Sakya Sen Research Group

Reversible C–H Bond Activation of Unactivated Arenes by a Nickel-Silylene Complex A nickel-silylene complex is shown to reversibly activate benzene via C–H bond activation at ambient temperature. The benzene C–H bond formally adds across the Ni–Si core to form a nickel-silyl comple...

Reversible C–H Bond Activation of Unactivated Arenes by a Nickel-Silylene Complex - pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
So proud to congratulate first author Leon Gomm for his first paper in JACS. Thanks to Hui Zhu and Stefan Grimme for the ever helpful DFT calculations. @unibonn.bsky.social

Many Congratulations, Rebecca!

Magnesium-Catalyzed Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Amide Hydroboration Catalytic hydroboration of amides is highly important because the resultant amines are commonly found in natural products, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, dyes, and other applications. In comparison to the conventional reduction of amides using (over)stoichiometric reductants, hydroboration of amides using magnesium compounds represents a green and sustainable approach because magnesium is both Earth abundant and environmentally benign. However, there is only one report on magnesium-catalyzed deoxygenative hydroboration of secondary and tertiary amides. Here, we describe the synthesis and structural authentication of two new magnesium compounds (1 and 2) featuring a flexible PNP ligand and the utilization of 2 as a catalyst for the pinacolborane-mediated reduction of primary, secondary, and tertiary amides to amines. The reaction scope is explored, and a mechanism is proposed based on experimental and theoretical insights.

This time it's magnesium! Our latest at Inorganic Chemistry reports a Mg-catalyst that reduces all amides. Kudos to Biplab for the lead with solid support from Soumya, Devaraj, Kumar, Rajesh! Grateful to CSIR_IND for funds!
#MagnesiumCatalysis
#SustainableChemistry
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Manganese(I)-catalyzed dehydrogenative borylation of terminal alkynes Compounds containing carbon–boron bonds serve as valuable intermediates for constructing more complex molecules by transforming these bonds into other carbon–element bonds. The catalytic dehydrogenati...

This time we work on Mn (it's not Mg) when Biswajit Saha helps us! A great collaborative work on C-H borylation led by Prateeksha and duly supported by Rinu, Deboshree, Kumar.
Just published @daltontrans.rsc.org
Thanks CSIR-NCL, CSIR-NEIST
& ANRF, India for support
pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

Sila[1]ferrocenophanes with Bulky Substituents Nucleophilic substitution via selective removal of one chlorine atom of dichlorosila[1]ferrocenophane using various reagents to yield novel sila[1]ferrocenophanes with sterically bulky groups.

Sila[1]ferrocenophanes with Bulky Substituents - Published in European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry
chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Synthesis of Diamido N-Heterocyclic Imines (DAC = NH) Via Staudinger or Reductive N–N Bond Cleavage Approach This report communicates the first examples of N-heterocyclic imines based on electrophilic diamido carbenes (DACs). While 2 is prepared by classical Staudinger synthesis, 4 is obtained via an unusua...

Are nucleophilic carbenes necessary in making imines? In our latest Organometallics paper, we show that DACs can do it too- sometimes in an unconventional way! Congrats to all authors!
Thanks CSIR-NCL and ANRF for support!
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

The Careful Combination of Bismuth Compounds and CAAC: Formal Halonium and Nitrenium Transfer via Radical Pathways Fundamental bismuth compounds such as BiCl3 and BiBr(NMe2)2 form simple, colorful adducts with cyclic (alkyl)(amino)carbenes. They undergo facile and selective formal X+ and (NMe2)+ transfer from bis...

Happy to share our recent work in #Bismuth chemistry with prof. Crispin Lichtenberg @Philipps university_Marburg
Many thanks to all the co-authors
DrAhmed Fetoh and prof. Jordi Poater #carbene #radicalchemistry
chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Development of six-membered saturated cyclic diaminocarbenes in main-group chemistry In recent years, there has been a remarkable surge in the utilization of saturated N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) as ligands in main group chemistry. While the field has predominantly focused on five-...

