Iron-Catalyzed Transfer Hydrogenation of Allylic Alcohols with Isopropanol

J Org Chem. 2024 Oct 4;89(19):14571-14576. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.4c01701. Epub 2024 Sep 25.

Abstract

Herein, we report an iron-catalyzed transfer hydrogenation of allylic alcohols. The operationally simple protocol employs a well-defined bench stable (cyclopentadienone)iron(0) carbonyl complex as a precatalyst in combination with K2CO3 (4 mol %) and isopropanol as the hydrogen donor. A diverse range of allylic alcohols undergo transfer hydrogenation to form the corresponding alcohols in good yields (33 examples, ≤83% isolated yield). The scope and limitations of the method have been investigated, and experiments that shed light on the reaction mechanism have been conducted.