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Updated: Jan 2, 2026

Hydrogen Production and Utilization in a Membrane Reactor
Published on: March 10, 2023
Probing the Hydrogenation of Vinyl Sulfoxides Using para-Hydrogen
Ben J Tickner1, Rachel R Parker2, Adrian C Whitwood2
1Center for Hyperpolarisation in Magnetic Resonance (CHyM), University of York, Heslington, York YO10 5NY, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
Vinyl sulfoxides are an important functional group used in a wide range of organic transformations. Here, we use [IrCl(COD)(IMes)] where IMes = 1,3-bis(2,4,6-trimethyl-phenyl)imidazole-2-ylidene and COD = cis,cis-1,5-cyclooctadiene to rapidly hydrogenate phenylvinylsulfoxide. We use para-hydrogen-induced hyperpolarization (PHIP) to follow this reaction with [IrCl(H)2(IMes)(S(O)(Ph)(Et))2] dominating in the later stages. Decomposition to form the reduced C-S bond cleavage product [Ir2(H)3(κ2-H)(κ2-SPh)2(IMes)2(S(Et)(Ph)O)] limits turnover. The related product [Ir2(H)4(κ2-S)(IMes)2(S(O)(CH2Ph)2)2] is formed from dibenzylsulfoxide, demonstrating the wider utility of this transformation.
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