A High-valent Ru-PCP Pincer Catalyst for the Hydrogenation of Organic Carbonates

International audience; In this communication, we report on the successful application of a high-valent Ru-IV bifunctional catalyst (1) for mild hydrogenation of cyclic and acyclic carbonates. Our experimental and theoretical studies suggest that the hydrogenation mechanism is operated by an unusual formally zwitterionic Ru-IV complex. According to our hypothesis, the positively charged high-valent metal center is responsible for stronger hydrogen coordination. On the other hand, the proximate negatively charged ligand site facilitates heterolytic H-2 bond activation, which leads to efficient catalysis.