Triruthenium carbonyl clusters derived from chiral aminooxazolines: synthesis and catalytic activity

Treatment of [Ru3(CO)12] with the chiral aminooxazolines (+)-2-amino-(4R)-phenyl-2-oxazoline (H2amphox), (+)-2-amino-(4R,5S)-indanyl-2-oxazoline (H2aminox) and (+)-2-(2-anilinyl)-(4R,5S)-indanyl-2-oxazoline (H2aninox) in THF at reflux temperature, affords the complexes [Ru3(mu-H)(mu3-kappa2-Hox-N,N)(CO)9] (H2ox = H2amphox, 1; H2aminox, 2) and [Ru3(mu-H)(mu-kappa2-Haninox-N,N)(CO)9] (3). In all cases, the activation of an N-H bond has occurred and the resulting amido fragment spans an edge of the metal triangle, while the N atom of the oxazoline ring is attached to the remaining metal atom (as in 1 and 2), or to one of the metal atoms of the bridged edge (as in 3). The use of 1-3 as catalyst precursors in the asymmetric hydrogen-transfer reduction of acetophenone and in the asymmetric cycloaddition of cyclopentadiene and acroleine is reported.