DOI: 10.1002/chem.201603544
Communication
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Main Group Chemistry
A Germylene/Borane Lewis Pair and the Remarkable C=O Bond
Cleavage Reaction toward Isocyanate and Ketone Molecules
[a]
[a]
[a]
[a]
[a]
[c]
Jiancheng Li, Bin Li, Rui Liu, Liuyin Jiang, Hongping Zhu,* Herbert W. Roesky,*
[b]
[b]
[d]
[d]
Sayan Dutta, Debasis Koley,* Weiping Liu, and Qingsong Ye
product. The condensation reaction of aldehydes or ketones
with amines has been well-known to yield the imines. This pro-
cess exhibits a deoxygenation under elimination of water,
which is accompanied with the C=N bond formation. However,
Abstract: A germylene/borane Lewis pair (2) was pre-
pared from a 1,1-carboboration of amidinato phenylethy-
nylgermylene (1) by B(C F ) . Compound 2 reacted with
6
5 3
iPrNCO and (4-MeOC H )C(O)Me, respectively, with cleav-
[2]
6
4
the reaction mechanism is quite complex. The Fischer–
age of the C=O double bond. In the first instance, O and
iPrNC insert separately into the GeꢀB bond to yield
a GeBC O-heterocycle (3) and a GeBC -heterocycle (4). In
Tropsch synthesis converts CO and H to hydrocarbons, carry-
2
ing a hydrogenation deoxygenation reaction through elimina-
tion of water as well, but operates under catalytic conditions
2
3
the second case (4-MeOC H )(Me)C inserts into the GeꢀN
[3]
6
4
when using transition metals. Recently, Erker and Stephan in-
bond of 2 while O is incorporated in the GeꢀB bond to
form a Ge-centered spiroheterocycle (5). The reaction of 2
with tBuNC to give 6, which has almost the same struc-
ture as 4, proved the formation of the isonitrile during
transformation from 2 and iPrNCO to 3 and 4. The kinetic
study of the reaction of 2 and iPrNCO gave evidence of
dependently illustrated this reaction process using P/B frustrat-
ed Lewis pairs (FLPs) with or without an excess of the Lewis
[4]
acid as stoichiometric reactant. Also well-known is the cross-
[5a,b]
[5c,d]
coupling reaction of the Wittig
and Tebbe
reagents.
These reagents efficiently deoxygenate aldehydes, ketones,
and/or carboxylic acid derivatives, respectively, and couple
with the remaining fragment to yield a-olefins. The organo-
phosphorus and -titanium oxides are formed as the respective
byproducts.
proceeding through a GeBC O-heterocycle intermediate.
3
In addition, a DFT study was performed to elucidate the
reaction mechanism.
The deoxygenation of the carbonyl compounds directing to
the free carbene-like species appears to be difficult and to
[
6]
The deoxygenation reaction of carbonyl compounds is an im-
portant process, which has been extensively utilized to pro-
duce a variety of organic molecules such as imines, hydrocar-
date only rare examples have been reported. Efficient and se-
lective reducing agents are indeed rare. In recent years, the
groups of Kira, Cui, and Roesky have reported on silylenes in-
[
1]
[7]
bons, carbene-like species, and others. It is essential that this
reaction proceeds with a multiple bond cleavage of the C=O
functionality, during which the deoxygenated remaining
moiety couples with the functional group to form the target
volved in the deoxygenation of aldehydes and ketones.
Nonetheless, such compounds are still limited. Moreover, the
related reaction mechanisms are not clear due to the compli-
cated process that is induced by these too reactive moieties.
[8]
Recently we worked on the synthesis of the germylenes and
IV
[9]
the Ge /P FLP. The reactions of some of these compounds
with aldehydes, ketones, or their derivatives have also been
[a] J. Li, B. Li, R. Liu, L. Jiang, Prof. Dr. H. Zhu
State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces
National Engineering Laboratory for Green Chemical Productions of
Alcohols-Ethers-Esters, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361005 (P. R. China)
carried out. However, only the C=O bond activation or addition
[8d,e,9]
reactions were found.
We were then intrigued with the
deoxygenation of the carbonyls by germylenes in a reaction
similar to that of the silylenes. A new germylene that has an in-
tramolecular borane connectivity was synthesized (2, Figure 1),
which has been tested to function as a deoxygenation com-
E-mail: hpzhu@xmu.edu.cn
[
b] S. Dutta, Dr. D. Koley
Department of Chemical Sciences
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata
Mohanpur 741246 (India)
pound for isocyanate by forming the respective GeC BO- and
2
E-mail: koley@iiserkol.ac.in
GeC B-heterocycles. Remarkably, during the reaction, the for-
3
[
c] Prof. Dr. H. W. Roesky
mation of the free isonitrile was detected. However, the deoxy-
genation reaction of 2 with a ketone resulted in a Ge-centered
spiroheterocycle as the single product.
Institut fꢀr Anorganische Chemie, Georg-August-Universitꢁt
Tammannstraße 4, 37077 Gçttingen (Germany)
E-mail: hroesky@gwdg.de
[
d] Prof. W. Liu, Q. Ye
Amidinato phenylethynyl germylene 1 was prepared (see Ex-
perimental Section in the Supporting Information) and then
State Key Laboratory for Platinum Group Metals
Kunming Institute of Precious Metals, Kunming
Yunnan 650106 (P. R. China)
treated with B(C F ) in toluene at 658C for 12 h to give com-
6
5 3
19
pound 2 with 92% isolated yield (Figure 1). The F NMR spec-
trum displayed two sets of C F resonances (d=ꢀ129.1 (o-F),
6
5
Chem. Eur. J. 2016, 22, 1 – 6
1
ꢀ 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
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