Carbenes, aryl

Simple 1,3-dienes also undergo a thermal monocyclopropanation reaction with methoxy(alkyl)- and methoxy(aryl)carbene complexes of molybdenum and chromium [27]. The most complete study was carried out by Harvey and Lund and they showed that this process occurs with high levels of both regio-and diastereoselectivity. The chemical yield is significantly higher with molybdenum complexes [27a] (Scheme 7). Tri- and tetrasubstituted 1,3-dienes and 3-methylenecyclohexene (diene locked in an s-trans conformation) fail to react [28]. The monocyclopropanation of electronically neutral 1,3-dienes with non-heteroatom-stabilised carbene complexes has also been described [29]. 

It has been shown how alkenylcarbene complexes participate in nickel(0)-me-diated [3C+2S+2S] cycloaddition reactions to give cycloheptatriene derivatives (see Sect. 3.3). However, the analogous reaction performed with alkyl- or aryl-carbene complexes leads to similar cycloheptatriene derivatives, but in this case the process can be considered a [2S+2S+2S+1C] cycloaddition reaction as three molecules of the alkyne and one molecule of the carbene complex are incorporated into the structure of the final product [125] (Scheme 82). The mechanism of this transformation is similar to that described in Scheme 77 for the [3C+2S+2S] cycloaddition reactions. 

A greatly enhanced chemoselective formation of phenol is observed for alkoxy(alkenyl)carbene complexes compared to alkoxy(aryl)carbene complexes. This behaviour reflects the ease of formation of the rf-vinylketene complex intermediate E starting from alkenylcarbene complexes for aryl complexes this transformation would require dearomatisation. 

Amino(aryl)carbene complexes prefer cyclopentannulation over benzannulation. Amino(alkenyl)carbene complexes may react in a benzannulation reaction. 

The superior donor properties of amino groups over alkoxy substituents causes a higher electron density at the metal centre resulting in an increased M-CO bond strength in aminocarbene complexes. Therefore, the primary decarbo-nylation step requires harsher conditions moreover, the CO insertion generating the ketene intermediate cannot compete successfully with a direct electro-cyclisation of the alkyne insertion product, as shown in Scheme 9 for the formation of indenes. Due to that experience amino(aryl)carbene complexes are prone to undergo cyclopentannulation. If, however, the donor capacity of the aminocarbene ligand is reduced by N-acylation, benzannulation becomes feasible [22]. 

Testing the limits of carbene stabilization by substituents, Bertrand and coworkers reported the synthesis and analysis of (amino)(aryl)carbenes where only one substituent can contribute to the stability of the carbene center. Carbene 30 was designed to have the amino substituent as a jr-donor and the 2,6-bis(trifluoromethyl)... 

The Dotz reaction was first reported2 for an aryl carbene of the type 8, and the resulting benzannulation may be summarized conveniently as shown in Scheme 3. The major product of the reaction is usually the naphthol 9, the result of a formal [3 + 2 + 1] cycloaddition.10 In cases where CO insertion does not take place, five-membered rings (10) may also be formed. 

The reaction of alkoxy(aryl)carbene iron complexes with two equivalents of an isonitrile leads to the formation of azetidin-2-ylidene complexes [197]. For other reactions of Fischer-type carbene complexes with isonitriles see [198]. 

Experimental Procedure 2.2.6. Cyclopentannulation with a Molybdenum Aryl-carbene Complex 3-Hexyl-5-methyl-l-indanone 346]... 

If the Ddtz benzannulation reaction is conducted with ori/zo-disubstituted aryl-carbene complexes, the final aromatization step is blocked and cyclohexadienones can be isolated (Figure 2.34) [356,378,379]. 

Non-heteroatom-substituted carbene complexes of almost all transition metals are known. Depending on the oxidation state of the metal, the overall charge of the complex, and the properties of the additional ligands, the reactivity of alkyl or aryl carbene complexes can vary greatly. Some examples of compounds with strikingly different chemical properties are shown in Figure 3.1. 

Several unique synthetic strategies for bidentate(amino)(oxy)- and (amino)(aryl) carbenes have been described (Scheme 10). For the former, the reaction of the amino(phosphino)carbene with an ort/io-quinone leads to the transient formation of a zwitterionic species featuring both a phosphonio nucleofuge and an aryloxide nucleophile that allow for a subsequent intramolecular substitution process. The... 

C in THF, which cleanly led to the formation of (amino)(aryl)carbene Xllla (Scheme 8.8). ° A NMR signal at 8 = 314.2 ppm leaves no doubt of the formation of Xllla. Carbene Xllla is stable for days in solution at —50 °C but undergoes a C—H insertion reaction at room temperature within a few hours, giving rise to the 4,6-di-ferf-butyl-l,l-dimethyl-3-(methyl-rcrt-butylamino)mdane as the major product. It is interesting to note that this reaction, typical of transient singlet and triplet carbenes, has never been observed for diamino carbenes. This striking difference demonstrates the less perturbed character of carbene Xllla. 

