Rigid N-heterocyclic carbenes impose geometric constraints on metal centres, creating fixed coordination environments that can limit structural adaptability in catalysis. Introducing flexibility through acyclic (diaminocarbene) ligands (ADCs) disrupts this paradigm.
We show that ADC ruthenium complexes are readily accessible via isocyanide precursors, exhibit dynamic conformation, and significantly enhance catalytic transfer hydrogenation performance to enable efficient conversion of base-sensitive substrates under mild conditions.

This work was carried out in the group of Prof. Dr. Martin Albrecht.

Acknowledgments: With thanks to the SNSF (joint SNSF-NFU program, IZURZ2_224906).

References:

• G. Righetti, G. Koidan, S. L. Filimonchuk, S. Shishkina, A. Kostyuk, M. Albrecht;
  submitted