Alkenes zirconocenes

Coupling of 2,3-dihydrofuran with alkene-zirconocene <2004AGE3932> or aryne-zirconocene <2005SL2513> complexes and subsequent addition of an electrophile provided rA-disubstituted homoallylic alcohols, as illustrated in Equation (130). An insertion//3-elimination pathway that involved the formation of an oxazirconacyclooctene intermediate was proposed for the reaction mechanism. 

Coupling of dihydrofuran with an alkene-zirconocene complex and subsequent addition of an electrophile, provided the cw-disubstituted homoallylic alcohol, as shown in the example below. An insertion/p-elimination pathway involving the formation of an oxazirconacyclooctene intermediate was proposed <04AG(E)3932>. 

Stable transition-metal complexes may act as homogenous catalysts in alkene polymerization. The mechanism of so-called Ziegler-Natta catalysis involves a cationic metallocene (typically zirconocene) alkyl complex. An alkene coordinates to the complex and then inserts into the metal alkyl bond. This leads to a new metallocei e in which the polymer is extended by two carbons, i.e. 

The hydroalumination of terminal alkenes by LiAlH4 catalyzed by titanocene and zirconocene dichloride, CpjTiCh and CpjZrCh, respectively, has been reported by Isagawa [16] and Sato [14]. Again, the titartium compound proved to be more active... 

The vacant orbital in 16e -zirconocene(IV) complexes allows a Ji-interaction with an incoming alkene or aUcyne. However no metal— alkene/alkyne backbonding is possible with the d°-Zr-metal center. As a consequence, the metal-olefin interaction is not stabilized, and formation of the thermodynamically favored o-bound organozirconocene complex (>10 kcal/mol) is then observed [36]. The product is the result of an overall cis addition of the zirconocene metal fragment and the hydrogen across the carbon-carbon multiple bonds. 

In their early studies, Schwartz and co-workers [5, 80] reported the zirconocene hydrido chloride [Cp2Zr(H)Cl] (1) as a reagent capable of reacting under mild conditions with a variey of non-functionalized alkenes to form isolable alkylzirconi-um(lV) complexes Cp2Zr(R)Cl in which the zirconium is attached to the least-hindered terminal primary carbon, irrespective of the original location of the double bond in the olefin chain. As an example, at room temperature in benzene, 1-octene, cis-4-octene and trows-4-octene all yield the n-octylzirconocene derivative (Scheme 8-6) [80]. 

The regioselective hydrozirconahon of internal unsymmetrical alkenes remains a challenge, as it could considerably expand the use of zirconocene complexes. Little is known about the mechanism of zirconium migration along an alkyl chain. 

Enones and enoates undergo 1,2-reduction [115, 191]. Lipshutz et al. reported the effective protection of carbonyl functions by the triisopropylsilyl acyl silane group (TIPS), which allowed the selective conversion of alkenes or alkynes to the corresponding zirconocene complexes [24]. The aldehyde could subsequently be regenerated by desilylation with TBAF [186]. 

Some hydrometalation reactions have been shown to be catalyzed by zirconocene. For instance, CpiZrCf-catalyzed hydroaluminations of alkenes [238] and alkynes [239] with BU3AI have been observed (Scheme 8-34). With alkyl-substituted internal alkynes the process is complicated by double bond migration, and with terminal alkynes double hydrometalation is observed. The reaction with "PrjAl and Cp2ZrCl2 gives simultaneously hydrometalation and C-H activation. Cp2ZrCl2/ BuIi-cat-alyzed hydrosilation of acyclic alkenes [64, 240] was also reported to involve hydrogen transfer via hydrozirconation. 

Allyl aryl ethers undergo accelerated Claisen and [1,3] rearrangements in the presence of a mixture of trialkylalanes and water or aluminoxanes. The addition of stoichiometric quantities of water accelerates both the trimethylaluminum-mediated aromatic Claisen reaction and the chiral zirconocene-catalyzed asymmetric carboalumination of terminal alkenes. These two reactions occur in tandem and, after oxidative quenching of the intermediate trialkylalane, result in the selective formation of two new C-C bonds and one C-0 bond (Eq. 12.70).153 Antibodies have also been developed to catalyze Claisen154 and oxy-Cope155 rearrangements. 

Waymouth and coworkers used chiral zirconocene complexes such as 56 with Et3Al as the stoichiometric reductant to enantioselectively desymmeter-ize oxabicyclic compounds (Scheme 9) [29]. A reductive coupling mechanism to give 57 followed by (i-alkoxidc ring opening and transmetallation is consistent with the experimental results. Neither direct insertion of the alkene into the M - C bond nor nucleophilic attack mechanisms can be ruled out, however [12]. 

Cyclopropane ring cleavage is also observed in the case of zirconocene 2-alkene and j 2-imine complexes with adjacent cyclopropane rings to give t/3-allyl, /3-azaallyl, and t/ -enamine complexes [29]. 

Negishi et al. reported the regioselective synthesis of diisoalkyl derivatives from monosubstituted alkenes in yields ranging from 58-95%, Scheme 8, from the in situ prepared ethylene complex Cp2Zr(C2H4).35 The zirconocene-ethylene complex presumably undergoes alkene insertion to furnish a zirconacyclopentane which further reacts with diethylzinc to yield the diisoalkylzinc compound. 

The gas-phase reaction of cationic zirconocene species, ZrMeCp2, with alkenes and alkynes was reported to involve two major reaction sequences, which are the migratory insertion of these unsaturated hydrocarbons into the Zr-Me bond (Eq. 3) and the activation of the C-H bond via er-bonds metathesis rather than /J-hydrogen shift/alkene elimination (Eq. 4) [130,131]. The insertion in the gas-phase closely parallels the solution chemistry of Zr(R)Cp2 and other isoelec-tronic complexes. Thus, the results derived from calculations based on this gas-phase reactivity should be correlated directly to the solution reactivity (vide infra). 

