Synthesis of lanthanide(II)–imine complexes and their use in carbon–carbon and carbon–nitrogen unsaturated bond transformation

Ytterbium and samarium metals reduced aromatic ketimines to give directly divalent azalanthanacyclopropane complexes quantitatively, the structure of which was characterized by X-ray analysis. The imine complexes catalyzed dehydrogenative silylation of terminal alkynes, hydrosilylation of imines and alkenes, and intermolecular hydrophosphination of alkynes. Moreover, dehydrogenative double silylation of conjugated dienes was achieved with .