Rare-earth metal complexes with tridentate linked amido-indenyl ligand: Synthesis, characterization, and catalytic properties for intramolecular hydroamination

•Complexes of Y, Sm, Er and Yb with a tridentate amido-indenyl ligand were synthesized.•X-ray single crystal structures of the four complexes were obtained.•Structure-reactivity study of the complexes was done in intramolecular hydroamination.•Substrate scope study with various aminoalkenes was done with complexes of Y and Sm.

The complexes of rare-earth metals (Y, Sm, Er and Yb) with a tridentate silicon-linked amido-indenyl ligand were synthesized and characterized. These complexes demonstrated high efficiency in catalyzing the intramolecular hydroamination of non-activated olefins under very mild conditions. Structure–reactivity relationship study revealed that the catalytic activities of these complexes decreased as the radii of the core metal ion decreased.

Graphical abstractFour novel rare-earth metal complexes (Y, Sm, Er, Yb) with linked tridentate amido-indenyl ligand was synthesized, characterized and applied to efficiently catalyze the intramolecular hydroamination of non-activated olefins.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide