Correlating Structure and KA2 Catalytic Activity of Zn(II) Hydrazone Complexes
Temiloluwa T. Adejumo, Marianna Danopoulou, Leandros P. Zorba, Andrej Pevec, Matija Zlatar, Dušanka Radanović, Milica Savić, Maja Gruden, Katarina K. Anđelković, Iztok Turel, Božidar Čobeljić, Georgios C. Vougioukalakis- Inorganic Chemistry
Two new Zn(II) complexes bearing tridentate hydrazone‐based ligands with NNO or NNS donor atoms were synthesised and characterised by elemental analysis, infrared (IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopies, and single crystal X‐ray diffraction methods. These complexes, together with four previously synthesised analogues, having hydrazone ligands with a NNO donor set of atoms, were successfully employed as catalysts in the ketone‐amine‐alkyne (KA2) coupling reaction, furnishing tetrasubstituted propargylamines, compounds with unique applications in organic chemistry. DFT calculations at the CAM‐B3LYP/TZP level of theory were performed to elucidate the electronic structure of the investigated Zn(II) complexes, excellently correlating the structure of the complexes to their catalytic reactivity.