A CO-Derived Iron Dicarbyne That Releases Olefin upon Hydrogenation

An
iron diphosphineborane platform that was previously reported
to facilitate a high degree of N2 functionalization is
herein shown to effect reductive CO coupling. Disilylation of an iron
dicarbonyl precursor furnishes a structurally unprecedented iron dicarbyne
complex. Several complexes related to this process are also characterized
which allows for a comparative analysis of their respective Fe–B
and Fe–C bonding. Facile hydrogenation of the iron dicarbyne
at ambient temperature and 1 atm H2 results in release
of a CO-derived olefin.