Bonding alkenes

The unsaturated c.vo-enol lactone 17 is obtained by the coupling of propargylic acetate with 4-pentynoic acid in the presence of KBr using tri(2-furyl)-phosphine (TFP) as a ligand. The reaction is explained by the oxypalladation of the triple bond of 4-pentynoic acid with the ailenyipailadium and the carbox-ylate as shown by 16, followed by reductive elimination to afford the lactone 17. The ( -alkene bond is formed because the oxypalladation is tnins addition[8]. 

The geometry of bicyclic rings can also cause distortion of the alkene bond from coplanarity. An example is bicyclo[2.2.1]hept-l-ene ... 

Treatment of 2- 5//-dibenz[i>,/]azepin-5-yl acetaldehyde (16), prepared in 68% yield by /V-alkylation of 5/7-dibenz[A,/]azepine with bromoacetaldehyde diethyl acetal followed by acid hydrolysis, with methyl hydroxylamine yields the isolable nitrone 17, which in refluxing toluene undergoes intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition at the CIO —Cl 1 alkene bond to give 2,3,3a, 12b-tetrahydro-2-methyl-3,8-methano-8//-dibenz[i>,/]isoxazolo[4,5-r/]azepine (18).235... 

Figure 3.63 Platinum-alkene bonding in Zeise s salt. (Reproduced with permission from S.A. Cotton and F.A. Hart, The Heavy Transition Elements, Macmillan Press Ltd, 1975, p. 126.)...

As a typical case, olefin-metal complexation is described first. Alkene complexes of d° transition metals or ions have no d-electron available for the 7i-back donation, and thus their metal-alkene bonding is too weak for them to be isolated and characterized. One exception is CpfYCH2CH2C(CH3)2CH=CH2 (1), in which an intramolecular bonding interaction between a terminal olefinic moiety and a metal center is observed. However, this complex is thermally unstable above — 50 °C [11]. The MO calculation proves the presence of the weak metal-alkene bonding during the propagation step of the olefin polymerization [12,13]. 

Why are transition metals so well suited for catalysis A complete treatment of this critical question lies well beyond the scope of this book, but we can focus on selected aspects of bond activation and reactivity for dihydrogen and alkene bonds as important special cases. Before discussing specific examples that involve formal metal acidity or hypovalency, it is convenient to sketch a more general localized donor-acceptor overview of catalytic interactions in transition-metal complexes involving dihydrogen49 (this section) and alkenes (Section 4.7.4). 

As shown in Fig. 4.69, the HfFLi- alkene complex exhibits expected parallels with the HfFLi- H2 complex (Fig. 4.59), both in terms of molecular shape and in terms of valence interactions. The characteristic features of such weak dative bonding include long Hf—C distances (2.82 A), normal C=C bond length (1.34 A), planar alkene bond angles, and small binding energy (15.1 kcalmol-1)-... 

Substitution has no significant effect on the geometry of the n complex and RuHCl(PH3)2(CH2=CH2) and RuHCl(PH3)2(H2C=CH(OMe)) have very similar shape. Of interest the OMe group cannot reach the second empty coordination site (trans to H) of Ru. Remarkably, the Ru-alkene bond dissociation energy is also not affected by the presence of OCH3 (less than 3 kcal.mol 1 difference in binding dissociation energy). The methyl vinyl ether... 

Wacker oxidation of styrene has also been performed in [bmim][BF4] and [bmim][PF6], at 60 °C with H2O2 and PdCF as a catalyst [19]. This system gave yields of acetophenone as high as 92 % after 3 h. Hydrogen peroxide may also be used under phase transfer conditions for alkene bond cleavage, to produce adipic acid (an intermediate in the synthesis of nylon-6) from cyclohexene (Scheme 9.9). 

In a conjugated diene, where one of the carbon atoms is branched, both alkenic bonds are hydrogenated in the trifluoroacetic acid/silane reaction mixture to give the corresponding... 

When the alkenic bonds are separated by one methylene group, the branched alkenic bond is mainly reduced but the completely hydrogenated product is also formed... 

The oxidation potential for the alkene bond is close to that for a carboxylate ion. In tlie styrene derivative 19, the alkene moiety is preferentially oxidised and intramolecular capture of a carbocation leads to a lactone product [35]. The tetrasub-... 

Vinyl ethers also form dimeric products in methanol in the presence of a weak base such as 2,6-lutidine [41], which accepts protons liberated during the reaction. Some dimethoxylation of the alkene bond also occurs under these conditions. In... 

Arylalkenes [23] and alkenes with electron withdrawing substituents [24] can be bis-alkylated across the alkene bond by electrochemical reaction with dflialoal-kanes giving 3- to 6-membered carbocyclic products in good yields. ITie best reaction conditions use an undivided cell with a nickel cathode and a sacrificial aluminium anode in dimethylformamide or N-methylpyrrolidone containing a tetraalkylammonium salt. Anodically generated aluminium ions are essential for the reaction. 1,2-Disubstituted alkenes, regardless of their stereochemistry, are converted to the tranj-substituted cycloalkane. 

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