A highly active cyclometallated iridium catalyst for the hydrogenation of imines

Abstract

A cyclometallated iridium complex containing an imino ligand has been shown to catalyse the hydrogenation of imines. The catalyst is highly active and selective for imino bonds, with a wide variety of imines being hydrogenated in less than 1 hour at a substrate/catalyst (S/C) ratio of 2000 at 20 bar H2 pressure and 75 °C.