Surprising Stability of Nucleophilic CrIII-Alkylating and CrIII-Allylating Reagents towards Ethanol and Water

The alkylation and allylation of aldehydes in the presence of ethanol or water are possible with chromium(III) reagents such as 1 or 2. In some cases, the addition of ethanol or water even increases the yields. The maximum yield on addition of 1—3 mol of protic solvent per mol of reagent indicates that 1—3 solvent molecules are incorporated into the ligand spheres of 1 or 2 without cleavage of the CrC bond.