Applications of Acceptorless Dehydrogenation and Related Transformations in Chemical Synthesis

Dehydrogenation reactions are thermodynamically constrained by their inherent endothermic nature. The concomitant thermodynamic barriers can be overcome via photochemical strategies that harness light to activate intrinsically strong C═O, C─H, and O─H bonds. This review surveys recent progress and challenges in acceptorless light-driven dehydrogenation reactions, focusing on dehydrogenation of linear sp3-hybridized bonds, dehydrogenative coupling reactions, dehydrogenative cyclizations, and dehydrogenation of cyclic hydrocarbons. We identified distinct trends in the catalysts used for light-driven dehydrogenations, including homogeneous unary photocatalysts in which a single molecule absorbs light and catalyzes both oxidation and hydrogen evolution, cooperative homogeneous systems in which two separate catalysts fulfill these roles, as well as heterogeneous systems including nanostructured semiconductors and hybrid materials. In particular, this work uniquely synthesizes mechanistic knowledge across these classes and introduces a unifying classification framework that clarifies how distinct photochemical mechanisms achieve bond activation and hydrogen evolution without external acceptors. First, homogeneous unary photoactive Rh(I) catalysts promote dehydrogenation of both linear and cyclic sp3-hybridized C-C bonds in hydrocarbon substrates via oxidative C-H addition with subsequent β-hydride elimination. Second, binary homogeneous photocatalytic systems, consisting of a photosensitizer and a transition-metal-based proton reduction catalyst, enable all four types of dehydrogenation reactions via SET. Third, heterogeneous catalysts employed in light-driven dehydrogenation reactions often comprise a semiconductive support material integrated with a transition-metal-based active site, functioning via Mott-Schottky type photoinduced charge separation.

First-row transition metals are widely used in acceptorless dehydrogenative coupling reactions, making the detailed investigation of their catalytic mechanisms crucial for the rational design of efficient catalysts. In this study, density functional theory (DFT) was employed to explore the mechanism of an acceptorless dehydrogenation reaction catalyzed by a bifunctional complex based on a high-spin Mn(II) center. The computational results reveal that the Mn(II) catalyst follows a novel dehydrogenation pathway, where the external base KOH first coordinates to the metal center, and dehydrogenation proceeds via an outer-sphere mechanism. The hydride transfer step is identified as the rate-determining step, with an energy barrier of 26.3 kcal mol-1, consistent with experimental results. To further investigate the selectivity of the mechanism, energy decomposition analysis (EDA) and extended transition state-natural orbitals for chemical valence (ETS-NOCV) analysis were conducted on key transition states. The results show that the small steric hindrance and strong orbital interactions of the external base KOH are the key factors contributing to the selectivity of this mechanism. These findings not only deepen our understanding of the reaction mechanism but also provide valuable theoretical insights for the design and optimization of future acceptorless dehydrogenation catalysts.

The development of sustainable catalytic protocols that circumvent the use of expensive and precious metal catalysts and avoid toxic reagents plays a crucial role in organic synthesis. Indeed, the direct employment of simple and abundantly available feedstock chemicals as the starting materials broadens their synthetic application in contemporary research. In particular, the transition metal-catalyzed diversification of alcohols with various nucleophilic partners to construct a wide range of building blocks is a powerful and highly desirable methodology. Moreover, the replacement of precious metal catalysts by non-precious and less toxic metals for selective transformations is one of the main goals and has been paid significant attention to in modern chemistry. In view of this, the first-row transition metal catalysts find extensive applications in various synthetic transformations such as catalytic hydrogenation, dehydrogenation, and related reactions. Herein, we have disclosed our recent developments on the base-metal catalysis such as Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni for the acceptorless dehydrogenation reactions and its application in the C-C and C-N bond formation via hydrogen auto-transfer (HA) and acceptorless dehydrogenation coupling (ADC) reactions. These HA/ADC protocols employ alcohol as alkylating agents and eliminate water and/or hydrogen gas as by-products, representing highly atom-efficient and environmentally benign reactions. Furthermore, diverse simple to complex organic molecules synthesis by C-C and C-N bond formation using feedstock alcohols are also overviewed. Overall, this account deals with the contribution and development of efficient and novel homogeneous as well as heterogeneous base-metal catalysts for sustainable chemical synthesis.

