Acetals, reaction with carbene complexes

Wulff et al. recently reported another unique example of this inverse transformation [35]. Thus, treatment of a, P-unsaturated Fischer carbene complexes 138 with an isopropoxy group on the carbene carbon with ketene acetal 139 at 80 °C in THF under CO pressure gave 4-pentynoate derivatives 140 in good yield. The reaction was proposed to proceed through 1,4-addition of ketene acetal to the carbene complex to give a zwitterionic intermediate 141. This underwent internal... 

Analytical thin layer chromatography (TLC) was conducted on 10 x 2.5-cm precoated glass plates (silica gel GF, 0.25-mm thickness, Analtech), eluted with 10% ethyl acetate in hexane, and visualized with both UV (254 nm) and aqueous 50% sulfuric add spray/heating. The carbene complex moves as an orange spot on TLC the reaction is complete when this spot is no longer visible. 

The catalytic activity of rhodium diacetate compounds in the decomposition of diazo compounds was discovered by Teyssie in 1973 [12] for a reaction of ethyl diazoacetate with water, alcohols, and weak acids to give the carbene inserted alcohol, ether, or ester product. This was soon followed by cyclopropanation. Rhodium(II) acetates form stable dimeric complexes containing four bridging carboxylates and a rhodium-rhodium bond (Figure 17.8). 

The different synthetic applications of acceptor-substituted carbene complexes will be discussed in the following sections. The reactions have been ordered according to their mechanism. Because electrophilic carbene complexes can undergo several different types of reaction, elaborate substrates might be transformed with little chemoselectivity. For instance, the phenylalanine-derived diazoamide shown in Figure 4.5 undergoes simultaneous intramolecular C-H insertion into both benzylic positions, intramolecular cyclopropanation of one phenyl group, and hydride abstraction when treated with rhodium(II) acetate. 

Silanes can react with acceptor-substituted carbene complexes to yield products resulting from Si-H bond insertion [695,1168-1171]. This reaction has not, however, been extensively used in organic synthesis. Transition metal-catalyzed decomposition of the 2-diazo-2-phenylacetic ester of pantolactone (3-hydroxy-4,4-dimethyltetrahydro-2-furanone) in the presence of dimethyl(phenyl)silane leads to the a-silylester with 80% de (67% yield [991]). Similarly, vinyldiazoacetic esters of pantolactone react with silanes in the presence of rhodium(II) acetate to yield a-silylesters with up to 70% de [956]. 

Aldol reactions.1 The anion generated (BuLi) from chromium carbene complexes undergoes aldol reactions with aldehydes or ketones activated by a Lewis acid. Best results are obtained with ketones in the presence of BF3 etherate, whereas TiCl4 is the preferred catalyst for aldehydes and acetals. 

Reaction of crowded chromium alkenyl Fischer carbene (50) with bulky ketene acetals provides an interesting entry to 3-substituted pent-l-ynoate (53)45 Formation of the alkyne can be rationalized by a 1,4-nucleophilic addition of the ketene on the unsaturated carbene complex (crowded complexes will not undergo potential 1,2-addition), following by oxonium (51) formation and fragmentation to a vinylidene carbene complex (52), which undergoes a 1,3-shift to the alkynylchromium complex leading the alkyne after reductive elimination. 

The reaction of substituted ketene acetals with alkenyl Fischer Cr carbene complexes provides a convenient one-pot approach to 4-aryl-3,4-dihydrocoumarins (Scheme 33)... 

A similar mechanism might operate in the activation of an azolium salt by a transition metal compound forming the metal carbene complex. However, since a basic substituent on the metal (acetate, alkoxide, hydride) usually reacts with the H -proton, the proton is removed from the reaction as the conjugate acid and reductive elimination does not occur. 

Yang et al. used a similar protocol (an ether functionality supported on a primary alkyl halide carrier) to introduce an acetal on either side of the imidazole ring generating an ether functionalised ionic liquid (IL) imidazolium salt [183] (see Rguie 3.58). The anion could be varied without loss of the IL property (melting point below 1(X) °C) [184]. Synthesis of the transition metal carbene complexes (palladium) was done by carbene transfer ftom the corresponding silver(I) complexes or by reaction with the metal acetate (nickel) [162] (see Figure 3.64). 

