Electrophilic Si-H Activation by Acetonitrilo Benzo[h]quinoline Iridacycles: Influence of Electronic Effects in Catalysis.

The performance of six newly synthesized benzo[h]quinoline-derived acetonitrilo pentamethylcyclopentadienyl iridium(III) tetrakis(3,5-bis-trifluoromethylphenyl)borate salts bearing different substituents -X (-OMe, -H, -Cl, -Br, -NO2 and -(NO2)2) on the heterochelating ligand were evaluated in the dehydro-O-silylation of benzyl alcohol and the monohydrosilylation of 4-methoxybenzonitrile by Et3SiH, two reactions involving the electrophilic activation of the Si-H bond. The benchmark shows a direct dependence of the catalytic efficiency with the electronic effect of -X, which is confirmed by theoretical assessment of the intrinsic silylicities Π of hydridoiridium(III)-silylium adducts and by the theoretical evaluation of the propensity of hydridospecies to transfer the hydrido ligand to the activated substrate. The revisited analysis of the Ir-Si-H interactions shows that the most cohesive bond in hydridoiridium(III)-silylium adducts is the Ir-H one, while the Ir-Si is a weak donor-acceptor dative bond. The Si…H interaction in all the cases is noncovalent in nature and dominated by electrostatics confirming the heterolytic cleavage of the hydrosilane's Si-H bond in this key catalytically relevant species.