Transfer Hydrogenation of Aldehydes and Ketones in Air with Methanol and Ethanol by an Air-Stable Ruthenium–Triazole Complex

Coordination of 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles L₁ and L₂ with [(p-cymene)­RuCl₂]₂ followed by dehydrochlorination in the presence of a base resulted in the formation of complexes 1 and 2, respectively. Both were tested for the transfer hydrogenation of aldehydes and ketones in air using ecologically benign and cheap ethanol as the hydrogen source in the presence of a catalytic amount of a base. Air-stable complex 1 was proved to be an active catalyst for the transfer hydrogenation of a wide variety of aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes and ketones bearing various functionalities. Catalyst 1 was also effective for the transfer hydrogenation of carbonyls using the simplest primary alcohol, methanol, under aerobic conditions. Under the present catalytic protocol, labile or reducible functionalities such as nitro, cyano, and ester groups were tolerated. Good selectivity was also observed for acyclic α,β-unsaturated carbonyls. However, this catalytic protocol was not selective for 2-cyclohexen-1-one as both alkene and keto moieties were reduced. The transfer hydrogenations are believed to proceed via a ruthenium-hydride intermediate. Finally, transfer hydrogenation of acetophenone using isopropanol as a commonly used hydrogen source was also performed and the sustainable and green credentials of these catalytic protocols utilizing methanol, ethanol, and isopropanol were compared with the help of the CHEM21 green metrics toolkit.