Hydrodefluorination of carbon-fluorine bonds by the synergistic action of a ruthenium-palladium catalyst

Catalytic hydrodefluorination of organic molecules is a major organometallic challenge, owing to the strength of C-F sigma bonds, and it is a process with multiple industrial applications. Here we report a new heterodimetallic ruthenium-palladium complex based on a triazolyl-di-ylidene ligand. The complex is remarkably active in the hydrodefluorination of aromatic and aliphatic carbon-fluorine bonds under mild reaction conditions. We observe that both metals are required to promote the reaction process. The overall process implies that the palladium fragment facilitates the C-F activation, whereas the ruthenium centre allows the reduction of the substrate via transfer hydrogenation from isopropanol/sodium t-butoxide. The activity of this heterodimetallic complex is higher than that shown by a mixture of the related homodimetallic complexes of ruthenium and palladium, demonstrating the catalytic benefits of the heterodimetallic complex linked by a single-frame ligand.