Back Cover: N‐Heterocyclic Phosphenium Complex of Manganese: Synthesis and Catalytic Activity in Ammonia Borane Dehydrogenation (Chem. Eur. J. 48/2017)

Abstract

Subsequent reactions of a neutral phosphenium complex of Mn with H− and H+ sources resulted in a stoichiometric H2 addition to the Mn=P double bond, which can be reversed upon thermal or photochemical excitation. In contrast, in the reaction with NH3BH3, the same complex acted as dehydrogenation catalyst. DFT studies suggested to explain this transformation as a ligand‐centred process, in which the H+/H− pair is picked up by the phosphenium ligand and the metal is mainly a spectator. Apart from being the first application of a phosphenium complex in catalysis, this discovery adds a new twist to the further development of ligand‐centred reactivity and the use of metal complexes in catalysis. More information can be found in the Full Paper by D. Gudat et al. on page 11560.