1-Alkenes secondary insertions

Understanding the factors controlling primary versus secondary insertion of alkenes is critically important to practical applications, because regioerrors (i.e., occasional secondary insertions in a polymer predominantly formed by primary insertions) can adversely affect relative molecular masses, responsivities to hydrogen, and melting points of polymers. 

Schematic plots of the internal energy versus the reaction coordinate for both primary and secondary insertions and for generic aspecific, syndiospecific, and isospecific model complexes are sketched in Figures 1.11 a,b, and c, respectively. The minima at the centers and at the ends of the energy curves correspond to alkene-free intermediates, including a growing chain with n and n + 1 monomeric units, respectively. Movements from the central minima toward the left and the right correspond to possible reaction pathways leading to primary and secondary insertions, respectively. For the enantioselective complexes the reaction pathways for monomer enantiofaces being...

Ho, S. C. H. Wu, M. M. Xiong, Y. Novel cyclopolymerization polymers from nonconjugated dienes and 1-alkenes. PCT International Patent Application WO 95/06669 (Mobil Oil Corp.), March 9,1995. Hustad, P. D. Coates, G W. Insertion/isomerization polymerization of 1,5-hexadiene synthesis of functional propylene copolymers and block copolymers. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2062,124, 11578-11579. Hustad, P. D. Tian, J. Coates, G. W. Mechanism of propylene insertion using bis(phenoxyimine)-based titanium catalysts an unusual secondary insertion of propylene in a group IV catalyst system. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2002,124,3614-3621. 

Silyl(pinacol)borane (88) also adds to terminal alkenes in the presence of a coordinate unsaturated platinum complex (Scheme 1-31) [132]. The reaction selectively provides 1,2-adducts (97) for vinylarenes, but aliphatic alkenes are accompanied by some 1,1-adducts (98). The formation of two products can be rationalized by the mechanism proceeding through the insertion of alkene into the B-Pt bond giving 99 or 100. The reductive elimination of 97 occurs very smoothly, but a fast P-hydride elimination from the secondary alkyl-platinum species (100) leads to isomerization to the terminal carbon. 

A catalyst used for the u-regioselective hydroformylation of internal olefins has to combine a set of properties, which include high olefin isomerization activity, see reaction b in Scheme 1 outlined for 4-octene. Thus the olefin migratory insertion step into the rhodium hydride bond must be highly reversible, a feature which is undesired in the hydroformylation of 1-alkenes. Additionally, p-hydride elimination should be favoured over migratory insertion of carbon monoxide of the secondary alkyl rhodium, otherwise Ao-aldehydes are formed (reactions a, c). Then, the fast regioselective terminal hydroformylation of the 1-olefin present in a low equilibrium concentration only, will lead to enhanced formation of n-aldehyde (reaction d) as result of a dynamic kinetic control. 

Possible mechanisms for chain-end stereocontrol for catalytic systems presenting primary and secondary 1-alkene (mainly propene) insertion will be described in Sections 4.1.1 and 4.1.2, respectively. 

The problem of the origin of chain-end stereocontrol for secondary 1-alkene insertions has been relatively little investigated up to now. The only reported... 

To date, the most frequently used ligand for combinatorial approaches to catalyst development have been imine-type ligands. From a synthetic point of view this is logical, since imines are readily accessible from the reaction of aldehydes with primary or secondary amines. Since there are large numbers of aldehydes and amines that are commercially available the synthesis of a variety of imine ligands with different electronic and steric properties is easily achieved. Additionally, catalysts based on imine ligands are useful in a number of different catalytic processes. Libraries of imine ligands have been used in catalysts of the Strecker reaction, the aza-Diels-Alder reaction, diethylzinc addition, epoxidation, carbene insertions, and alkene polymerizations. 

Asymmetric allylic C-H activation of more complex substrates reveals some intrinsic features of the Rh2(S-DOSP)4 donor/acceptor carbenoids [135, 136]. Cyclopropanation of trans-disubstituted or highly substituted alkenes is rarely observed, due to the steric demands of these carbenoids [16]. Therefore, the C-H activation pathway is inherently enhanced at substituted allylic sites and the bulky rhodium carbenoid discriminates between accessible secondary sites for diastereoselective C-H insertion. As a result, the asymmetric allylic C-H activation provides alternative methods for the preparation of chiral molecules traditionally derived from classic C-C bond-forming reactions such as the Michael reaction and the Claisen rearrangement [135, 136]. 

Rate constants were determined for CeHsCCl insertions into Si—H, N—H, and C—H bonds.The C—H substrates included cumene (31, X = H, k = 1.7 X lO M s ), ethylbenzene (8.2 x lO M s ), and toluene (7.5 x 10 s ). These C—H insertions are several orders of magnitude slower than the alkene additions of CgHsCCl summarized in Table 7.5. Other interesting substrates include c/5,c/i-l,3,5-trimethylcyclohexane (44), adamantane (37), and cyclohexane (45). On a per-H basis, the rate constants for CeHsCCl insertion were 1.0 x 10, 1.3 x 10, and 0.06 x lO M s, respectively (Fig. 7.17). The tertiary C—H bonds of 44 and 37 are slightly less reactive than the tertiary and benzylic C—H of cumene, but they are 15-20 times more reactive than the secondary C—H bonds of cyclohexane. These observations agree with the charge distributions depicted in transition states 30 and 33. 

Polystyrene-bound secondary aliphatic amines and /V-alkyl amino acids can be ally-lated by treatment with a diene and an aryl iodide or bromide in the presence of palla-dium(II) acetate (Entry 14, Table 10.3). As the diene, 1,3-, 1,4-, and 1,5-dienes can be used, and, besides aryl halides, heteroaryl bromides have also been successfully used [63], This remarkable reaction is likely to proceed via the formation of an aryl palladium complex, with subsequent insertion of an alkene into the C-Pd bond. The resulting organopalladium compound does not undergo ( -elimination (as in the Heck reaction), but isomerizes to an allyl palladium complex, which reacts with the amine to give the observed allyl amines. 

Aviv and Gross developed an interesting insertion reaction of diazo compounds into a secondary amine-hydrogen bond in the presence of Fe-corrole complexes (Scheme 7.8) [12], Competition experiments performed in the presence of an amine and an alkene revealed the N—H-insertion reaction to be much faster than the cyclopropanation of the C=C bond. Apart from this chemoselectivity issue, the reactions are characterized by their very short reaction times most insertion reactions were completed within 1 min at room temperature. Most recently, Woo s group reported on a similar process using commercially available iron tetraphenyl-porphyrin [Fe(TPP)] dichloride [13]. 

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