Reactions of 2-Substituted Pyridines with Titanocenes and Zirconocenes: Coupling versus Dearomatisation

Reactions of group4 metallocene sources with 2-substituted pyridines were investigated to evaluate their coordination type between innocent and reductive dearomatisation as well as to probe the possibility for couplings. A dependence on the cyclopentadienyl ligands (Cp, Cp*), the metals (Ti, Zr), and the substrates (2-phenyl-, 2-acetyl-, and 2-iminopyridine) was observed. While 2-phenylpyridine is barely reactive, 2-acetylpyridine reacts vigorously with the Cp-substituted complexes and selectively with their Cp* analogues. With 2-iminopyridine, in all cases selective reactions were observed. In the isolated [Cp2Ti], [Cp2Zr], and [Cp*Zr-2] compounds the substrate coordinates by its pyridyl ring and the unsaturated side-chain. Subsequently, the pyridine was dearomatised, which is most pronounced in the [Cp*Zr-2] compounds. Using [Cp*Ti-2] leads to the unexpected paramagnetic complexes [Cp*Ti-2(III)(N,O-acpy)] and [Cp*Ti-2(III)(N,N-impy)]. This highlights the non-innocent character of the pyridyl substrates.