Low-coordinate iron complexes as synthetic models of nitrogenase

Abstract

Three-coordinate iron sites are potentially important intermediates in the reduction of dinitrogen by the enzyme nitrogenase, but synthetic work to outline the behavior of three-coordinate iron complexes is in its infancy. Recent work shows that bulky diketiminate ligands give a general route to three-coordinate iron complexes with a variety of third ligands. The low coordination number leads to exciting new reactions in which N—N bonds are weakened or broken. Such complexes show great promise for evaluating the ability of low-coordinate iron to perform bond cleavage reactions akin to the individual steps of the nitrogenase system.Key words: nitrogenase, three-coordinate iron, diketiminate, N–N cleavage.