A few years earlier, Herrmann et al. published a carboxylic ester functionalised imi-dazolium salt that was synthesised directly from imidazole and bromoacetic acid ethyl ester [216]. Owing to its method of synthesis the imidazolium salt is C -symmetric with two ester functional wingUp groups. Generation of the rhodium(I) and palladium(II) carbene complexes was realised by reaction of the imidazolium salt with a rhodium alkoxide precursor or with palladium(II) acetate in the presence of NaOEt and Nal (see Figure 3.76). The silver(I) oxide method had not been discussed in the literature at the time [11]. 

The two carbene units can be embedded in a (macro)cyclic ring system known as a cyclophane. A standard procedure for the synthesis of such a system starts with a,a -dibromoxylene and potassium imidazolide [368]. Cychsation can be achieved by reacting the bis-imidazole compound with a second equivalent of a,a -dibromoxylene (see Figure 3.116). The cyclic bis-imidazolium cyclophane can then be reacted with paUadium(II) acetate to form the palladium complex [369,370]. The silver(I) and gold(I) complexes are accessible from the reaction with silver(I) oxide [371] and the usual carbene transfer reaction to gold(I) [372]. 

A very interesting amido functionahsed carbene was prepared by Legault et al. [116] from A-mesitylimidazole and 0-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)hydroxylamine, an electrophilic ami-nation reagent [117]. The exo-amino group is subsequently acylated to afford a zwitterionic amido functionalised carbene (see Figure 4.38). Reaction with silver(l) acetate and sodium carbonate [a rare variant of the silver(I) oxide method] yields the silver(l) carbene complex as a dimer with a Ag-Ag bond. The silver(l) carbene complex can be used as a carbene transfer reagent to synthesise the homoleptic monomeric copper(Il) carbene complex. 

Naturally, it is possible to synthesise a similar ligand system without central chirality and in fact without the unnecessary methylene linker unit. A suitable synthesis starts with planar chiral ferrocenyl aldehyde acetal (see Figure 5.30). Hydrolysis and oxidation of the acetal yields the corresponding carboxylic acid that is transformed into the azide and subsequently turned into the respective primary amine functionalised planar chiral ferrocene. A rather complex reaction sequence involving 5-triazine, bromoacetal-dehyde diethylacetal and boron trifluoride etherate eventually yields the desired doubly ferrocenyl substituted imidazolium salt that can be deprotonated with the usual potassium tert-butylate to the free carbene. The ligand was used to form a variety of palladium(II) carbene complexes with pyridine or a phosphane as coligand. 

Stereoselectivity) is observed however, for ethylidene complexes of Fe(CO)(PR3)Cp (69) the products reflect trans selectivity. This difference in stereoselectivity has been suggested to be dependent upon which conformer is more reactive. The reaction of a chiral-at-iron cationic carbene complex (70) with styrene or vinyl acetate affords optically active cyclopropane products with high enantioselectivity (Scheme 24). h >3 intramolecular cyclopropanation, as in the case of (71), proceeds moderately well for the formation of norcarane-type ring systems however, intramolecular C-H insertion is a competing pathway when the alkene is highly... 

Fischer-type carbenes can also be modified via transition metal catalyzed reactions. Fischer chromium aminocarbene complexes can be used as nucleophiles in palladium-catalyzed allyUc substitution reactions with aUylic acetates and carbonates, alFording the corresponding allyl-substituted aminocarbenes. For example, reaction of the Uthiated carbene (15) gives (16) in good yield (Scheme 25). ... 

It has been reported that treatment of 70 with silyl enol ether generates active species only toward olefin isomerization (Eq. 12.41) [47]. When vinyl acetate was added to the reaction instead of silyl enol ether, neither metathesis nor isomerization took place. Although details of the active species remain unclear, Fischer-type carbene complexes would be formed in the reaction of 70 with silyl enol ether. It has also been recognized that hydride-carbonyl complexes were formed by the thermolysis of... 

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