Three new Schiff base rhodium (III) complexes, derived from three ligands, L1, L2 and L3 have been prepared and characterized by IR, 1HNMR, mass spectra and the elemental analysis. These complexes have shown efficient catalytic activity in the transfer hydrogenation of wide variety ketones to the corresponding alcohols in formic acid/triethylamine solution under mild reaction conditions. Depending on the ketone, the percentage of conversion for RhL1 have been found to be (51-92%) compared to RhL2 which had a yield of (42-92%) while for RhL3 (71-94%), within time range of 0.5-12 hrs.
Keywords : Schiff base; Rhodium (III) complex; Transfer hydrogenation; Diamine.
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