Organosodium compounds are appealing sustainable alternatives to precious transition metal compounds, yet they have rarely been used in homogeneous catalysis. Here, the authors introduce a dihydropyridylsodium compound, Na1,2-tBu-DH(DMAP), and its monomeric variant [Na-1,2-tBuDH(DMAP)]·Me6TREN, and demonstrate their effectiveness in transfer hydrogenation catalysis of a representative alkene, 1,1-diphenylethylene, using 1,4-cyclohexadiene as a hydrogen source.
- Peter A. Macdonald
- Alan R. Kennedy
- Robert E. Mulvey