Chemical nitrogen fixation by using molybdenum and tungsten complexes

Hidai, Masanobu; Mizobe, Yasushi

doi:10.1351/pac200173020261

Pure Appl. Chem., 2001, Vol. 73, No. 2, pp. 261-263

http://dx.doi.org/10.1351/pac200173020261

Chemical nitrogen fixation by using molybdenum and tungsten complexes

Masanobu Hidai and Yasushi Mizobe

Department of Materials Science and Technology, Faculty of Industrial Science and Technology, Science University of Tokyo, Noda, Chiba 278-8510, Japan, and Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 106-8558, Japan

Abstract: Dinitrogen complex cis-[W (N₂) ₂ (PMe₂Ph) ₄] reacts with an excess of acidic dihydrogen complexes such as trans-[RuCl (h²-H₂) (dppe) ₂]BF₄ (dppe = 1,2-bis (diphenylphosphino) ethane) at 55 °C under 1 atm of H₂ to form ammonia in moderate yield. The reaction is presumed to proceed through nucleophilic attack of the remote nitrogen of the coordinated dinitrogen on the dihydrogen ligand. The coordinated dinitrogen is also protonated by treatment with hydrosulfido-bridged dinuclear complexes such as [Cp*Ir (m-SH) ₃IrCp*]Cl (Cp* = h⁵-C₅Me₅) to afford ammonia. On the other hand, the synthetic cycle for the formation of pyrrole and N-aminopyrrole from dinitrogen and 2,5-dimethoxytetrahydrofuran has been established starting from dinitrogen complexes of the type trans-[M (N₂) ₂ (dppe) ₂ ] (M = Mo, W).