Dinitrogen Activation and Functionalization using β-Diketiminate Iron Complexes.

Iron catalysts are adept at breaking the N-N bond of N2, as exemplified by the iron-catalyzed Haber-Bosch process and the iron-containing clusters at the active sites of nitrogenase enzymes. This Minireview summarizes recent work that has identified a well-characterized set of multi-iron complexes that are capable of breaking and functionalizing N2, and are amenable to detailed mechanistic studies. We discuss the redox balancing, the potential intermediates during N2 activation, the variation of alkali metal reductant, the reversibility of N2 cleavage, and the formation of N-H and N-C bonds from N2.