Alkene ligands nucleophilic attack

No reaction of soft carbon nucleophiles takes place with propargylic acet-ates[37], but soft carbon nucleophiles, such as / -keto esters and malonates, react with propargylic carbonates under neutral conditions using dppe as a ligand. The carbon nucleophile attacks the central carbon of the cr-allenylpal-ladium complex 81 to form the rr-allylpalladium complex 82, which reacts further with the carbon nucleophile to give the alkene 83. Thus two molecules of the a-monosubstituted /3-keto ester 84, which has one active proton, are... 

J. E. Backvall, Nucleophilic Attack on Coordinated Alkenes , in Reaction of Coordinated Ligands (Ed. P. S. Braterman), Plenum Press, London 1986, pp. 679-731. 

The complexation of an alkene to a metal ion strongly affects its reactivity namely, the double bond is activated toward nucleophilic attack. Ligands decreasing the electron density on the double bond accelerate the hydrogenation reaction. Electron-withdrawing substituents similarly facilitate hydrogenation of alkenes (PhCH=CH2 > RCH=CH2).29... 

Alkenes bonded to platinum(II) can be displaced by strongly coordinating ligands such as cyanide ion or tertiary phosphines. The displacement of ethylene from Zeise s salt by phosphines is a useful method of preparation of complexes trawa-PtCl2(PR3)2.711 Amines will also displace alkenes from coordination to platinum(II), but this reaction can compete with nucleophilic attack at the coordinated alkenic carbon. The stability of platinum(II) alkene complexes follows the sequence C2H4 > PhCH=CH2 > Ph2C=CH2 555 Ph(Me)C=CH2.712... 

The formation of (63) is also a nice example of the influence of the nature of R in the Pt(l,5-cod)-(R2N4) complexes on the sensitivity of the coordinated cod ligand for nucleophilic attack. Only if R contains the strongly electron withdrawing N02 group is reaction of the alkenic bonds with nucleophiles observed.190... 

Backwall and coworkers have extensively studied the stereochemistry of nucleophilic additions on 7r-alkenic and ir-allylic palladium(II) complexes. They concluded that nucleophiles which preferentially undergo a trans external attack are hard bases such as amines, water, alcohols, acetate and stabilized carbanions such as /3-diketonates. In contrast, soft bases are nonstabilized carbanions such as methyl or phenyl groups and undergo a cis internal nucleophilic attack at the coordinated substrate.398,399 The pseudocyclic alkylperoxypalladation procedure occurring in the ketonization of terminal alkenes by [RCC PdOOBu1], complexes (see Section 61.3.2.2.2)42 belongs to internal cis addition processes, as well as the oxidation of complexed alkenes by coordinated nitro ligands (vide in/ra).396,397... 

As stated above, aliphatic amines are potent ligands for electrophilic transition metals and are efficient catalyst poisons in attempted alkene animation reactions. However, tosylation of the basic amino group greatly reduces its complexing ability, yet does not compromise its ability to nucleophilically attack complexed alkenes. Thus, a variety of alkenic tosamides efficiently cyclized under palladium(II) catalysis producing N-tosylenamines in excellent yield (equations 17 and 18).32 Again, this alkene amination proceeded through an unstable a-alkylpalladium(II) species, which could be intercepted by carbon monoxide, to result in an overall aminocarbonylation of alkenes. With ureas of 3-hydroxy-4-pentenyl-amines (Scheme 7), this palladium-catalyzed process was quite efficient but it was somewhat less so with... 

Terminal monoalkenes were alkylated by stabilized carbanions (p a 10-18) in the presence of 1 equiv. of palladium chloride and 2 equiv. of triethylamine, at low temperatures (Scheme l).1 The resulting unstable hydride eliminate to give the alkene (path b), or treated with carbon monoxide and methanol to produce the ester (path c).2 As was the case with heteroatom nucleophiles, attack at the more substituted alkene position predominated, and internal alkenes underwent alkylation in much lower (=30%) yield. In the absence of triethylamine, the yields were very low (1-2%) and reduction of the metal by the carbanion became the major process. Presumably, the tertiary amine ligand prevented attack of the carbanion at the metal, directing it instead to the coordinated alkene. The regiochemistry (predominant attack at the more sub-... 

As noted in the introduction, in contrast to attack by nucleophiles, attack of electrophiles on saturated alkene-, polyene- or polyenyl-metal complexes creates special problems in that normally unstable 16-electron, unsaturated species are formed. To be isolated, these species must be stabilized by intramolecular coordination or via intermolecular addition of a ligand. Nevertheless, as illustrated in this chapter, reactions of significant synthetic utility can be developed with attention to these points. It is likely that this area will see considerable development in the future. In addition to refinement of electrophilic reactions of metal-diene complexes, synthetic applications may evolve from the coupling of carbon electrophiles with electron-rich transition metal complexes of alkenes, alkynes and polyenes, as well as allyl- and dienyl-metal complexes. Sequential addition of electrophiles followed by nucleophiles is also viable to rapidly assemble complex structures. 

Identify reaction steps in Fig. 8.2 that illustrate the concepts of (a) the trans effect, (b) nucleophilic attack on a coordinated ligand, (c) insertion of alkene into an M-H bond, and (d) intramolecular electron transfer. 

The product of nucleophilic attack at a coordinated alkene is generally an alkyl ligand that bears the nucleophile P (and anti) to the metal centre. Since alkyls with protons P to the metal centre are prone to P-M-H elimination (releasing an alkene), this may be built into a... 

Electrophilic attack will be favoured by metals in low oxidation states, with few or no competitive Tc-acceptor ligands. In such situations, retrodonation from the metal loads the alkene with excessive electron density which is attractive to an external electrophile. As in the case of nucleophilic attack, it may not always be clear, however, whether electrophilic attack has occurred directly at the alkene, or alternatively at the metal centre followed by insertion of the alkene into the metal-electrophile bond (Figure 6.8). This is a real possibility, since the factors that activate the alkene to electrophilic attack are also factors that render the metal centre potentially nucleophilic. Furthermore, the electrophilic conversion of an alkene to a P-functionalized alkyl deprives the metal centre of 2YE this may make it prone to P-M-E(H) elimination (unless blocked by coordination of the conjugate nucleophile), obscuring the mechanistic detail (Figure 2.25). 

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