Isomerisation of α-pinene oxide in the presence of indenyl allyl dicarbonyl molybdenum(II) and tungsten(II) complexes

Abstract

Abstract The indenyl complexes IndM( η 3 -C 3 H 5 )(CO) 2 (M = Mo ( 1 ), W ( 2 )), (IndMe)Mo( η 3 -C 3 H 5 )(CO) 2 ( 3 ) and (IndSiMe 3 )Mo( η 3 -C 3 H 5 )(CO) 2 ( 4 ) display catalytic activity for the isomerisation of α-pinene oxide. Conversion reached 97% after 3 h at 35 °C in the presence of 1 and 1,2-dichloroethane as solvent, giving campholenic aldehyde in 56% yield. Solvent polarity and basicity appear to affect the reaction rate. Whereas the type of substituent on the indenyl ligand does not appear to have a strong impact on catalytic performance, changing the metal centre from Mo ( 1 ) to W ( 2 ) gave a significantly more active catalyst.