Alkyl complexes electrophilic attack

Many of the reactions of BF3 are of the Friedel-Crafts type though they are perhaps not strictly catalytic since BF3 is required in essentially equimolar quantities with the reactant. The mechanism is not always fully understood but it is generally agreed that in most cases ionic intermediates are produced by or promoted by the formation of a BX3 complex electrophilic attack of the substrate by the cation so produced completes the process. For example, in the Friedel-Crafts-type alkylation of aromatic hydrocarbons ... 

Ozonation ofAlkenes. The most common ozone reaction involves the cleavage of olefinic carbon—carbon double bonds. Electrophilic attack by ozone on carbon—carbon double bonds is concerted and stereospecific (54). The modified three-step Criegee mechanism involves a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of ozone to an olefinic double bond via a transitory TT-complex (3) to form an initial unstable ozonide, a 1,2,3-trioxolane or molozonide (4), where R is hydrogen or alkyl. The molozonide rearranges via a 1,3-cycloreversion to a carbonyl fragment (5) and a peroxidic dipolar ion or zwitterion (6). 

The first step in the catalytic alkylation of aromatics is the conversion of an olefin or olefin-producing reagent into a carbonium ion or polari2ed complex. Then, this carbonium ion or complex, which is a powerful electrophile, attacks the aromatic ring (32). 

All these kinetic results can be accommodated by a general mechanism that incorporates the following fundamental components (1) complexation of the alkylating agent and the Lewis acid (2) electrophilic attack on the aromatic substrate to form the a-complex and (3) deprotonation. In many systems, there m be an ionization of the complex to yield a discrete carbocation. This step accounts for the fact that rearrangement of the alkyl group is frequently observed during Friedel-Crafts alkylation. 

Cl—Al Cly) intermediate or a carbocation C AICI4 This intermediate electrophilically attacks the benzene ring to generate a benzenonium ion intermediate which gives alkylated benzene through deprotonation by aluminum tetrachloride anion. Finally the hydrogen aluminum tetrachloride complex affords aluminum chloride and hydrogen chloride gas. This aluminum chloride is recycled in the catalytic cycle of alkylation. 

Mononuclear acyl Co carbonyl complexes ROC(0)Co(CO)4 result from reaction of Co2(CO)8 with RO-.77 These also form via the carbonylation of the alkyl precursor. The ROC(0)Co(CO)4 species undergo a range of reactions, including CO ligand substitution (by phosphines, for example), decarbonylation to the alkyl species, isomerization, and reactions of the coordinated acyl group involving either nucleophilic attack at the C or electrophilic attack at the O atom. 

Complex 169 is very susceptible to electrophilic attack, as shown in Scheme 32. The protonation of 169 with PyHCl gave back 166. In this reaction, the assistance of one of the oxygens as the primary site of the protonation cannot be excluded. The alkylation with MeOTf, unlike in the case of 161 (see Scheme 29),22 occurs at the alkylidene carbon as well, forming the 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene-W derivative 167, which was obtained also by the direct synthesis given in Scheme 31. 

In the CH3CH=CH2- -NO+ complex, the nitrosyl cation retains the characteristic canted geometry indicative of strong 7tcc-7txo interaction (Fig. 5.46(c)). However, the electrophilic attack shifts toward the terminal C of the pi bond, away from the methyl substituent. Such anti-Markovnikov complexation is, of course, to be expected from the relative polarization of the propylene pi bond toward the terminal C (so that the 7tCc antibond is polarized toward the alkyl pi-donor). 

Synthetic organic chemistry applications employing alkane C-H functionalizations are now well established. For example, alkanes can be oxidized to alkyl halides and alcohols by the Shilov system employing electrophilic platinum salts. Much of the Pt(ll)/Pt(rv) alkane activation chemistry discussed earlier has been based on Shilov chemistry. The mechanism has been investigated and is thought to involve the formation of a platinum(ll) alkyl complex, possibly via a (T-complex. The Pt(ll) complex is oxidized to Pt(iv) by electron transfer, and nucleophilic attack on the Pt(iv) intermediate yields the alkyl chloride or alcohol as well as regenerates the Pt(n) catalyst. This process is catalytic in Pt(ll), although a stoichiometric Pt(rv) oxidant is often required (Scheme 6).27,27l 2711... 

