A Computational Investigation of the Hydrogenation of Imines Catalyzed by Rhodium Thiolate Complexes

The mechanism of imine hydrogenation catalyzed by thiolate complexes of Rh(III) bearing a hydrotris(3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl)borato ligand has been investigated via the density functional theory calculations. The overall catalytic cycle for heterolytic cleavage of H-2 and hydrogenation of N-benzylidenemethylamine by the model catalyst [TpRh(bdt)MeCN)] is presented in detail. The results show that the reaction proceeds via an ionic mechanism through three steps: formation of dihydrogen complex, protonation of imine and the hydride transfer process. Protonation of imine occurs after the formation of Rh(H)-S(H) moiety. For the whole catalytic cycle, the heterolytic splitting of dihydrogen is the step with the highest free energy barrier. (c) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.