Alkene unfunctionalized

Enantioselective epoxidation of unfunctionalized alkenes was until recently limited to certain ds-alkenes, but most types of alkenes can now be successfully epoxi-dized with sugar-derived dioxiranes (see Section 9.1.1.1) [2]. Selective monoepox-idation of dienes has thus become a fast route to vinylepoxides. Functionalized dienes, such as dienones, can be epoxidized with excellent enantioselectivities (see Section 9.1.2). 

Ten years after Sharpless s discovery of the asymmetric epoxidation of allylic alcohols, Jacobsen and Katsuki independently reported asymmetric epoxidations of unfunctionalized olefins by use of chiral Mn-salen catalysts such as 9 (Scheme 9.3) [14, 15]. The reaction works best on (Z)-disubstituted alkenes, although several tri-and tetrasubstituted olefins have been successfully epoxidized [16]. The reaction often requires ligand optimization for each substrate for high enantioselectivity to be achieved. 

Other metals can also be used as a catalytic species. For example, Feringa and coworkers <96TET3521> have reported on the epoxidation of unfunctionalized alkenes using dinuclear nickel(II) catalysts (i.e., 16). These slightly distorted square planar complexes show activity in biphasic systems with either sodium hypochlorite or t-butyl hydroperoxide as a terminal oxidant. No enantioselectivity is observed under these conditions, supporting the idea that radical processes are operative. In the case of hypochlorite, Feringa proposed the intermediacy of hypochlorite radical as the active species, which is generated in a catalytic cycle (Scheme 1). 

Several modifications of the Simmons-Smith procedure have been developed in which an electrophile or Lewis acid is included. Inclusion of acetyl chloride accelerates the reaction and permits the use of dibromomethane.174 Titanium tetrachloride has similar effects in the reactions of unfunctionalized alkenes.175 Reactivity can be enhanced by inclusion of a small amount of trimethylsilyl chloride.176 The Simmons-Smith reaction has also been found to be sensitive to the purity of the zinc used. Electrolytically prepared zinc is much more reactive than zinc prepared by metallurgic smelting, and this has been traced to small amounts of lead in the latter material. 

Several catalysts that can effect enantioselective epoxidation of unfunctionalized alkenes have been developed, most notably manganese complexes of diimines derived from salicylaldehyde and chiral diamines (salens).62... 

Attempts have been made to exploit the intrinsic C2 symmetry of the phenolate-based dinickel core in enantioselective catalytic reactions. Therefore, enantiomerically pure C2-symmetric ligands such as (736a) and the corresponding dinickel systems (736b) have been prepared ( Equation (27)),1890 and (736b) was tested in the epoxidation of unfunctionalized alkenes with sodium hypochlorite as the oxidant. The catalytic reaction was found to be highly pH dependent with an optimum at a pH of 9. While the complex is catalytically active, significant enantioselectivity was not achieved. 

A number of examples have been reported documenting the use of palladium phosphine complexes as catalysts. The dialkyl species [PtL2R2] (L2 = dmpe, dppe, (PMe3)2 R = Me, CH2SiMe3) catalyze the reaction of [PhNH3]+ with activated alkenes (acrylonitrile, methyl acrylate, acrolein).176 Unfunctionalized alkenes prove unreactive. The reaction mechanism is believed to proceed via protonation of Pt-R by the ammonium salt (generating PhNH2 in turn) and the subsequent release of alkane to afford a vacant coordination site on the metal. Coordination of alkene then allows access into route A of the mechanism shown in Scheme 34. Protonation is also... 

The protocol developed by Jacobsen and Katsuki for the salen-Mn catalyzed asymmetric epoxidation of unfunctionalized alkenes continues to dominate the field. The mechanism of the oxygen transfer has not yet been fully elucidated, although recent molecular orbital calculations based on density functional theory suggest a radical intermediate (2), whose stability and lifetime dictate the degree of cis/trans isomerization during the epoxidation <00AG(E)589>. 

Although there are many reports on the enantioselective catalytic double bond isomerization of functionalized achiral alkenes, that of alkenes bearing an isolated double bond have had limited success. The use of a chiral bis(indenyl)titanium catalyst 5 containing a chiral bridging group realized the highly enantioselective isomerizations of unfunctionalized achiral alkenes with up to 80% ee (Equation (27)).90... 

Metal-catalyzed C-H bond formation through isomerization, especially asymmetric variant of that, is highly useful in organic synthesis. The most successful example is no doubt the enantioselective isomerization of allylamines catalyzed by Rh(i)/TolBINAP complex, which was applied to the industrial synthesis of (—)-menthol. A highly enantioselective isomerization of allylic alcohols was also developed using Rh(l)/phosphaferrocene complex. Despite these successful examples, an enantioselective isomerization of unfunctionalized alkenes and metal-catalyzed isomerization of acetylenic triple bonds has not been extensively studied. Future developments of new catalysts and ligands for these reactions will enhance the synthetic utility of the metal-catalyzed isomerization reaction. 

The uncatalyzed hydroboration-oxidation of an alkene usually affords the //-Markovnikov product while the catalyzed version can be induced to produce either Markovnikov or /z/z-Markovnikov products. The regioselectivity obtained with a catalyst has been shown to depend on the ligands attached to the metal and also on the steric and electronic properties of the reacting alkene.69 In the case of monosubstituted alkenes (except for vinylarenes), the anti-Markovnikov alcohol is obtained as the major product in either the presence or absence of a metal catalyst. However, the difference is that the metal-catalyzed reaction with catecholborane proceeds to completion within minutes at room temperature, while extended heating at 90 °C is required for the uncatalyzed transformation.60 It should be noted that there is a reversal of regioselectivity from Markovnikov B-H addition in unfunctionalized terminal olefins to the anti-Markovnikov manner in monosubstituted perfluoroalkenes, both in the achiral and chiral versions.70,71... 

