Mono- and Dinuclear Neutral and Cationic Iron(II) Compounds Supported by an Amidinato-diolefin Ligand: Characterization and Catalytic Application

A new
amidinato-diolefin ligand is presented along with its sodium
salt as a starting point for the preparation of iron­(II) compounds.
Rational synthetic approaches to cationic and dinuclear iron species
have been established and allowed for the first isolation of an amidinato
stabilized cationic Fe species. The versatility of the potentially
tetradentate ligand system is mirrored by structural authentification
of three different binding modes. These include rare examples of Fe­(II)–olefin
interactions in neutral compounds. A set of iron compounds was shown
to be active as precatalysts in the synthesis of poly silylethers
by dehydrogenative alcoholysis of PhSiH3. The most active
catalyst was generated from a dinuclear iron compound. Characterization
techniques include NMR, IR, and Mössbauer spectroscopy, single
crystal X-ray analysis, magnetic susceptibility measurements, and
mass spectrometry.