Allenylidene nucleophilic additions

The regioselectivity of the nucleophilic additions on allenylidene complexes (C vs Cy) is subtly controlled by the electronic and steric properties both of the substituents on the unsaturated hydrocarbon chain and the ancillary ligands on the metal atom, as well as by the nucleophile employed. In this section we will summarize the nucleophilic reactivity of mononuclear Group 6-9 allenylidenes. 

R and = Alkyl. Aryl or H Scheme 16 Nucleophilic addition of alcohols and amines to Group 6 allenylidene complexes... 

Concerning the M=Co, bond, most of the reported examples result from inter- or intramolecular additions of anionic nucleophiles containing at least two reactive heteroatoms. Thus, sodium dimethyldithiocarbamate was found to react with the cationic allenylidene [RuTp(=C=C=CPh2)(PPh3)2] [PFg] (76) to generate the alle-nyl-metallacycle 77 (Scheme 26) as the result of the nucleophilic addition of one of the sulfur atoms at the Cq, carbon and subsequent coordination of the second sulfur to the ruthenium center, with concomitant release of a triphenylphosphine ligand [282]. Complex 77 could also be synthesized by treatment of the neutral derivative... 

Metal-catalyzed substitution reactions involving propargylic derivatives have not been studied in much detail until recently [311, 312]. In this context, the ability shown by transition-metal allenylidenes to undergo nucleophilic additions at the Cy atom of the cumulenic chain has allowed the development of efficient catalytic processes for the direct substitution of the hydroxyl group in propargylic alcohols [313]. These transformations represent an appealing alternative to the well-known and extensively investigated Nicholas reaction, in which stoichiometric amounts of [Co2(CO)g] are employed [314-317]. 

Main routes to 71-donor-substituted allenylidene complexes include (1) the nucleophilic addition of secondary amines to Fischer-type carbenes [M =C(OR ) C=CR (C0)5] (M = Cr, W) [9], (2) the Lewis-acid induced abstraction of NR2 groups from anionic complexes [M C=CC(NMe2)3](CO)5] (M = Cr, W) [9], and (3) the regioselective addition of protic nucleophiles to metallacumulenylidenes with more extended unsaturated carbon chains, such as butatrienylidenes or penta-tetraenylidenes [10]. In the following sections updated syntheses are presented by Periodic Group. 

Nucleophilic additions of alcohols, amines, thiols, and selenols to Group 8 buta-trienylidene intermediates [M]=C=C=C=CR2 have also been used in the preparation of stable heteroatom-conjugated allenylidene complexes. Thus, activation of trimethylsilyl-l,3-butadiyne HC=C-C=CSiMe3 by the iron(II) complex [FeClCp (dppe)], in methanol and in the presence of NaBPh4, resulted in the high-yield formation of the methoxy-allenylidene [FeCp =C=C=C(OMe)Me ... 

Otherwise, the reactions of indenyl-ruthenium(II) allenylidenes [RuCty -CgHy) =C=C=C(R )Ph (PPh3)2][PF6] (R = H, Ph) with ynamines R C CNEtj (R = Me, SiMea) have been reported to yield the alkenyl(amino)allenylidene complexes 41 via insertion of the ynamine into the Cp=Cy allenylidene bond (Scheme 10) [52, 53], This insertion process involves an initial nucleophilic addition of the ynamine at Cy atom of the cumulene, which leads to the cationic alkynyl intermediate complexes 39. Further ring closing, involving the Cp atom, generates the [2+2]... 

As already commented in the introduction of this chapter, regardless of its substitution pattern, the main trends of allenylidene reactivity are governed by the electron deficient character of the C and Cy carbon atoms of the cumulenic chain, the Cp being a nucleophilic center [9-15]. Thus, as occurs with their allcarbon substituted counterparts, electrophilic additions on 7i-donor-substituted allenylidene complexes are expected to take place selectively at Cp, while nucleophiles can add to both C and Cy atoms. However, the extensive 71-conjugation present in these molecules results in a reduced reactivity of the cumulenic chain and, in some cases, in marked differences in the regioselectivity of the nucleophilic additions when compared to the all-carbon substituted allenylidenes. In the following subsections updated reactivity studies on 7i-donor-substituted allenylidene complexes are presented by Periodic Group. 

Scheme 3.24 Ferrocenylethyl(dimethylamino)allenylidene ruthenium by nucleophilic addition of ferrocenylmethylamine to C3 of 10 and subsequent rearrangement.

