Rhodium
and iridium diolefin catalysts for the acceptorless and
base-free dehydrogenation of secondary alcohols have been prepared,
and their degradation has been investigated, during the study of the
reactivity of the dimers [M(μ-Cl)(η
4
-C
8
H
12
)]
2
(M = Rh (
1
), Ir
(
2
)) and [M(μ-OH)(η
4
-C
8
H
12
)]
2
(M = Rh (
3
), Ir (
4
)) with 1,3-bis(6′-methyl-2′-pyridylimino)isoindoline
(HBMePHI). Complex
1
reacts with HBMePHI, in dichloromethane,
to afford equilibrium mixtures of
1
, the mononuclear
derivative RhCl(η
4
-C
8
H
12
){κ
1
-
N
py
-(HBMePHI)} (
5
), and the binuclear species [RhCl(η
4
-C
8
H
12
)]
2
{μ-
N
py
,
N
py
-(HBMePHI)} (
6
). Under
the same conditions, complex
2
affords the iridium counterparts
IrCl(η
4
-C
8
H
12
){κ
1
-
N
py
-(HBMePHI)} (
7
) and [IrCl(η
4
-C
8
H
12
)]
2
{μ-
N
py
,
N
py
-(HBMePHI)} (
8
). In contrast to chloride,
one of the hydroxide groups of
3
and
4
promotes
the deprotonation of HBMePHI to give [M(η
4
-C
8
H
12
)]
2
(μ-OH){μ-
N
py
,
N
iso
-(BMePHI)} (M = Rh
(
9
), Ir (
10
)), which are efficient precatalysts
for the acceptorless and base-free dehydrogenation of secondary alcohols.
In the presence of KO
t
Bu, the [BMePHI]
−
ligand undergoes three different degradations: alcoholysis
of an exocyclic isoindoline-N double bond, alcoholysis of a pyridyl-N
bond, and opening of the five-membered ring of the isoindoline core.