Iron-Catalyzed/Mediated C–N Bond Formation: Competition between Substrate Amination and Ligand Amination

Iron catalyzed carbon–nitrogen bond formation reactions of a wide variety of nucleophiles and aryl halides using well-defined iron-complexes featuring redox noninnocent 2-(arylazo)-1,10-phenanthroline (L1) ligands are reported. Besides substrate centered C–N coupling, C–N bond formation reactions were also observed at the ortho- and para-positions of the phenyl ring of the coordinated azo-aromatic scaffolds affording new tetradentate ligands, 2-N-aryl-(2-arylazo)-1,10-phenanthroline (L2), and tridentate ligands, 4-N-aryl-(2-arylazo)-1,10-phenanthroline (L3), respectively. Control experiments and mechanistic studies reveal that the complex [FeL1Cl2] (1) undergoes in situ reduction during the catalytic reaction to produce the monoanionic complex [1]−, which then acts as the active catalyst. The metal (iron) and the coordinated ligand were found to work in a cooperative manner during the transfer processes involved in the fundamental steps of the catalytic cycle. Detailed experimental and theoretical (DFT) s...