Flash Communication: A Metal-First Approach to Ruthenium Complexes of a Boryl-Centered POBOP Pincer Ligand

Area of Science:

• Organometallic Chemistry
• Coordination Chemistry
• Catalysis

Background:

• Ruthenium complexes are vital in catalysis and materials science.
• Phosphine and phenoxide ligands offer tunable electronic and steric properties.
• Boryl ligands are increasingly explored for their unique reactivity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize novel boryl/bis-(phosphine) complexes of ruthenium.
• To investigate the assembly of (POBOP)Ru complexes with bidentate ligands.
• To explore the reactivity of these complexes with borane sources.

Main Methods:

• Preparation of ruthenium intermediates with bidentate phosphino/phenoxide ligands.
• Reaction of these intermediates with borane dimethyl sulfide (BH3·SMe2).
• Characterization of the resulting boryl/bis-(phosphine) complexes.

Main Results:

• Successful assembly of boryl/bis-(phosphine) complexes of (POBOP)Ru.
• Isolation of intermediates featuring two bidentate phosphino/phenoxide ligands coordinated to ruthenium.
• Demonstration of the utility of BH3·SMe2 in forming the boryl complexes.

Conclusions:

• The synthetic strategy enables the formation of new (POBOP)Ru complexes.
• The boryl/bis-(phosphine) complexes represent a new class of ruthenium compounds.
• This work expands the scope of ligand design in ruthenium chemistry.