Acetylene complexes catalytic reactions

More recently, Schrock has reported the formation of coordinatively unsaturated Ta and W carbyne complexes (124). Like unsaturated carbene complexes, these carbyne compounds are now established as being active intermediates in a number of catalytic reactions. The discovery of acetylene metathesis reactions catalyzed by carbyne complexes (3), for example, has generated considerable interest in this class of compound. 

The first anti-Markovnikov hydration of terminal acetylenes, catalyzed by mthenium(ll)-phosphine complexes, has been described in 1998 [27]. As shown on Scheme 9.8, the major products were aldehydes, accompanied by some ketone and alcohol. In addition to TPPTS, the fluorinated phosphine, PPh2(C6Fs) also formed catalytically active Ru-complexes in reaction with [ RUC12(C6H6) 2]. 

It has been found in the meantime that reaction (1) is generalizable (752), and that oxidative additions of this type occur for such widely differing substrates H2Y as ethylene, benzene 130), cyclic olefins, alkyl and aryl phosphines, aniline 337, 406), and H2S 130), ail of which give the same product structure with a triply-bridging Y ligand. The stability of these third-row transition metal clusters has stiU prevented catalytic reactions of these species, but it is likely that similar ones are involved in olefin and acetylene reactions catalyzed by other metal complexes. 

The field of acetylene complex chemistry continues to develop rapidly and to yield novel discoveries. A number of recent reviews 1-10) covers various facets including preparation, structure, nature of bonding, stoichiometric and catalytic reactions, and specific aspects with particular metals. The first part of this account is confined to those facets associated with the nature of the interactions between acetylenes and transition metals and to the insertion reactions of complexes closely related to catalysis. Although only scattered data are available, attempts will be made to give a consistent interpretation of the reactivities of coordinated acetylene in terms of a qualitative molecular orbital picture. 

Conversion of an j2-acetylene complex to the hydridoalkynyl complex will lead to linear oligomerization or polymerization. The tendency of some Ilh or Pd complexes to form hydridooalkynyl complexes explains their catalytic activity toward linear oligomerization. Recently, Hagihara et al. 115) examined the reaction of preformed hydrido-alkynyl complexes, MH(insertion into the M—H bond. 

Carbonylation of the parent acetylene via stoichiometric or catalytic reactions involving transition-metal carbonyl complexes has been extensively studied. Various types of carbonylation reactions of acetylene were discovered. In 1968, Pino et al. [30] reported on the synthesis of hydroquinone via a Ru3(CO)12-cat-alyzed carbonylation of acetylene with H2 or H20. The product formally consisted of two molecules of acetylene and CO, and one molecule of H2 (Eq. 14). To achieve a good yield of hydroquinone, the H2 pressure must be kept under... 

Cycloalkenylation of tu-acetylenic silyl enolates is efficiently catalyzed also by PtG. The catalytic reaction of silyl enolate 44 in MeOH gives a bicyclic n-cnnnc. which would be derived from the initially formed acetal 45 (Scheme 24). Cyclopropylmethylene complex 46 has been proposed to be a key intermediate in the transformation of 44 to 45. 

Considerable effort has been devoted to achieving the intermolecular catalytic Pauson-Khand reaction. The mthenium complex-catalyzed reaction of an alkyne with an alkene such as ethylene or 2-norbornene under CO gave hydroquinone derivatives [79], with CO (2 mol) being introduced into the products (Eq. 11.36). This reaction is the first example of the preparation of hydroquinone derivatives by the reaction of alkynes and alkenes with CO, while hydroquinone is synthesized by the ruthenium-catalyzed reaction of 2 mol acetylene with 2 mol CO (Eq. 11.37) [80]. 

In general, the acetylenic triple bond is highly reactive toward hydrogenation, hydroboration, and hydration in the presence of acid catalyst. Protection of a triple bond in disubstituted acetylenic compounds is possible by complex formation with octacarbonyl dicobalt [Co2(CO)g Eq. (64) 163]. The cobalt complex that forms at ordinary temperatures is stable to reduction reactions (diborane, diimides, Grignards) and to high-temperature catalytic reactions with carbon dioxide. Regeneration of the triple bond is accomplished with ferric nitrate [164], ammonium ceric nitrate [165] or trimethylamine oxide [166]. 

The following describes results of three, relatively simple chemical reactions involving hydrocarbons on model single crystal metal catalysts that illustrate this general approach, namely, acetylene cyclotrimerization and the hydrogenation of acetylene and ethylene, all catalyzed by palladium. The selected reactions fulfdl the above conditions since they occur in ultrahigh vacuum, while the measured catalytic reaction kinetics on single crystal surfaces mimic those on reahstic supported catalysts. While these are all chemically relatively simple reactions, their apparent simplicity belies rather complex surface chemistry. 

Temkin and co-workers have investigated the thermodynamic properties of the soluble complexes of unsaturated hydrocarbons with various metal salts with particular reference to their role in catalytic reactions. Using a potentio-metric technique, they were able to calculate the thermodynamic data shown in Table 6 for the silver(I)-acetylene complexes 30) and the silver(I)-ethylene complex 31). The results obtained for acetylene have been related to the low activity of silver salts as catalysts for the hydration of acetylene. For the sil-ver(I)-ethylene complex, the relationship between the ionic concentrations and... 

Halopalladation is a reaction in which a halide ion, as a nncleophile, adds to the palladium complexed unsaturated compounds. Chloropalladation of unsaturated organic substrates is an important reaction in organopalladium chemistry. Additions of Pd—Cl to allenes, " olefins,acetylenes, " and conjugated dienes have been reported. While a lot of works concerning the halopalladation reactions of unsaturated substrates were studied, only a few papers related to the catalytic reactions initiated by halopalladation of organic substrates were reported until recently. 

Stoichiometric yields (Fig. 7). The reaction of acetylene with bis(acrylo-nitrile)-nickel is not catalytic. During reaction, the tr-bonded acrylonitrile molecules are displaced by acetylene molecules. The final intermediate complex would have the composition Ni(C2H2)4 and could decompose into nickel and cyclooctatetraene. The nickel atom evidently cannot be resolvated by acetylene and the reaction comes to an end. 

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