Synthesis and properties of bis(dialkylphosphino)ethane iron dihydrides

✍ Scribed by Murray V Baker; Leslie D Field; David J Young

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1990
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 452 KB
• Volume: 4
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0268-2605
• DOI: 10.1002/aoc.590040517

✦ Synopsis

Syntheses and properties of the iron bisphosphinoethane complexes FeH,(PP), and FeHCI(PP), [PP = R,PCH,CH,PR,, where R = Me (PP= DMPE), Et (PP = DEPE), and n-Pr (PP = DprPE)] are reported. The complexes can be formed by reduction of the corresponding dichlorides FeCI,(PP), with lithium aluminium hydride in THF solution provided that ethanol or more acidic reagents are not employed during the reaction work-up. The dihydrides are notably basic compounds and can be protonated reversibly by alcohols.

The dihydrides exist as equilibrating mixtures of cis and trans isomers in solution. The cis isomers of each of the dihydrides are fluxional on the NMR timescale and NMR studies indicate that the interconversion of cis isomers does not necessarily proceed via the trans isomer.