Atmospheric Hydrogenation of Esters Catalyzed by PNP-Ruthenium Complexes with an N-Heterocyclic Carbene Ligand.

New pincer ruthenium complexes bearing a monodentate N-heterocyclic carbene ligand were synthesized and demonstrated as powerful hydrogenation catalysts. With an atmospheric pressure of hydrogen gas, aromatic, heteroaromatic, and aliphatic esters as well as lactones were converted into the corresponding alcohols at 50 °C. This reaction protocol offers reliable access to alcohols using an easy operational setup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]