The hydrogenation of unfunctionalized alkenes is readily performed by Group III and lanthanide cyclopentadienyl hydride derivatives, one key feature being the high TOFs of these systems (up to 120000 IT1 for hydrogenations catalyzed by Lu, Tables 6.8 and 6.9) [119, 120]. The reaction rate depends heavily on the metal and the ligands. It is inversely proportional to the metal radius (Lu>Sm>Nd>La), and it is faster for the Cp M derivatives than for the ansa di-... 

P,N and non-phosphorus ligands have been most successful in the enantiomeric iridium-catalyzed hydrogenation of unfunctionalized alkenes [5], and for this reason this chapter necessarily overlaps with Chapter 30. Here, the emphasis is on ligand synthesis and structure, whereas Chapter 30 expands on substrates, reaction conditions and reaction optimization. However, a number of specific substrates are mentioned in the comparison of catalysts, and their structures are illustrated in Figure 29.1. 

The highest enantioselectivity in the hydrogenation of unfunctionalized tri-substituted alkenes has been achieved with catalyst 14 a. The same catalyst was also used to hydrogenate a,/ -unsaturated phosphonates with enantiomeric excesses (ee) of 70 to 94% [8]. 

Finally, the phosphinite-oxazole catalyst 29 (Fig. 29.16) was recently reported and used to hydrogenate a series of functionalized and unfunctionalized alkenes [31]. It was anticipated that the planar oxazole unit and the fused ring system would improve the enantioselectivity compared to the PHOX catalyst by increasing rigidity in the six-membered chelating ring [32]. Indeed, these catalysts... 

Knochel and coworkers synthesized a series of camphor-derived pyridine and quinoline P,N ligands. The catalysts 30 (Fig. 29.17) were used to hydrogenate substrates 1 and 2 in up to 95% and 96% ee, respectively [33]. The selectivities were moderate for other unfunctionalized alkenes however, a high enantioselec-tivity was reported for the hydrogenation of ethyl acetamidocinnamate 10 [34]. 

Another series of achiral iridium catalysts containing phosphine and heterocyclic carbenes have also been tested in the hydrogenation of unfunctionalized alkenes [38]. These showed similar activity to the Crabtree catalyst, with one analogue giving improved conversion in the hydrogenation of 11. 

The most selective - and also most general - titanocene catalyst is complex 35 d, also studied by Buchwald and coworkers. This catalyst was used to hydrogenate a variety of functionalized and unfunctionalized cyclic and acyclic alkenes with excellent ee-values in most cases [46]. Enamines could also be hydrogenated with enantiomeric excesses of 80-90% [47]. However, high catalyst loadings (5-8 mol%) and long reaction times were required to drive the reactions to completion. 

Marks and coworkers developed a series of cyclopentadienyl-lanthanide complexes. In the initial investigations on achiral catalysts 36a and 36b (Fig. 29.21), TOFs greater than 100000 IT1 were observed in the hydrogenation of 1,2-disub-stituted unfunctionalized alkenes [48]. 

Unfunctionalized alkenes have posed more of a problem, as they have no polar moiety which can coordinate to the catalyst. Such an additional metal binding site next to the C = C bond has proven to be crucial for directing coordination to the catalyst and, therefore, rhodium and ruthenium complexes, which are highly selective for functionalized alkenes, generally provide only low enan-tioselectivity for this class of substrates. 

Aided by these developments, the past five years has seen a rapid growth in this area. A breakthrough was the introduction of iridium catalysts with chiral P,N ligands. A large number of new P,N and other ligands have been synthesized and applied to the hydrogenation of unfunctionalized alkenes. This chapter details the catalysts, conditions and substrates used in the enantiomeric hydrogenation of unfunctionalized alkenes. 

Recently, a breakthrough in the hydrogenation of unfunctionalized olefins was made [51]. For the first time, high enantioselectivities with purely alkyl-substituted alkenes such as 72-74 could be achieved using pyridine-phosphinite catalysts 75 and 76. 

Tetrasubstituted alkenes are challenging substrates for enantioselective hydrogenation because of their inherently low reactivity. Crabtree showed that it was possible to hydrogenate unfunctionalized tetrasubstituted alkenes with iridium catalysts [46]. Among the iridium catalysts described in the previous section, several were found to be sufficiently reactive to achieve full conversion with al-kene 77 (Table 30.14). However, the enantioselectivities were significantly lower than with trisubstituted olefins, and higher catalyst loadings were necessary. 

The development of chiral hydrogenation catalysts for unfunctionalized alkenes also allows enantioselective hydrogenation of functionalized olefins where the functionality in the molecule is remote from the double bond. A series of oxazoline-, imidazoline- and pyridine-derived catalysts have been screened for the hydrogenation of unsaturated derivatives of vitamin E (Scheme 30.3). Hy-... 

During recent years, substantial progress has been made in the hydrogenation of unfunctionalized alkenes. With iridium complexes derived from chiral phos-phino-oxazolines and related ligands, excellent enantioselectivities and high TON/TOF values can now be obtained for a wide range of unfunctionalized olefins. Most substrates studied to date have at least one aryl substituent at the... 

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