Ruthenium(II) complexes incorporating salicylaldiminato-functionalized N-heterocyclic carbene ligands as efficient and versatile catalysts for hydration of organonitriles

A new air-stable Ru(II) complexes (3a-3d) containing salicylaldiminato functionalized mixed N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) ligand and phosphine co-ligand was synthesized and characterized by FT-IR, NMR and ESI-Mass. The resulting complexes have been evaluated as potential catalysts for the selective hydration of nitriles to primary amides, and related amide bond forming reactions. This method has a great potential for the preparation of amides, because it tolerates a wide range of substrates with excellent yield.99