Title:

Synthesis of an N-Heterocyclic Phosphenium Gold Complex

N-Heterocyclic phosphenium cations (NHPs) are ligands that bind metals in a similar way to their more popular counterpart, N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs). NHCs have been used to make metal-NHC complexes that have been successfully used as catalysts. NHPs, on the other hand, have seen little use in catalytic applications, likely due to air and moisture sensitivity and the need to handle them under an inert atmosphere. In the Caputo group, we are interested in the differences in catalysis that might result when substituting the NHP ligand for the NHC at Au. We anticipate differences in reactivity due to the inverse electron demand of the NHCs vs. the NHPs. In this poster I will show the successful synthesis of the NHP precursor, N,N’-bis(2,4,6 trimethylphenyl)ethane-diamine, using 2,4,6-trimethylphenyl (Mes) as the aryl group and confirmation of the structure by 1H NMR spectroscopy. First attempt to make the NHP-Cl complex was not successful, as demonstrated by 31P NMR spectroscopy. Future plans for this research include continuing the synthetic approach to achieve the intended NHP gold complex, and to test out this complex for the catalytic hydration of an alkyne.

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