The transient decays at the same rate as cyclic ketenimine K is formed," implying that the newly detected transient is singlet phenylnitrene. The assignment was secured with the aid of computational chemistry" and by studying the temperature dependence of the kinetics. " In 1986 we guessed that the ISC rate constant of singlet phenylnitrene would resemble the same rate constants as those of aryl carbenes, which were known at that... 

An attempt to generate an amino-aryl carbene 154 from the alkylated phenanthridinium salt 153 (Equation 78) <2006TL531> was unsuccessful due to steric interactions. The actual reaction with a variety of strong, sterically hindered bases/nucleophiles is shown (Equations 79-81). The mesityllithium products proved that a carbene intermediate is not possible. Unlike /-butyl alcohol and hexamethyldisilazane, trimethylbenzene, the conjugate acid of mesityllithium, is not prone to carbene insertion reactions. Electronically this is explained by the planar nature of 153 which serves to lower the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) energy of the iminium moiety. 

The rearrangement of phenyl carbene to cyclohepta-1,2,4,6-tetraene has been detected at 10 K (Westetal., 1982 cf. Fig. 3.3), but the relevance of this to photochemistry in solution at higher temperatures is not yet clear. Ortho-substituents that might react with photogenerated aryl carbenes should be avoided as they are with arylazides (Section 3.2.4 Fig. 3.4). 

Naturally, reactions are especially interesting to us if the products obtained are not readily accessible by the methods of classic organic chemistry but are easily preparable with our complexes. We found one such example upon treatment of pentacarbonyl[methoxy(aryl)carbene]chrom-ium(O) complexes with oxygen, sulfur, or selenium (76). In this way one obtains conveniently the corresponding methyl esters of arylcarboxylic acids and the O-methyl esters of arylthio- as well as arylselenocarboxylic acids this seems to us to be synthetically useful in the last two cases ... 

It was also of interest to us how changes in the organic residue of the carbyne ligand influence the stability and the behavior of carbyne complexes. Hence, we treated with boron tribromide a series of pentacarbonyl-[methoxy (aryl) carbene tungsten (0) complexes which were substituted at... 

It has been argued466 that the solution photolysis rates of polychlorinated dibenzo-/ -dioxins may be explained by the preferential photodissociation of chlorine atoms from a lateral vs a non-lateral position to yield the corresponding aryl radical and/or aryl cation-aryl carbene intermediate. 

In contrast to aryl carbene complexes, vinyl carbene complexes are known to yield only the benzannulation products [37]. For instance, carbohydrates [38], tetramethyl ketals of qui-nones [39], heterocycles, and oxacycloalkenylidene carbene complexes [40] have been used as part of a (cyclic) vinyl carbene complex. For example, complex 29 and diphenylethyne were converted to the acyl hydroquinone 30. Thus, 29 serves as a synthon for the (electron-poor) benzoyl vinyl carbene complex (Scheme 14) [40]. 

Apart from the construction of phenanthrenes, carbene complexes have also been used for the synthesis of more extended polycyclic arenes. An unusual dimerization of chromium coordinated ortbo-ethynyl aryl carbenes results in the formation of chrysenes (Scheme 37) [81]. This unusual reaction course is presumably due to the rigid C2 bridge that links the carbene and alkyne moieties, and thus prevents a subsequent intramolecular alkyne insertion into the metal-carbene bond. Instead, a double intermolecular alkyne insertion favored by the weak chromium-alkyne bond is believed to occur forming a central ten-membered ring that may then rearrange to the fused arene system. For example, under typical benzannulation conditions, carbene complex 97 affords an equimolar mixture of chrysene 98a and its monochromium complex 98b. The peri-interactions between the former alkyne substituent (in the 5- and 11-positions) and the aryl hydrogen induce helicity in the chrysene skeleton. 

For aryl carbenes the benzannulated organic product may remain coordinated to the chromium in a hexahapto manner (Chapter 7), or be liberated via mild oxidation (Cew, Me3NO) or carbonylation [-CrfCOy. 

The prototypical carbene, CH2, and other simple alkyl and aryl carbenes have triplet ground states, with two unpaired electrons. In striking contrast, all silylenes known to date have singlet ground states, with the two nonbonding electrons paired. This difference is of the greatest importance for the properties, spectra, and chemical behavior of silylenes. 

For example, in attempts to realize benzannelation reactions, alkyloxy aryl carbene complexes of manganese failed to react with alkynes even in refluxing toluene, and the starting compounds could be recovered [4]. The documented low reactivity of the Mn as opposed to Cr and Mo carbene complexes may in part explain why the electrophilic carbene C-atom and the nucleophilic diazo C-atom tolerate each other in the same molecule. Besides, the bulky substituents at the silicon atom protect it fi"om being attacked by nucleophiles leading to desilylation as reported for trimethylsilyl substituted Cr carbene complexes [5]. 

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