Addition, carbene free radical

From the point of view of both synthetic and mechanistic interest, much attention has been focused on the addition reaction between carbenes and alkenes to give cyclopropanes. Characterization of the reactivity of substituted carbenes in addition reactions has emphasized stereochemistry and selectivity. The reactivities of singlet and triplet states are expected to be different. The triplet state is a diradical, and would be expected to exhibit a selectivity similar to free radicals and other species with unpaired electrons. The singlet state, with its unfilled p orbital, should be electrophilic and exhibit reactivity patterns similar to other electrophiles. Moreover, a triplet addition... 

By contrast, much of the work performed using ruthenium-based catalysts has employed well-defined complexes. These have mostly been studied in the ATRP of MMA, and include complexes (158)-(165).400-405 Recent studies with (158) have shown the importance of amine additives which afford faster, more controlled polymerization.406 A fast polymerization has also been reported with a dimethylaminoindenyl analog of (161).407 The Grubbs-type metathesis initiator (165) polymerizes MMA without the need for an organic initiator, and may therefore be used to prepare block copolymers of MMA and 1,5-cyclooctadiene.405 Hydrogenation of this product yields PE-b-PMMA. N-heterocyclic carbene analogs of (164) have also been used to catalyze the free radical polymerization of both MMA and styrene.408... 

Evidence for the generation of these reactive intermediates was obtained from a study of the effect of added cydohexene on the sonication of chloroform. The presence of free radicals in the system was confirmed by the appearance of chlorocydohexane as a product and by the increased rate of decomposition of CHCI3 in the presence of cyclohexene. The increased decomposition rate is a consequence of the presence, in the cavitation bubble, of the alkene which mops up the Cl radical as it is formed and prevents the regeneration of chloroform - i. e. the kinetic steps in Scheme 3.4 are driven from left to right. Carbene intermediates are implicated by the formation of tricyclic compounds such as (1) via dichlorocarbene addition to cydohexene. 

In 1981 it was shown that rhodium(II) carboxylates smoothly catalyze the addition of ethyl diazoacetate to a variety of alkanes11. While some differentiation between possible sites of insertion was observed, selectivity is not as high for this carbenoid process as it is for the free radical process above. Rhodium-catalyzed intermolecular C-H insertion is thought to proceed via electrophilic addition of an intermediate rhodium carbene into the alkane C—IT bond. 

Luminescence is seldom observed from free radicals and radical ions because of the low energy of the lowest excited states of open-shell species, the benzophenone ketyl radical being however a noteworthy exception. There are few reports of actual photochemical reactions of free radicals, but the situation is different with biradicals such as carbenes. These have two unpaired electrons and can exist in singlet or triplet states and they take part in addition and insertion reactions (Figure 4.90). 

A second characteristic reaction of carbenes is addition to olefins to yield cyclopropanes. Singlet carbenes might react as either nucleophiles or electrophiles triplets may be expected to behave like free radicals- The data in Table 5.9, showing the increase in rate of addition on substitution of electron-donating... 

C60 chemically behaves as an electron-deficient polyalkene, with rather localized double bonds. Thus, the reactions that mainly take place involve cycloadditions, additions of nucleophiles, free radicals, and carbenes, as well as rp-complexation with various transition metal elements. 

In addition to the geminate and free radical pairs a 1,3-retro-dipolar path (c) is possible in certain systems. The concerted scission of two bonds (a) leads to a vinyl-allyl-diradical. One-bond scission produces the diradical 57 which can rearrange to the vinyl diazoalkane 58. A second photon can then give rise to the vinyl carbene 59 which is one of the resonance forms of diradical 56. 

In addition to cationic cyclizations, other conditions for the cyclization of polyenes and of ene-ynes to steroids have been investigated. Oxidative free-radical cyclizations of polyenes produce steroid nuclei with exquisite stereocontrol. For example, treatment of (259) and (260) with Mn(III) and Cu(II) afford the D-homo-5a-androstane-3-ones (261) and (262), respectively, in approximately 30% yield. In this cyclization, seven asymmetric centers are established in one chemical step (226,227). Another intramolecular cyclization reaction of iodo-ene poly-ynes was reported using a carbopaUadation cascade terminated by carbonylation. This carbometalation—carbonylation cascade using CO at 111 kPa (1.1 atm) at 70°C converted an acycHc iodo—tetra-yne (263) to a D-homo-steroid nucleus (264) [162878-44-6] in approximately 80% yield in one chemical step (228). Intramolecular aimulations between two alkynes and a chromium or tungsten carbene complex have been examined for the formation of a variety of different fiised-ring systems. A tandem Diels-Alder—two-alkyne annulation of a triynylcarbene complex demonstrated the feasibiHty of this strategy for the synthesis of steroid nuclei. Complex (265) was prepared in two steps from commercially available materials. Treatment of (265) with Danishefsky s diene in CH CN at room temperature under an atmosphere of carbon monoxide (101.3 kPa = 1 atm), followed by heating the reaction mixture to 110°C, provided (266) in 62% yield (TBS = tert — butyldimethylsilyl). In a second experiment, a sequential Diels-Alder—two-alkyne annulation of triynylcarbene complex (267) afforded a nonaromatic steroid nucleus (269) in approximately 50% overall yield from the acycHc precursors (229). 

Hamilton suggested that the model systems (at least some of them) interact with the substrates via a so-called oxenoid mechanism similar to that of monooxygenase functioning. Since the reaction, in many aspects, parallels the processes with carbenes (addition to the multiple bond, insertion into the C-H bond), in the oxenoid mechanism an oxygen atom (oxene) inserts into the C-H bond without an intermediate formation of free radicals ... 

All attempts to obtain cyclized products from the 4-pentenyl radical using the same conditions under which the 5-hexenyl radical cyclizes readily failed. This was early recognized and confirmed later. Only in special cases, as by the use of vibrationally excited radicals in the gas phase or carbene triplets has cyclization been observed. In these instances, only (Cy5) and no (Cy4) products were obtained. In solution, cyclized products have been observed only from 4-pentenyl radicals possessing special features, e.g., the radical (A ) which results from intermolecular free radical addition to cis cis-1,5-cyclooctadiene (Scheme 15). 

Carbocations ould not be confused with free radicak or carbanions. A free radical is similar to a carbocation in that it has three bonds, but rather than having a deficit of two electrons, a free radical has one unshared electron and, as a result, is highly reactive. A carbanion has an unshared pair of electrons in addition to three bonds and carries a negative charge. A carbene carbon has two bonds and one unbared pair of electrons. Caibenes are rarely isolated, becauseof their prt Tensiiy to react with one another to form dimers. 

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