Alkenes, Alkynes, and Arenes

The remainder of this section will focus on true SBMs, which have been the subject of vigorous research. Despite the electron deficiency of early transition metal, lanthanide, and actinide complexes, several groups reported that some of these d f" complexes do react with the H-H bond from dihydrogen and C-H bonds from alkanes, alkenes, arenes, and alkynes in a type of exchange reaction shown in equation 11.32. So many examples of SBM involving early, middle, and late transition metal complexes have appeared in the chemical literature over the past 20 years that chemists now consider this reaction to be another fundamental type of organometallic transformation along with oxidative addition, reductive elimination, and others that we have already discussed. 

Domino or cascade reactions provide valuable approaches, especially to various carbo- and heterocyclic systems with three, four, or even more annelated rings. The Heck reaction has successfully been employed in various inter-inter-, intra-inter-, inter-intra-, as well as all-intramolecular reaction cascades, hi this section, the termination of these processes by alkenes, arenes, and related ir-bond systems such as alkynes and allenes will be described. A cascade Heck reaction is considered to consist of an oxidative addition of a heteroatom-carbon bond to palladium (starter), carbopalladation of a nonaromatic carbon-carbon double or triple bond without immediate dehydropalladation (relay), one, two, or more fimher car-bopalladation(s) of a carbon-carbon double or triple bond, and eventually ensuing dehydropalladation. Crucial for a cascade reaction of this kind to occur is the blockage or retardation of a dehydropalladation at one of the intermediate stages by using 1,1-disubsti-tuted alkenes and appropriately substimted cycloalkenes, bicycloalkenes, or alkynes as relays since they give kinetically stable alkyl- or alkenylpalladium intermediates, respectively. 

Another name for aromatic hydrocarbons is arenes Arenes have properties that are much different from alkanes alkenes and alkynes The most important aromatic hydrocarbon... 

Hydrogenation of benzene and other arenes is more difficult than hydrogenation of alkenes and alkynes Two of the more active catalysts are rhodium and platinum and it IS possible to hydrogenate arenes m the presence of these catalysts at room temperature and modest pressure Benzene consumes three molar equivalents of hydrogen to give cyclohexane... 

Many aldehydes and ketones are made m the laboratory from alkenes alkynes arenes and alcohols by reactions that you already know about and are summarized m Table 17 1... 

Over the last decade, the chemistry of the carbon-carbon triple bond has experienced a vigorous resurgence [1]. Whereas construction of alkyne-con-taining systems had previously been a laborious process, the advent of new synthetic methodology based on organotransition metal complexes has revolutionized the field [2]. Specifically, palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions between alkyne sp-carbon atoms and sp -carbon atoms of arenes and alkenes have allowed for rapid assembly of relatively complex structures [3]. In particular, the preparation of alkyne-rich macrocycles, the subject of this report, has benefited enormously from these recent advances. For the purpose of this review, we Emit the discussion to cychc systems which contain benzene and acetylene moieties only, henceforth referred to as phenylacetylene and phenyldiacetylene macrocycles (PAMs and PDMs, respectively). Not only have a wide... 

Similar intramolecular hydroarylations of alkynes and alkenes, which obviate the need for a halide or triflate group on the aryl ring, are now well established. Sames group screened over 60 potential catalysts and over 200 reaction conditions, and found that Ru(m) complexes and a silver salt were optimal. This process appears to tolerate steric hindrance and halogen substrates on the arene (Equations (175)—(177)). The reaction is thought to involve alkene-Ru coordination and an electrophilic pathway rather than a formal C-H activation of the arene followed by alkene hydrometallation, and advocates the necessary cautious approach to labeling this reaction as a C-H functionalization... 

Scheme 21 Ti-promoted alkyne-alkene coupling and its applications to the synthesis of conjugated dienes, arenes, and pyridines.

The behavior shown in Schemes 2.22 and 2.23 suggests that these hydrido arene-iridium complexes might act as hydrogenation catalysts. Thus, the [(T -C6H6)IrH2(P Pr3)]BF4 complex has been shown to be an efficient hydrogenation catalysts for alkenes and alkynes, as well as some carbonyl groups [22]. 

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