Alkene insertion, mechanisms

In the prostaglandin synthesis shown, silyl enol ether 216, after transmetaJ-lation with Pd(II), undergoes tandem intramolecular and intermolecular alkene insertions to yield 217[205], It should be noted that a different mechanism (palladation of the alkene, rather than palladium enolate formation) has been proposed for this reaction, because the corresponding alkyl enol ethers, instead of the silyl ethers, undergo a similar cyclization[20I],... 

Scheme 13 Generalized mechanism for the alkene insertion and cr-bond metathesis reactions catalyzed by lanthanocenes...

The mechanism for the reaction catalyzed by cationic palladium complexes (Scheme 24) differs from that proposed for early transition metal complexes, as well as from that suggested for the reaction shown in Eq. 17. For this catalyst system, the alkene substrate inserts into a Pd - Si bond a rather than a Pd-H bond [63]. Hydrosilylation of methylpalladium complex 100 then provides methane and palladium silyl species 112 (Scheme 24). Complex 112 coordinates to and inserts into the least substituted olefin regioselectively and irreversibly to provide 113 after coordination of the second alkene. Insertion into the second alkene through a boat-like transition state leads to trans cyclopentane 114, and o-bond metathesis (or oxidative addition/reductive elimination) leads to the observed trans stereochemistry of product 101a with regeneration of 112 [69]. 

The mechanisms of the hydroxycarbonylation and methoxycarbonylation reactions are closely related and both mechanisms can be discussed in parallel (see Section 9.3.6).631 This last reaction has been extensively studied. Two possibilities have been proposed. The first starts the cycle with a hydrido-metal complex.670 In this cycle, an alkene inserts into a Pd—H bond, and then migratory insertion of CO into an alkyl-metal bond produces an acyl-metal complex. Alcoholysis of the acyl-metal species reproduces the palladium hydride and yields the ester. In the second mechanism the crucial intermediate is a carbalkoxymetal complex. Here, the insertion of the alkene into a Pd—C bond of the carbalkoxymetal species is followed by alcoholysis to produce the ester and the alkoxymetal complex. The insertion of CO into the alkoxymetal species reproduces the carbalkoxymetal complex.630 Both proposed cycles have been depicted in Scheme 11. 

Deuterium-labeling studies pointed to the operation of a nonstandard Chalk-Harrod mechanism for these reactions involving a silyl-alkene insertion step.133... 

The most famous mechanism, namely Cossets mechanism, in which the alkene inserts itself directly into the metal-carbon bond (Eq. 5), has been proposed, based on the kinetic study [134-136], This mechanism involves the intermediacy of ethylene coordinated to a metal-alkyl center and the following insertion of ethylene into the metal-carbon bond via a four-centered transition state. The olefin coordination to such a catalytically active metal center in this intermediate must be weak so that the olefin can readily insert itself into the M-C bond without forming any meta-stable intermediate. Similar alkyl-olefin complexes such as Cp2NbR( /2-ethylene) have been easily isolated and found not to be the active catalyst precursor of polymerization [31-33, 137]. In support of this, theoretical calculations recently showed the presence of a weakly ethylene-coordinated intermediate (vide infra) [12,13]. The stereochemistry of ethylene insertion was definitely shown to be cis by the evidence that the polymerization of cis- and trans-dideutero-ethylene afforded stereoselectively deuterated polyethylenes [138]. 

In Fischer-Tropsch synthesis the readsorption and incorporation of 1-alkenes, alcohols, and aldehydes and their subsequent chain growth play an important role on product distribution. Therefore, it is very useful to study these reactions in the presence of co-fed 13C- or 14 C-labeled compounds in an effort to obtain data helpful to elucidate the reaction mechanism. It has been shown that co-feeding of CF12N2, which dissociates toward CF12 and N2 on the catalyst surface, has led to the sound interpretation that the bimodal carbon number distribution is caused by superposition of two incompatible mechanisms. The distribution characterized by the lower growth probability is assigned to the CH2 insertion mechanism. 

According to the general migratory-insertion mechanism proposed by Cossee,58 chain propagation (4.105) is a two-step process in which the precursor metal reagent (I) forms an intermediate alkene complex (II) that subsequently rearranges to the insertion product (III),... 

