Catalytic Addition of Secondary Amines to Carbodiimides by a Half-Sandwich Yttrium TComplex: An Efficient Route to N,N,N,N-Tetra­substituted Guanidines

The catalytic addition of secondary amines to carbodiimides has been achieved by use of an yttrium half-sandwich alkyl complex {Me2Si(C5Me4)(NPh)}Y(CH2SiMe3)(THF)2, which offers a straightforward, atom-economical route to tetrasubstituted guanidines. n yttrium Aguanidinate species has been confirmed to be a true catalytic species in this reaction