Acceptorless Dehydrogenative Cross-Coupling of Primary Alcohols Catalyzed by an N-Heterocyclic Carbene-Nitrogen-Phosphine Chelated Ruthenium(II) Complex.

The acceptorless dehydrogenative cross-coupling of primary alcohols to form cross-esters with the liberation of H 2 gas was enabled using a [RuCl(η 6 -C 6 H 6 )(κ 2 -CNP)][PF 6 ]Cl complex as the catalyst. This sustainable protocol is applicable to a broad range of primary alcohols, particularly for the sterically demanding ones, featuring good functional group tolerance and high selectivity. The good catalytic performance can be attributed to the nitrogen-phosphine-functionalized N-heterocyclic carbene (CNP) ligand, which adopts a facial coordination mode as well as the facile dissociation of coordinated benzene.