Bidentate NHC-Cobalt Catalysts for the Hydrogenation of Hindered Alkenes

Herein, we report a series of easily accessible bidentate N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) cobalt catalysts, which enable the hydrogenation of hindered alkenes under mild conditions. The four-coordinated bidentate NHC-Co(II) complexes were characterized by X-ray diffraction, elemental analysis, ESI-HRMS, and magnetic moment measurements, revealing a distorted-tetrahedral geometry and a high-spin configuration of the metal center. The activity of the in situ formed catalytic system, which was obtained from easily available NHC precursors, CoCl2, and NaHBEt3, was identical with those of well-defined NHC-cobalt catalysts. This highlights the potential utility of this reaction system.