Alkenes multiple carbon-heteroatom bond

Carbocations can be generated by the protonation of unsaturated hydrocarbons such as alkenes and cycloalkenes [49,52], cyclopentadienes [57], benzenes and naphthalenes (Eq. 24) [58], pyrenes and cyclophanes [59], unsaturated heterocycles [60], and their derivatives with carbon-heteroatom multiple bonds [2], including carbonyl and nitrile compounds and diazoalkanes [61]. 

Nucleophilic additions to alkenes and alkynes are also possible, but these reactions generally require that the substrate have substituents that can stabilize a carbanionic intermediate. Therefore, nucleophilic additions are most likely for compoimds with carbon-heteroatom multiple bonds, such as carbonyl compounds, imines, and cyano compounds. We may distinguish two main types of substituents that activate alkenes and alkynes for nucleophilic attack. The first type consists of those activating groups (labeled AG in equation 9.79) that can stabilize an adjacent carbanion by induction. ... 

Hydrocyanation is the addition of HCN across carbon-carbon or carbon-heteroatom multiple bonds to form products containing a new C-C bond. The majority of examples from organometallic chemistry involve the addition of HCN across carbon-carbon multiple bonds, as shown in Equations 16.2 and 16.3. Lewis acids and peptides have been used to catalyze the enantioselective addition of HCN to aldehydes and imines to form cyanohydrins and precursors to amino acids.The addition of HCN to unactivated olefins requires a catalyst because HCN is not sufficiently acidic to add directly to an olefin, and the C-H bond is strong enough to make additions by radical pathways challenging. However, a large number of soluble transition metal compounds catalyze the addition of HCN to alkenes and alkynes. 

The [3-1-2] cycloaddition is mostly catalyzed by Ni or Pd catalysts. The MCPs can have substituents on the olefin or cyclopropane, and the two-atom partners can be electron neutral or deficient alkenes, alkynes, and carbon-heteroatom multiple bonds. Since there are different reaction courses of MCP in cycloaddition, introducing substituents on either MCP or the two-atom reaction partners complicates the reaction even more, considering the associated selectivity issues. Consequently, cycloaddition with multi-substituted substrates often gives mixtures though sometimes good selectivity can be achieved by adjusting reaction conditions and substituents. The intramolecular version of [3-1-2] cycloaddition, mainly developed by Motherwell [81], Nakamura [82], Lautens [83], and Mascarenas [87-91], may address the issues of selectivity to some extent, and leads to polycyclic structure meanwhile. AU these have been summarized by several excellent reviews [1, 84—86] and herein we will only update the [3-1-2] cycloaddition of MCP for synthesis of carbocycles with some recent representative examples. 

A few final comments should be made on the insertions of substrates containing C-C multiple bonds into the bonds between a transition metal and an electronegative heteroatom. First, insertions of olefins into related thiolate and phosphide complexes are as rare as insertions into alkoxo and amido complexes. Reactions of acrylonitrile into the metal-phosphorus bonds of palladium- and platinum-phosphido complexes to give products from formal insertions have been observed, and one example is showm in Equation 9.90. However, these reactions are more likely to occur by direct attack of the phosphorus on the electrophilic carbon of acrylonitrile than by migratory insertion. Second, the insertions of alkynes into metal-oxygen or metal-nitrogen covalent bonds are rare, even though the C-C ir-bond in an alkyne is weaker than the ir-bond in an alkene. 

It should be noted that formation of trans-product can be achieved in an anti-addition reaction through the outer-sphere mechanism. Theoretical studies have demonstrated that syn-addition and anti-addition reactions may start from the same 7i-complex, and direction of the multiple bond activation depends on the polarity of solvent [17, 18]. Relative reactivity in the inner-sphere and outer-sphere mechanisms contributes to the overall -/Z- selectivity of the addition reaction to alkynes (stereoselectivity issue). In some cases it is possible to switch the direction of C-Het bond formation by finding a suitable ligand [19]. In case of alkenes syn-addition and a f -addition processes do not necessarily result in different stereochemistry (unrestricted rotation around the single C-C bond in the product). Occurrence of these mechanisms for the N [20, 21], P [22, 23], O [24-26], S, Se [27, 28] heteroatom groups and application of different metal catalysts are discussed in detail in the other chapters of this book. Stereochemical pathways of nucleometallation and development of enantioselective catalytic procedures were reviewed [29]. In this chapter we focus our attention on the mechanism of irmer-sphere insertion reaction involving double and triple carbon-carbon bonds. 

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