andresen, B.M.; Tucker, J.L.; Dubé, P.; Brenek, S.J.; Negri, J.T. "The use of borane-amine adducts as versatile palladium-catalyzed hydrogen-transfer reagents in methanol" Chem. Commun. 2001, 42, 2763–2766. doi:10.1016/S0040-4039(01)00300-8