Possible Back-Skip of Growing Chain. Several experimental facts relative to propene polymerization behavior of different metallocene-based catalytic systems can be rationalized by considering a disturbance of the chain migratory insertion mechanism due to a kinetic competition between the monomer coordination in the alkene-free state and a back-skip of the growing chain to the other possible coordination position (see Scheme 1.3). 

In the case of ethylene hydrogenation, the mechanism proposed by Parshall [61] involves the coordination of an alkene molecule through a five-coordinate intermediate (Eq. (13)) the subsequent alkene insertion into the Pt-H bond (Eq. (14)) and intervention of a second molecule of H2 (Eq. (15)) leads to the elimination of ethane and restoration of the catalytic active species [PtH(SnCl3)]2. However, in 1976 Yasumori and coworkers reported a kinetic analysis conducted on the hydrogenation of ethylene catalyzed by the Pt-Sn complex [(Me)4N]3[Pt(SnCl3)5] [70], under much milder conditions than those... 

Casey has suggested that the hydrogenation of alkenes by Shvo s catalyst may proceed by a mechanism involving loss of CO from the Ru-hydride complex, and coordination of the alkene. Insertion of the alkene into the Ru-H bond would give a ruthenium alkyl complex that can be cleaved by H2 to produce the alkane [75], If this is correct, it adds further to the remarkable chemistry of this series of Shvo complexes, if the same complex hydrogenates ketones by an ionic mechanism but hydrogenates alkenes by a conventional insertion pathway. 

Figure 2 shows the generally accepted dissociative mechanism for rhodium hydroformylation as proposed by Wilkinson [2], a modification of Heck and Breslow s reaction mechanism for the cobalt-catalyzed reaction [3]. With this mechanism, the selectivity for the linear or branched product is determined in the alkene-insertion step, provided that this is irreversible. Therefore, the alkene complex can lead either to linear or to branched Rh-alkyl complexes, which, in the subsequent catalytic steps, generate linear and branched aldehydes, respectively. 

Insertion of alkenes. Alkene insertions have also been widely studied and many insertion products have been isolated [31], Alkene insertions follow a migratory mechanism in the palladium and platinum square planar complexes with diphosphine ligands [18],... 

Dehydrogenative Cj cyclization (25, 26). Its probable pathway is an alkene-alkyl insertion (5). A carbene-alkyl insertion mechanism may eventually also be possible. 

None of the 3-methylpentene isomers formed more methylcyclopentane than did 3-methylpentane. With the alkene-alkyl insertion mechanism the reverse should be expected, especially for 3-methyl-l-pentene. 

The dehydrogenative route is probably identical with the alkene-alkyl insertion mechanism (I5a) (Scheme IVA) rather than with the dicarbyne cyclization (85a). The latter was based on the unreactivity of -hexane in C5 cyclic reactions over iridium (4Ia). 

Variations of this mechanism included the suggestion of a partially bonded alkene molecule,299 the participation of a titanium-aluminum ion pair,300 and a concerted alkene insertion.301 The development of the activator-alkyl mechanism was probably strongly influenced by the Aufbau reaction, studied originally by Ziegle.102 He observed that Group I—III alkyl compounds such as Et3Al catalyzed the oligomerization of ethylene to terminal alkenes. Additional evidence of such mechanism comes from the fact that alkylaluminum compounds exist in dimeric... 

Both five-coordinate and four-coordinate pathways have been proposed for these reactions. The associative (five-coordinate) mechanism involves the formation of a trigonal bipyramidal or square pyramidal intermediate, which can revert back to tetracoordination by alkene insertion into the Pt—H bond.151 The dissociative (four-coordinate) mechanism involves initial substitution of a ligand other than hydride by alkene, followed by insertion to form the alkyl product. The ligand which is substituted is usually the anionic ligand, and if this group is trans to hydride an isomerization will need to occur prior to insertion of the coordinated alkene into the Pt—H bond. 

The 5-phenyldibenzophosphole (25) complex [RhH(DBP)4] catalyzes the hydrogenation of terminal alkenes, 1,5-hexadiene and some substituted alkenes. With 1-hexene it was far more active than [RhCl(PPh3)3] or [RhH(PPh3)4]. The mechanism is again thought to involve dissociation of DBP followed by alkene insertion into the rhodium hydride bond and subsequent reaction with hydrogen.123... 

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