Expanding Zirconocene Hydride Catalysis: Generation and Turnover of ZrH Catalysts Enabling Catalytic Carbonyl Reductions.

Despite the wide use and popularity of metal hydride catalysis, methods utilizing zirconium hydride catalysts remain underexplored. Here, we report the development of a mild method for the preparation and use of zirconium hydride catalysts. This robust method requires only 2.5-5 mol % of zirconocene dichloride in combination with a hydrosilane as the stoichiometric reductant and does not require careful air- or moisture-free techniques. A key finding of this study concerns an amine-mediated ligand exchange en route to the active zirconocene hydride catalyst. A mechanistic investigation supports the intermediacy of an oxo-bridged dimer precatalyst. The application of this method to the reduction of a wide variety of carbonyl-containing substrates, including ketones, aldehydes, enones, ynones, and lactones, is demonstrated with up to 92% yield and exhibits broad functional group tolerability. These findings open up alternative avenues for the catalytic application of chlorozirconocenes, potentially serving as the foundation for broader applications of zirconium hydride catalysis.