Synthesis and Characterization of Dearomatized Pyridine-Derived Alkyl-Amido-tert-Butylphosphine Iron(II) Complexes

Neutral three-coordinate iron alkylidenes of the form PN−Fe=CHR have been proposed as viable candidates for alkene metathesis. Indeed, during the final stages of preparing this current study, a separate report disclosed that dearomatized PN−Fe-alkyl complexes are active precatalysts for ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of norbornene implicating PN−Fe=CHR species as possible intermediates. In yet another separate report, we prepared Zn analogues of PN−Fe-alkyl complexes and herein provide an account for the synthesis, characterization, and reactivity of some new iron complexes with the same tBu substituted PN platform.