Transfer hydrogenation of ketones catalyzed by 2,6‐bis(triazinyl)pyridine ruthenium complexes: The influence of alkyl arms

The transfer hydrogenation of ketones catalyzed by transition metal complexes has attracted much attention. A series of ruthenium(II) complexes bearing 2,6-bis(5,6-dialkyl-1,2,4-triazin-3-yl)pyridine ligands (R-BTPs) were synthesized and characterized by NMR analysis and X-ray diffraction. These ruthenium(II) complexes were applied in the transfer hydrogenation of ketones. Their different catalytic activity were attributed to the alkyl arms on the 2,6-bis(5,6-dialkyl-1,2,4-triazin-3-yl)pyridine. As the length of the alkyl arms rising, the catalytic activities of the complex catalysts decreased. By means of 0.4 mol % catalyst RuCl₂(PPh₃)(3-methylbutyl-BTP) in refluxing 2-propanol, a variety of ketones were reduced to their corresponding alcohols with >95% conversion over a period of 3 h. © 2019 Elsevier Science. All rights reserved.