Recently, Oshima et al. developed the conversion of acid chlorides into the corresponding homoallylic alcohols catalyzed by in r(/ -prepared hydridozirconium allyl reagents (Scheme 41),147 147a The proposed mechanism suggests an initial hydride transfer from the zirconocene crotyl hydride species, in equlibrium with its Cp2Zr(l-alkene),147a to the acid chloride with subsequent allylation to afford the corresponding homoallylic alcohols. 

With the advent of enantioselective zirconocene-catalyzed alkene carbomagnesiation,27 27a 27c 28 28a chirally modified zirconocenes soon were applied to asymmetric reductive diene carbocyclization.2 a c As demonstrated by the reductive cyclization of 5a,29 highly enantioselective cyclization is enabled through the use Brintzinger s chiral, mszz-zirconocene.30 30a (For the preparation and resolution of chiral tf .szz-zirconocene 6, see Refs 30,30a.) However, moderate diastereoselectivities and yields are generally observed (Scheme 5). 

Tetrasubstituted alkenes remain a challenge. Here, the highest enantioselectivities were obtained with zirconocene catalysts, though the high catalyst loadings required and low TOFs reduce the practicality of these catalysts. 

Another major protocol for the generation of three-membered zirconacycles was initially devised by Erker [47—49] and was extensively developed by Buchwald [36—44] (Erker—Buchwald protocol) (Scheme 1.14). No alkenes or alkynes are used as temporary ligands in this protocol. Unless hydrozirconation is used to generate the initial organyl-zirconocene derivatives, even final alkene or alkyne ligands are not usually derived from the corresponding ji-compounds. Thus, the synthetic values of the two representative protocols are quite different and often complementary to each other. 

Scheme 1.58. Zirconium and alkene migration of diene-zirconocene complexes.

A wide variety of five-membered zirconacydes 8 may be formed by the formal co-cycliza-tion of two 7i-components (3 and 6 alkene, alkyne, allene, imine, carbonyl, nitrile) on zir-conocene ( Cp2Zr ) (Scheme 3.2) [2,3,8]. The co-cydization takes place via the r 2-complex 5 of one of the components, which is usually formed by complexation of 3 with a zircono-cene equivalent (path a) ( Cp2Zr itself is probably too unstable to be a true intermediate) or by oxidation on the metal (cyclometallation/p-hydrogen elimination) (path b). Two additional routes to zirconocene r 2-complexes are by the reverse of the co-cyclization reaction (i. e. 8 reverting to 5 or 9 via 7), and by rearrangement of iminoacyl complexes (see Section... 

The synthesis of analogous iminoacyl complexes by isonitrile insertion into linear alkyl-zirconocene chlorides is also known. In an overall regiospecific hydrocyanation of alkenes, iminoacyls 21 derived from tBuNC or Me3SiCN (as the Me3SiNC isomer) may be treated with I2 to rapidly generate an imidoyl iodide and subsequently the nitrile 22 (Scheme 3.6) [22], Less hindered iminoacyl complexes (e. g. R = Bu, Cy) may be hydrolyzed to afford aldehydes 23 [23]. 

Access to non-terminal ( ,2)-dienes and ( ,Z, )-trienes 61 is provided analogously through deprotonation of ( , )-4-alkyl-l-chloro-l,3-butadienes followed by insertion of the resultant carbenoid 60 into alkyl- and alkenyl-zirconocene chlorides (Scheme 3.14) [38], The corresponding internal (Z,Z)-dienes and (Z,Z, )-trienes are also readily obtained by insertion of (3-alkynyl carbenoids 62 [44] into alkyl- and alkenylzirconocene chlorides, respectively (Scheme 3.14). Reduction of the triple-bond moiety in the products 63 to afford the cis-alkenes is well known [45—47]. 

Insertion of carbon monoxide into Csp2—Zr bonds occurs readily at ambient temperatures or below to produce a,(5-unsaturated, reactive acyl zirconocene derivatives [27—29]. Early work by Schwartz demonstrated the potential of such intermediates in synthesis [5d], as they are highly susceptible to further conversions to a variety of carbonyl compounds depending upon manipulation. More recently, Huang has shown that HC1 converts 16 to an enal, that addition of a diaryl diselenide leads to selenoesters, and that exposure to a sulfenyl chloride gives thioesters (Scheme 4.11) [27,28]. All are obtained with (F)-stereochemistry, indicative of CO insertion with the expected retention of alkene geometry. 

Acylzirconocene chloride derivatives are easily accessible in a one-pot procedure through the hydrozirconation of alkene or alkyne derivatives with zirconocene chloride hydride (Schwartz reagent) [Cp2Zr(H)Cl, Cp = cyclopentadienyl] and subsequent insertion of carbon monoxide (CO) into the alkyl— or alkenyl—zirconium bond under atmospheric pressure (Scheme 5.1) [2],... 

Chiral C2-symmetric ansa-metallocenes, also referred to as bridged metallocenes, find extensive use as catalysts that effect asymmetric C—C bond-forming transformations [4]. In general, bridged ethylene(bis(tetrahydroindenyl))zirconocene dichloride ((ebthi)ZrCl2) 1 or its derived binaphtholate ((ebthi)Zrbinol) 2 [5] and related derivatives thereof have been extensively utilized in the development of a variety of catalytic asymmetric alkene alkylations. 

Figure 6.1. Substrate-catalyst interactions favor a specific mode of alkene insertion into the zirconocene—alkene complex.

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