Ruthenium-catalyzed dehydrogenation of ammonia boranes

The dehydrogenation of ammonia borane (AB) and methylammonia borane (MeAB) is shown to be catalyzed by several Ru-amido complexes. Up to 1 equiv of H2 (1.0 system wt %) is released from AB by as little as 0.03 mol % Ru within 5 min, and up to 2 equiv of H2 (3.0 system wt %) are released from MeAB with 0.5 mol % Ru in under 10 min at room temperature, the first equivalent emerging within 10 s. Also, a mixture of AB/MeAB yields up to 3.6 system wt % H2 within 1 h with 0.1 mol % Ru. Computational studies were performed to elucidate the mechanism of dehydrogenation of AB. Finally, it was shown that alkylamine-boranes can serve as a source of H2 in the Ru-catalyzed reduction of ketones and imines.