Sustainable Synthesis of Substituted 1,3,5-Triazines by [ONO]-Pincer-Supported Nickel(II) Complexes via an Acceptorless Dehydrogenative Coupling Strategy

A facile, cost-effective, and sustainable synthesis of substituted triazines from primary alcohols by newly synthesized nickel pincer-type complexes (1-3) has been described. Herein, we report the synthesis of a set of three well-defined Ni(II) O<^>N<^>O pincer-type complexes, structurally characterized by analytical, spectral, and X-ray diffraction techniques. Further, the nickel complexes are explored as efficient catalysts (4 mol %) for the construction of 2,4,6-substituted 1,3,5-triazines from readily available alcohols via an acceptorless dehydrogenative coupling (ADC) strategy. A wide range of substituted triazine derivatives (33 examples) has been synthesized from the coupling of alcohols and benzamidine/guanidine hydrochloride with a maximum isolated yield of 92% under mild conditions, with eco-friendly H2O and H2 gas as the only byproducts. A plausible mechanism has been proposed based on a sequence of control experiments. Interestingly, the short synthesis of the antiulcer drug irsogladine and the large-scale synthesis of 2,4-diphenyl-6-(p-tolyl)-1,3,5-triazine highlight the convenience of the current methodology.