An Aluminium Imide as a Transfer Agent for the [NR]2- Function via Metathesis Chemistry.

The reactions of a terminal aluminium imide with a range of oxygen-containing substrates have been probed with a view to developing its use as a novel main group transfer agent for the [NR]2- fragment. We demonstrate transfer of the imide moiety to [N2 ], [CO] and [Ph(H)C] units driven thermodynamically by Al-O bond formation. N2 O reacts rapidly to generate the organoazide DippN3 (Dipp=2,6-i Pr2 C6 H3 ), while CO2 (under dilute reaction conditions) yields the corresponding isocyanate, DippNCO. Mechanistic studies, using both experimental and quantum chemical techniques, identify a carbamate complex K2 [(NON)Al-{κ2 -(N,O)-N(Dipp)CO2 }]2 (formed via [2+2] cycloaddition) as an intermediate in the formation of DippNCO, and also in an alternative reaction leading to the generation of the amino-dicarboxylate complex K2 [(NON)Al{κ2 -(O,O')-(O2 C)2 N-(Dipp)}] (via the take-up of a second equivalent of CO2 ). In the case of benzaldehyde, a similar [2+2] cycloaddition process generates the metallacyclic hemi-aminal complex, Kn [(NON)Al{κ2 -(N,O)-(N(Dipp)C(Ph)(H)O}]n . Extrusion of the imine, PhC(H)NDipp, via cyclo-reversion is disfavoured thermally, due to the high energy of the putative aluminium oxide co-product, K2 [(NON)Al(O)]2 . However, addition of CO2 allows the imine to be released, driven by the formation of the thermodynamically more stable aluminium carbonate co-product, K2 [(NON)Al(κ2 -(O,O')-CO3 )]2 .