Cobalt catalyzed hydrogenations: Studies on the stabilization of catalytic intermediates through heteroatom-free pi-acceptor hydrocarbons

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Axel Jacobi von Wangelin; Professor Dr. Robert Wolf
• Subject Area: Organic Molecular Chemistry - Synthesis and Characterisation
• Term: from 2014 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 263278476

This collaborative project involves the synthesis of homoleptic and heteroleptic cobalt complexes bearing diverse pi-hydrocarbon ligands (i.e. alkenes, arenes, cyclopentadienyls), their applications to catalytic hydrogenations of unsaturated C=C- and C=X-bond systems, and the elucidation of reaction mechanisms by spectroscopic (NMR, EPR, MS), kinetic (KIE, poisoning) and theoretical (DFT) methods. The proposed actions will address the suitability of electron-rich cobalt complexes with simple alkene and arene ligands as active and selective hydrogenation catalysts. The use of cobalt-arene/alkene precatalysts in low oxidation states is conceptually different from cobalt catayzed reactions with higher oxidized cobalt atoms and heteroatom-donor ligands. At the end of this project, a detailed comparison to literature-known heteroatom-donor ligand/metal complexes will be available which may allow the development of highly active hydrogenation catalysts.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants