Introducing Frustrated Lewis Pairs to Metal-Organic Framework for Selective Hydrogenation of N-Heterocycles

Hydrogenated nitrogen heterocyclic compounds play a criticalrolein the pharmaceutical, polymer, and agrochemical industries. Recentstudies on partial hydrogenation of nitrogen heterocyclic compoundshave focused on costly and toxic precious metal catalysts. As an importantclass of main-group catalysts, frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs) havebeen widely applied in catalytic hydrogenation reactions. In principle,the combination of FLPs and metal-organic framework (MOF) isanticipated to efficiently enhance the recyclability performance ofFLPs; however, the previously studied MOF-FLPs showed low reactivityin the hydrogenation of N-heterocycles compounds.Herein, we offer a novel P/B type MOF-FLP catalyst that was achievedvia a solvent-assisted linker incorporation approach to boost catalytichydrogenation reactions. Using hydrogen gas under moderate pressure,the proposed P/B type MOF-FLP can serve as a highly efficient heterogeneouscatalyst for selective hydrogenation of quinoline and indole to tetrahydroquinolineand indoline-type drug compounds in high yield and excellent recyclability.

Automated summary

Hydrogenated nitrogen heterocyclic compounds are critical in various industries. Previous studies on the partial hydrogenation of these compounds have focused on costly and toxic precious metal catalysts. This research introduces a novel P/B type MOF-FLP catalyst achieved through a solvent-assisted linker incorporation approach, which significantly enhances catalytic hydrogenation reactions.