The authors point out that the dependence of the site of electrophilic attack on the ligand trans to the hydride in the model systems may be important with respect to alkane activation. If the information is transferable to Pt-alkyls, protonation at the metal rather than the alkyl should be favored with weak (and hard ) a-donor ligands like Cl- and H20. These are the ligands involved in Shilov chemistry and so by the principle of microscopic reversibility, C-H oxidative addition may be favored over electrophilic activation for these related complexes. 

As already discussed (Section 3.1.1) the elimination of, for instance, neopentane from penta(neopentyl)tantalum corresponds to an a-deprotonation of one alkyl ligand by another, the latter being eliminated as neopentane. Hence in the reverse reaction the carbene carbon atom of the (nucleophilic) carbene complex must formally deprotonate the incoming alkane with simultaneous electrophilic attack of the metal at the newly formed, carbanionic alkyl group (Figure 3.36). 

However, with substrates prone to form carbocations, complete hydride abstraction from the alkane, followed by electrophilic attack of the carbocation on the metal-bound, newly formed alkyl ligand might be a more realistic picture of this process (Figure 3.38). The regioselectivity of C-H insertion reactions of electrophilic transition metal carbene complexes also supports the idea of a carbocation-like transition state or intermediate. 

By enantiotopos-differentiating deprotonation the lithiated complex is formed in a reagent-controlled reaction with excellent selectivity. The lithiated center of the complex is assumed to have the S configuration, as follows from the carboxylation, to give an (7 )-lactic acid derivative based on the reasonable assumption of metalloretentive electrophilic attack. Trapping with chlorotrimethylstannane gave the corresponding chiral (.S -SjS-dimethyl-l-trimethylstannyl-alkyl-l-oxa-4-azaspiro[4.5]decane-4-carboxylates. Enantioselectivity of the overall transformation is excellent. 

In an important new application of crown ethers Cram and Sogah have recently reported that potassium bases complexed to chiral crown ethers catalyze the stereoselective Michael addition of a /3- ketoester to methyl vinyl ketone in high optical yields (81CC625). With chiral crown (46), carbanion (47) gave alkylated products with an optical yield of about 99% enantiomeric excess. These impressive results were rationalized by complex structure (48) in which the crown-complexed K+ and the carbanion form an ion pair. One face of the associated carbanion is shielded from electrophilic attack by the flanking binaphthyl groups and the approach of methyl vinyl ketone occurs in a stereoselective manner. 

Among isolable metal homoenolates only zinc homoenolates cyclize to cyclo-propanes under suitable conditions. Whereas acylation of zinc alkyls makes a straightforward ketone synthesis [32], that of a zinc homoenolate is more complex. Treatment of a purified zinc homoenolate in CDC13 with acid chloride at room temperature gives O-acylation product, instead of the expected 4-keto ester, as the single product (Eq. (22) [33]). The reaction probably proceeds by initial electrophilic attack of acyl cation on the carbonyl oxygen. A C-acylation leading to a 4-keto ester can, however, be accomplished in a polar solvent Eq. (44)-... 

The general reactions of the compounds are much as expected. They react with strong reducing agents to give ammonia and amines, with complete destruction of the complexes.143-14 The halides are labile and can be substituted.144 The compounds react with acids to form alkylhydrazido complexes,148 and with alkyl halides to form dialkylhydrazido(2 —) complexes, in reactions which are typical SN2 reactions,149 though electrophilic attack (viz. by Me+) is also a possibility.150... 

In this reaction [Mn(CO)5], which is quite nucleophilic, increases its metal coordination number by one. The reaction may be viewed as an electrophilic attack by R+ on the metal. Similarly, it is possible to prepare bridging alkyl complexes by this method/10... 

The complexes are reactive towards nucleophilic as well as electrophilic attack. Attack by alkyl halides yields thioalkylated compounds. Mostly an alkylation at one sulfur atom takes place, but examples of alkylation at both sulfur atoms are known (reactions 1 and 2). The facile sulfur abstraction with PPh3 yielding a thiocarbonyl complex is a nucleophilic reaction (reaction 3). 

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