Happy to share our perspective on the recent development of six-membered saturated NHCs in main-group chemistry in @daltontrans.rsc.org
Many thanks to @sengroup.bsky.social

pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

Congratulations, Malte... Very nice results

Magnesium–Ligand Cooperation in Breaking the O–H and C–H Bonds of Water and Diazoalkane In our previous paper, we reported that the reaction of a tridentate nacnac ligand with a pendant picolyl group, with KHMDS and MgI2, resulted in the formation of a homoleptic hexacoordinate magnesium...

Excited to share our first paper of 2025 in Organometallics!
We describe the scission of OH and CH bond by magnesium using MLC! Great team work by vishal Sharma Rajesh gonnade, Soumya Dash, and Kumar Vanka.
Thanks CSIR-IND and csir-ncl for financial support!
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Congratulations to our past PhD student Milan Bisai (currently with Mike Ingleson) on being awarded the prestigious AvH postdoc fellowship.
Best wishes and looking forward to some exciting chemistry with Sjoerd Harder at Erlangen.
An old photo in my office after his PhD defence

Deeply saddened by the news… I still remember attending his classes during my PhD in Göttingen. An inspirational person!

Fantastic work! Congrats

Excellent Prof Harder!

Congratulations to Vishal Sharma for winning one of the best oral presentations at #ICMGSC2025. #magicalmagnesium

Congratulations, Josh

Wow Malte! Huge Congratulations! Excellent piece of boron chemistry

PhD #8: Congrats to V.S. Ajithkumar for defending his PhD with some cool Group 14 chemistry. 7 publications (4 first-author & more to come)! Thanks Sharanappa Nembenna & K. Geetharani for evaluation and doing the honors.
Wishing Ajith a productive time in Toronto with Doug Stephan & Karin Ruhlandt

#RSCPoster 2025 Join our 24-hour online conference on LinkedIn 4 March 2025 12:00 (UK time) Save the date.

The @roysocchem.bsky.social annual poster competition is taking place on LinkedIn again in 2025. Join us there in March!

Germylene Mediated Reductive C−C and C−N Coupling of an Isocyanide and its Device Application Reductive coupling of perimidine based N-heterocyclic germylene and 4-iodophenyl isocyanide afforded a highly colored and luminescent bis-spirogerma species with unprecedented simultaneous C−N and C−....

Our latest in Angewandte Chemie showing reductive coupling of an isocyanide by a germylene and its use as a HTL in quantum dot solar cell. A mix of synthesis, theory, and application! #maingroupchemistry
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Would be happy to be added! Thanks for the efforts

Germylene Mediated Reductive C−C and C−N Coupling of an Isocyanide and its Device Application Reductive coupling of perimidine based N-heterocyclic germylene and 4-iodophenyl isocyanide afforded a highly colored and luminescent bis-spirogerma species with unprecedented simultaneous C−N and C−....

Our latest in Angewandte Chemie showing reductive coupling of an isocyanide by a germylene and its use as a HTL in quantum dot solar cell. A mix of synthesis, theory, and application! #maingroupchemistry
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Unprecedented C–F bond cleavage in perfluoronaphthalene during cobaltocene reduction The C–F bond activation of perfluoronaphthalene by 5-SIDipp led to the formation of dicationic salts with two fluorides (3·2HF2 ) or heptafluorodiborate (3·2B2F7) as counter-anions. The anion exchange...

Wished to make diradicaloids based on perfluoronaphthalene, but a beautiful Co complex was obtained during the reduction with cobaltocene. Happy to publish it in Dalton Transactions. Have a read!
#Nheterocycliccarbene
pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

Uncovering diverse reactivity of NHCs with diazoalkane: C–H activation, CC bond formation, and access to N-heterocyclic methylenehydrazine N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have attracted significant attention due to their strong σ-donating capabilities, as well as their transition-metal-like reactivity towards small molecules. However, the...

Our recent paper at Chemical Science describing diverse reactions of NHCs towards TMSCHN2 #maingroupchemistry #Carbene
doi.org/10.1039/D4SC...