A new anthraquinoid ligand for the iron-catalyzed hydrosilylation of carbonyl compounds at room temperature: new insights and kineticsDedicated to Professor Dietmar Stalke on the occasion of his 60th birthday.Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Experimental procedures, and spectral and crystallographic data (PDF). CCDC 1576113 for 2 and 1577523 for Fe(2)2·0.5thf. For ESI and crystallographic data in CIF or other electronic format see DOI: 10.1039/c8dt01123k

The reaction of 1-((2-(pyridin-2-yl)ethyl)amino)anthraquinone with either Fe(HMDS) 2 or Li(HMDS)/FeCl 2 allowed the preparation of a new anthraquinoid-based iron( ii ) complex active in the hydrosilylations of carbonyls. The new complex Fe( 2 ) 2 was characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, NMR, and high resolution mass spectrometry (electrospray ionization). Superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry established no spin crossover behavior with an S = 2 state at room temperature. This complex was determined to be an effective catalyst for the hydrosilylation of aldehydes and ketones, exhibiting turnover frequencies of up to 63 min −1 with a broad functional group tolerance by just using 0.25 mol% of the catalyst at room temperature, and even under solvent-free conditions. The aldehyde hydrosilylation makes it one of the most efficient first-row transition metal catalysts for this transformation. Kinetic studies have proven first-order dependences with respect to acetophenone and Ph 2 SiH 2 and a fractional order in the case of the catalyst. The synthesis and characterization of a highly active Fe( ii ) catalyst for the hydrosilylation of aldehydes and ketones have been described.