An unexpected reversal in catalytic activity for acceptorless dehydrogenative coupling compared to acceptorless alcohol dehydrogenation has been observed using a series of cationic Ru(II)-CNC pincer complexes with different ancillary ligands. In continuation of our study of cationic Ru(II)-CNC pincer complexes 1a-6a, new complexes with bulky N-wingtips [Ru(CNCiPr)(CO)(PPh3)Br]PF6 (1b), [Ru(CNCCy)(CO)(PPh3)Cl]PF6 (1c), [Ru(CNCCy)(CO)(PPh3)H]PF6 (2c), [Ru(CNCiPr)(PPh3)2Cl]PF6 (3b), [Ru(CNCCy)(PPh3)2Cl]PF6 (3c), [Ru(CNCiPr)(PPh3)2H]PF6 (4b), [Ru(CNCCy)(PPh3)2H]PF6 (4c), [Ru(CNCiPr)(DMSO)2Cl]PF6 (6b), and [Ru(CNCCy)(DMSO)2Cl]PF6 (6c) [CNCR = 2,6-bis(1-alkylimidazol-2-ylidene)-pyridine] have been synthesized and the catalytic activities of the new complexes have been compared with their N-methyl analogues for transfer hydrogenation of cyclohexanone and acceptorless dehydrogenation of benzyl alcohol. Furthermore, all complexes have been utilized as catalysts in the dehydrogenative coupling reaction of benzyl alcohol with amines. While the catalytic activities of the new complexes for transfer hydrogenation and acceptorless alcohol dehydrogenation were found to be in line with the previously observed trend based on the ancillary ligands (CO > COD > DMSO > PPh3), for the acceptorless dehydrogenative coupling reaction, complexes containing PPh3 and DMSO ligands performed better compared to complexes containing CO and COD ligands. Based on NMR and mass investigation of catalytic reactions, a plausible mechanism has been suggested to explain the difference in catalytic activity and its reversal during the dehydrogenative coupling reaction. Furthermore, the substrate scope for the dehydrogenative coupling reaction of benzyl alcohol with a wide range of amines has been explored, including synthesizing some pharmaceutically important imines. All new complexes have been characterized by various spectroscopic techniques, and the structures of 4b and 6b have been confirmed by the single-crystal X-ray diffraction technique.

Acceptorless dehydrogenation (AD) that uses non-toxic reagents and produces no waste is a type of catalytic reactions toward green chemistry. Acceptorless alcohol dehydrogenation (AAD) can serve as a key step in constructing new bonds such as C-C and C-N bonds in which alcohols need to be activated into more reactive ketones or aldehydes. AD reactions also can be utilized for hydrogen production from biomass or its fermentation products (mainly alcohols). Reversible hydrogenation/ dehydrogenation with hydrogen uptake/release is crucial to realization of the potential organic hydride hydrogen storage. In this article, we review the recent computational mechanistic studies of the AD reactions catalyzed by various transition metal complexes as well as the experimental developments. These reactions include acceptorless alcohol dehydrogenations, reversible dehydrogenation/hydrogenation of nitrogen heterocycles, dehydrogenative coupling reactions of alcohols and amines to construct C-N bonds, and dehydrogenative coupling reactions of alcohols and unsaturated substrates to form C-C bonds. For the catalysts possessing metal-ligand bifunctional active sites (such as 28 , 45 , 86 , 87 , and 106 in the paper), the dehydrogenations prefer the “bifunctional double hydrogen transfer” mechanism rather than the generally accepted b-H elimination mechanism. However, methanol dehydrogenation involved in the C-C coupling reaction of methanol and allene, catalyzed by the iridium complex 121 , takes place via the b-H elimination mechanism, because the Lewis basicity of either the p-allyl moiety or the carboxyl group of the ligand is too weak to exert high Lewis basic reactivity. Unveiling the catalytic mechanisms of AD reactions could help to develop new catalysts.

Acceptorless dehydrogenation (AD) that uses non-toxic reagents and produces no waste is a type of catalytic reactions toward green chemistry. Acceptorless alcohol dehydrogenation (AAD) can serve as a key step in constructing new bonds such as C-C and C-N bonds in which alcohols need to be activated into more reactive ketones or aldehydes. AD reactions also can be utilized for hydrogen production from biomass or its fermentation products (mainly alcohols). Reversible hydrogenation/dehydrogenation with hydrogen uptake/release is crucial to realization of the potential organic hydride hydrogen storage. In this article, we review the recent computational mechanistic studies of the AD reactions catalyzed by various transition metal complexes as well as the experimental developments. These reactions include acceptorless alcohol dehydrogenations, reversible dehydrogenation/hydrogenation of nitrogen heterocycles, dehydrogenative coupling reactions of alcohols and amines to construct C-N bonds, and dehydrogenative coupling reactions of alcohols and unsaturated substrates to form C-C bonds. For the catalysts possessing metal-ligand bifunctional active sites (such as 28, 45, 86, 87, and 106 in the paper), the dehydrogenations prefer the “bifunctional double hydrogen transfer” mechanism rather than the generally accepted β-H elimination mechanism. However, methanol dehydrogenation involved in the C-C coupling reaction of methanol and allene, catalyzed by the iridium complex 121, takes place via the β-H elimination mechanism, because the Lewis basicity of either the π-allyl moiety or the carboxyl group of the ligand is too weak to exert high Lewis basic reactivity. Unveiling the catalytic mechanisms of AD reactions could help to develop new catalysts.