Highly reactive organic vinylidene and allenylidene species can be stabilized upon coordination to a metal center [1]. In 1979, Bruce et al. [2] reported the first ruthenium vinylidene complex from phenylacetylene and [RuCpCl(PPh3)2] in the presence of NH4PF6. Following this report, various mthenium vinylidene complexes have been isolated and their physical and chemical properties have been extensively elucidated [3]. As the a-carbon of ruthenium vinylidenes and the a and y-carbon of ruthenium allenylidenes are electrophilic in nature [4], the direct formation of ruthenium vinylidene and ruthenium allenylidene species, respectively, from terminal alkynes and propargylic alcohols provides easy access to numerous catalytic reactions since nucleophilic addition at these carbons is a viable route for new catalysis (Scheme 6.1). 

As terminal alkynes and ethynyl alcohols are the convenient sources to generate ruthenium vinylidene and allenylidene intermediates, many carbocyclizations have been achieved via nucleophilic addition and other activations at the two intermediates. Most reported carbocyclizations appear to be synthetically useful, not only because of their chemoselectivities but also because of their tolerance toward organic functional groups. Additional examples of catalytic carbocyclization based on ruthenium vinylidenes are still growing, and on the basis of the concepts developed here one can expect to see many new applications in the near future. 

From ruthenium allenylidene complexes, nucleophilic addition at the less hindered Cy represents the most classical initial step leading to catalytic transformations. 

The selective intramolecular nucleophilic addition of a hydroxy group at Cyof a ruthenium allenylidene generated by activation of propargylic alcohol by RuCl(Cp)(PPh3)2/NH4PF6 provides a ruthenium vinylidene species, which reacts with allylic alcohols as previously described in the section Formation of Unsaturated Ketones (Eq. 11, Scheme 18) [79]. This unprecedented tandem reaction makes possible the construction of tetrahydrofuran derivatives in good yields and has been used as a key step in the synthesis of (-)calyculin A [80]. 

The ability of the binuclear complex [Cp RuCl(p2-SR)2RuCl(Cp )] to generate cationic allenylidene complexes by activation of terminal prop-2-ynols in the presence of NH4BF4 as a chloride abstractor opens the way to a variety of catalytic transformations of propargylic alcohols involving nucleophilic addition at the Cy atom of the ruthenium allenylidene intermediate (Scheme 19). This leads to the formation of a functional ruthenium vinylidene species which tau-tomerizes into an -coordinated alkyne that is removed from the ruthenium centre in the presence of the substrate. 

Here, we shall focus on ruthenium-catalyzed nucleophilic additions to alkynes. These additions have the potential to give a direct access to unsaturated functional molecules - the key intermediates for fine chemicals and also the monomers for polymer synthesis and molecular multifunctional materials. Ruthenium-catalyzed nucleophilic additions to alkynes are possible via three different basic activation pathways (Scheme 8.1). For some time, Lewis acid activation type (i), leading to Mar-kovnikov addition, was the main possible addition until the first anfi-Markovnikov catalytic addition was pointed out for the first time in 1986 [6, 7]. This regioselectiv-ity was then explained by the formation of a ruthenium vinylidene species with an electron-deficient Ru=C carbon site (ii). Although currently this methodology is the most often employed, nucleophilic additions involving ruthenium allenylidene species also take place (iii). These complexes allow multiple synthetic possibilities as their cumulenic backbone offers two electrophilic sites (hi). 

The classical synthetic methodologies for alkenyl complexes based on the nucleophilic additions to 7r-alkyne complexes and the insertion reactions of alkynes into [M]-H and [M]-R bonds have been employed to prepare a number of alkenyl, butadienyl, and analogous derivatives. Nevertheless, the chemistry of vinylidene and allenylidene complexes has disclosed new routes to alkenyl derivatives, most of them incorporating heterocyclic systems. 

Due to the extensive contribution of the metal-alkynyl resonance form [M]-G G-G "R R, cationic transition metal-allenylidene complexes [M] "=G=G=GR R have been found to be excellent building blocks for the preparation of functionalized alkynyl derivatives through the addition of nucleophiles. Although the reactivity of cationic allenylidenes is governed by the electron deficiency of both the G - and G.y-atoms of the unsaturated chain, it is now well established that nucleophilic additions at G. regioselectively occur when electron-rich and/or bulky... 

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