An Aluminum Hydride That Functions like a Transition-Metal Catalyst

The reaction of [LAlH2] (L= HC(CMeNAr)(2), Ar= 2,6-iPr(2)C(6)H(3)) with MeOTf (Tf= SO2CF3) resulted in the formation of [LAlH(OTf)] (1) in high yield. The triflate substituent in 1 increases the positive charge at the aluminum center, which implies that 1 has a strong Lewis acidic character. The excellent catalytic activity of 1 for the hydroboration of organic compounds with carbonyl groups was investigated. Furthermore, it was shown that 1 effectively initiates the addition reaction of trimethylsilyl cyanide (TMSCN) to both aldehydes and ketones. Quantum mechanical calculations were carried out to explore the reaction mechanism.