Palladium oxide nanoparticles intercalated mesoporous silica for solvent free acceptorless dehydrogenation reactions of alcohols

Advancement in photocatalytic acceptorless dehydrogenation reactions: Opportunity and challenges for sustainable catalysis

Homogeneous hydrogenation and dehydrogenation reactions catalyzed by transition metal complexes have emerged as pivotal strategies for constructing diverse organic frameworks. These transformations are inherently atom economical and align well with the principles of green chemistry and sustainability, offering viable routes to environmentally benign synthetic methodologies. The realm of homogeneous catalysis has grown significantly utilizing noble metal catalysts, while their high cost, potential toxicity, and low abundance prompted the researchers to delve into the chemistry of the more sustainable, low cost, and abundant 3d transition metals. In this regard, chromium complexes have been less explored despite the earth abundance and the biocompatibility of the metal, and they remain at a nascent stage in homogeneous hydrogenation and dehydrogenation reactions. In this account, we will discuss our recent discovery of chromium catalysis for the (transfer) hydrogenation of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide to formate and the dehydrogenative C–C and C–N bond-formation reactions.

Dehydrogenation of ethanol over CuO–Mg–Y for cross-aldol condensation with aryl aldehydes

Being the third most abundant transition metal in the Earth’s crust (after iron and titanium) and less toxic, reactions catalyzed by manganese are becoming very important. A large number of manganese complexes have been synthesized using bidentate and tridentate ligands. Such manganese complexes display excellent catalytic activities for various important organic transformations, such as hydrogenation, dehydrogenation, dehydrogenative coupling, transfer hydrogenation reactions, etc. In this short review, recent developments of such manganese-catalyzed reactions are presented.1 Introduction2 Well-Defined Manganese-Complex-Catalyzed Hydrogenation Reactions2.1 Hydrogenation of Nitriles2.2 Hydrogenation of Aldehydes and Ketones2.3 Hydrogenation of Esters2.4 Hydrogenation of Amides2.5 Hydrogenation of Carbon Dioxide3 Manganese-Catalyzed Dehydrogenation Reactions3.1 Selective Dehydrogenation of Methanol3.2 Dehydrogenative N-Formylation of Amines by Methanol3.3 Dehydrogenative Coupling Reactions of Alcohols3.4 Imine Synthesis via Dehydrogenative Coupling of Alcohols and Amines3.5 Synthesis of N-Heterocycles via Dehydrogenative Coupling4 Manganese-Catalyzed Dehydrogenation–Hydrogenation Cascades4.1 N-Alkylation of Amines with Primary Alcohols4.2 α-Alkylation of Ketones with Primary Alcohols4.3 Transfer Hydrogenation of Ketones5 Conclusion

Exploring mechanistic preferences and influencing factors in acceptorless dehydrogenation reactions catalyzed by an Ir(iii)-dipyridylamine complex: A DFT study

The Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) is currently being designed and constructed to pretreat and vitrify a large portion of the waste in the 177 underground waste storage tanks at the Hanford Site. A number of technical issues related to the design of the pretreatment facility (PTF) of the WTP have been identified. These issues must be resolved prior to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of River Protection (ORP) reaching a decision to proceed with engineering, procurement, and construction activities for the PTF. One of the issues is Technical Issue T1 - Hydrogen Gas Release from Vessels (hereafter referred to as T1). The focus of T1 is identifying controls for hydrogen release and completing any testing required to close the technical issue. In advance of selecting specific controls for hydrogen gas safety, a number of preliminary technical studies were initiated to support anticipated future testing and to improve the understanding of hydrogen gas generation, retention, and release within PTF vessels. These activities supported the development of a plan defining an overall strategy and approach for addressing T1 and achieving technical endpoints identified for T1. Preliminary studies also supported the development of a test plan for conducting testing and analysis to support closing T1. Both of these plans were developed in advance of selecting specific controls, and in the course of working on T1 it was decided that the testing and analysis identified in the test plan were not immediately needed. However, planning activities and preliminary studies led to significant technical progress in a number of areas. This report summarizes the progress to date from the preliminary technical studies. The technical results in this report should not be used for WTP design or safety and hazards analyses and technical results are marked with the following statement: “Preliminary Technical Results for Planning – Not to be used for WTP Design or Safety Analyses.”

Chapter 4 - Transition metal pincer complexes in acceptorless dehydrogenation reactions

Review: 105 refs.