Vanadium-catalyzed reduction of molecular dinitrogen into silylamine under ambient reaction conditions

Abstract

We have found that some vanadium complexes worked as effective catalysts toward reduction of molecular dinitrogen into silylamine under ambient reaction conditions, where up to 24 equiv of N(SiMe3)3 are produced based on the vanadium atom. This is the first successful example of the vanadium-catalyzed transformation of nitrogen gas into ammonia equivalent under mild reaction conditions.