Acetylenes, addition reactions cobalt carbonyls

Similar acetylene addition reactions take place with bis-cydopentadienylnickel carbonyl dimer (93). Changing from carbonyl to cyanide ligands seems to allow the formation of a true vinyl derivative. Thus, potassium pentacyanocobaltate, which may react as a dimer with a cobalt-cobalt bond (20), reacts with acetylene to give the adduct XV (31). The product was thought to be the trans isomer, but the data were not conclusive. 

Two examples of the addition of cobalt-carbon compounds to carbonyl groups were given above under acetylene reactions, suggesting this reaction is also generally important. 

Insertion reactions of alkylcobalt or acylcobalt tetracarbonyls with saturated aldehydes or ketones have not been observed. Carbonyl insertions do occur in some unsaturated carbonyl systems, however. The cyclization of the intermediate acylacrylylcobalt tricarbonyls, formed from acetylenes and alkylcobalt or acylcobalt tetracarbonyls, to butenolactone derivatives, as described above, is one example of the reaction. Another example is the addition of alkylcobalt or acylcobalt tetracarbonyls to a, -unsaturated aldehydes or ketones. In this reaction an acyl group from the cobalt compound is added to a carbonyl oxygen and the cobalt carbonyl group forms a iT-allyl system with the carbonyl carbon and the double bond 19). 

In the Pauson-Khand reaction one acetylene, one olefin and cobaltcarbonyl (as a carbon monoxide source) are used and cyclopentenone is obtained by a [2 + 2 -t-1 ] cyclization addition [56-61]. As shown in Scheme 17.5, the Pauson-Khand reaction is, at first, two -electrons of the reactive acetylene bond to two cobalt atoms (Figure 17.6), then the olefin coordinates to one cobalt atom and then inserts into the cobalt-carbon bond. Further, one carbonyl inserts into the new cobalt-carbon bond, and cyclopentenone is obtained by elimination of Co2(CO)6 [56]. 

However, the reaction proceeded only under drastic conditions (pressure 700 upward to 900 atm) in the presence of mineral acids, BFg or metal halogenides. At that time metal carbonyls had been regarded as catalyst poisons. However, Reppe could prove that olefins react with carbon monoxide and water in the presence of metal carbonyls. The reaction products are saturated carboxylic acids. Whereas Ni(CO)4 is the preferred catalyst in the carbonylation of acetylenes, cobalt, rhodium and ruthenium catalysts are equivalent or superior in olefin carbonylation. Also palladium and hydrochloric acid containing catalyst systems are of special activity in hydrocarboxylation [469-471]. Iron has an accelerating effect [472]. Addition of boric acid to Ni or Co catalysts increases the catalyst life and suppresses the formation of insoluble polymer products [473]. 

Several syntheses of aldehydes and ketones based on the insertion of carbon monoxide have been reported. Reaction of norbornadiene with monosubstituted acetylenes in the presence of octacarbonyldicobalt gives the fused cyclopen-tenone (35) in high yield conjugate addition of a cuprate and vacuum pyrolysis completes a simple synthesis of 2,3-disubstituted cyclopent-4-enones (36) (Scheme 30)." Conjugated dienes with methyl iodide in the presence of the same cobalt reagent yield conjugated dienones (37) [equation (8)]." In a review of carbonyl insertion reactions, the same reagent is reported to catalyse the reaction... 

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