Dehydrogenation of alkanes catalyzed by an iridium phosphinito PCP pincer complex

The novel phosphinito iridium PCP pincer complex, IrH4{C6H3-2,6-(OPPri2)2} can be conveniently synthesized and isolated in 74% overall yield. The complex catalyzes the dehydrogenation of linear alkanes to alkenes at the rate of 13 turnovers min−1 at 200 °C. This catalytic activity is slightly higher than that exhibited by iridium complexes of analogous bis(phosphino) PCP ligands. The bis(phosphinito) complex is resistant to decomposition for periods up to 7 days at temperatures as high as 200 °C thus matching the thermal stability of the bis(phosphino) pincer complexes.