Lanthanide(III) 4,6-Dimethylpyrimidine-2-thionate Complexes as Efficient Catalysts for Isocyanate Cy
Lanthanide(III) 4,6-Dimethylpyrimidine-2-thionate Complexes as Efficient Catalysts for Isocyanate Cyclodimerization
Hong-Xi Li, Mei-Ling Cheng, He-Ming Wang, Xiao-Juan Yang, Zhi-Gang Ren, Jian-Ping Lang*,
Organometallics
, 2011, 30, 208-214

Protonolysis reactions of [(Me3Si)2N]3Ln(μ-Cl)Li(THF)3 (Ln = Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu) with 3 equiv of 4,6-dimethylpyrimidine-2-thiol (dmpymtH) gave rise to the four Ln(III) pyrimidine-2-thionate complexes Li[Ln(dmpymt)4] (Ln = Pr (1), Nd (2), Sm (3), Eu (4)). Compounds 14 were characterized by elemental analysis, IR and 1H NMR spectroscopy, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the structures of 14 are similar and each eight-coordinate Ln(III) ion is chelated by four dmpymt ligands. Complexes 14 display excellent catalytic performance in the cyclodimerization of isocyanates to produce substituted ureas via elimination of CO, which represents the first example of lanthanide thiolates exhibiting a high catalytic activity and a high selectivity in the cyclodimerization of isocyanates. The effects of the solvents, temperatures, catalyst loadings, and rare-earth metals on the catalytic activities of the complexes were examined.