Conversion of (2-methyl-1-azabuta-1,3-diene)tricarbonyliron(0) complexes into tertiary (enamine)tricarbonyliron(0) complexes

Treatment of (2-methyl-1-azabuta-1,3-diene)tricarbonyliron(0) complexes with lithium diethylamide followed by a methyl iodide, benzyl bromide or allyl bromide quench leads to the formation of tertiary (enamine)tricarbonyliron(0) complexes in good yield. The crystal structures of two complexes, (2-(N-methyl-N-(4-methoxyphenyl)amino)-4-phenylbuta-1,3-diene)tricarbonyliron(0) (19) and (2-(N-allyl-N-isopropylamino)-4-phenylbuta-1,3-diene)tricarbonyliron(0) (24) are reported.