Organoactinide-Catalyzed Intermolecular Hydroamination of Terminal Alkynes

Organoactinide complexes of the type Cp* 2 AcR 2 (Ac = Th, U) catalyze the intermolecular hydroamination of terminal alkynes with aliphatic amines. The regioselectivity of the products can be tuned by the alkyne and the metal. Mechanistic studies shows that the rate-limiting step is the formation of an actinide imido complex. For thorium, the imido intermediate has been characterized by standard techniques, including X-ray diffraction.