Arylcarbenes

In accordance with this, the reaction of the electron-donor-substituted butadienes 170 (R=Ph, OMe) with the arylcarbene complexes 163 yields divinylcyclopropane intermediates 168 with high chemoselectivity for the electron-rich double bond in 170, which readily undergo a [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement to give the as-6,7-disubstituted 1,4-cycloheptadiene derivatives... 

In the same way as arylcarbene complexes, alkenylcarbene complexes typically react with alkynes to provide [3C+2S+1C0] Dotz cycloadducts (see Chap. ccChromium-Templated Benzannulation Reactions , p. 123 in this book). However, some isolated examples involving the formation of five-membered rings through [3C+2S] cycloaddition processes have been reported [71]. In this context, de Meijere et al. found that /J-donor-substituted alkenylcarbene complexes react with alkynes to give cyclopentene derivatives [71a]. This topic is also discussed in detail in Chap.ccThe Multifaceted Chemistry of Variously Substituted a,/J-Unsaturated Fischer Metalcarbenes , p. 21 of this book. 

Activated esters for use in peptide-coupling reactions were produced by photolysis of optically active chromium aminocarbenes with alcohols which are good leaving groups, such as phenol, pentafluorophenol, 2,4,5-trichlorophenol, and N-hydroxysuccinimide (Table 17) [ 109]. Since arylcarbenes bearing the op-... 

Before discussing recent studies on the ring expansion reactions of phenylcarbene and phenylnitrene, we will describe some of the earlier experimental and theoretical work on these molecules. Our purpose here is to give a brief overview, in order to provide a context for the discussion of more recent results. For detailed descriptions of the chemistry of arylcarbenes and arylnitrenes, we refer the reader to the many excellent reviews in this area.1,2... 

As shown in Table 3, triplet lb is computed to be 25-26 kcal/mol lower in enthalpy than triplet lc.77 Table 3 also shows that radicals 8b and 8c, formed by adding a hydrogen atom to lb and lc, respectively, differ in enthalpy by only 1-3 kcal/mol. Therefore, the large enthalpy difference between 3lb and 3lc is not due to a difference between the abilities of the phenyl and pyridyl groups to stabilize an unpaired tt electron. Instead it must reflect an intrinsic enthalpy difference between arylnitrenes and arylcarbenes. Table 3 also shows that aniline (9b) and fl-picoline (9c) are also predicted to have very similar enthalpies, thus providing further evidence that the large enthalpy difference between lb and lc is, indeed, due to the fact that lb is a nitrene, while lc is a carbene. 

The arylcarbenes are also bent, the angle being about 150—155° for phenyl-and diphenylcarbenes 63,64) jj g zero-field splitting parameters were shown to be appreciably dependent on the host matrix used >. However diphenylcarbene prepared from different precursors proved to be identical and is believed to be the triplet species of diphenylcarbene. 

In arylcarbenes not only the internal bond angle but also the dihedral angle between the bond plane and the aryl plane can be bent. Photolysis of a- and /S-naphthyl-diazomethanes in a matrix gave two isomeric carbenes, which produced different ESR signals >. 

The chemical behavior of heteroatom-substituted vinylcarbene complexes is similar to that of a,(3-unsaturated carbonyl compounds (Figure 2.17) [206]. It is possible to perform Michael additions [217,230], 1,4-addition of cuprates [151], additions of nucleophilic radicals [231], 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions [232,233], inter-[234-241] or intramolecular [220,242] Diels-Alder reactions, as well as Simmons-Smith- [243], sulfur ylide- [244] or diazomethane-mediated [151] cyclopropanati-ons of the vinylcarbene C-C double bond. The treatment of arylcarbene complexes with organolithium reagents ean lead via conjugate addition to substituted 1,4-cyclohexadien-6-ylidene complexes [245]. 

The intermediate vinylketene complexes can undergo several other types or reaction, depending primarily on the substitution pattern, the metal and the solvent used (Figure 2.27). More than 15 different types of product have been obtained from the reaction of aryl(alkoxy)carbene chromium complexes with alkynes [333,334]. In addition to the formation of indenes [337], some arylcarbene complexes yield cyclobutenones [338], lactones, or furans [91] (e.g. Entry 4, Table 2.19) upon reaction with alkynes. Cyclobutenones can also be obtained by reaction of alkoxy(alkyl)carbene complexes with alkynes [339]. 

Such solvent stabilization effects on the reactivity of singlet carbenes in equilibrium with their triplet ground states have also been observed experimentally in other arylcarbene derivatives. ... 

The experiments carried out by Moss and his associates >30 years ago, which triggered the research in this field and can be regarded as landmarks, reveal that reactions of arylcarbenes with solidified alkenes at 77 K are completely different from those expected based on well-established fluid solution-phase chemistry. 

A series of experiments using alkene matrices clearly suggests that in a rigid matrix at low temperatures, triplet states of arylcarbenes undergo abstraction of... 

The reaction patterns of arylcarbenes with solidified alcohol at 77 K are also completely different from those observed in alcohol solution. For example, generation of phenylcarbene (le) in methanol matrices at 77 K results in the formation of alcohol (63) at the expense of benzyl methyl ether (62), which is the exclusive product in the reaction in alcoholic solution at ambient temperatures (Scheme 9.14). A similar dramatic increase in the CH insertion products is observed in the reaction involving other carbenes with alcohols. ... 

By analogy with the mechanism proposed for the reaction with alkenes, C—H insertion product formation can be explained in terms of a H abstraction-recombination process of triplet arylcarbenes. The observations that ground-state singlet carbenes, for example, chlorophenylcarbene (67), produce only O—H insertion... 

The results are explained as indicating that the addition of triplet arylcarbenes to intramolecular double bonds is accelerated by factor of 300-800 relative to inter-molecular addition. The intramolecular addition reactions of singlet arylcarbenes exhibit much smaller rate enhancements. The most stable planar conformer of singlet (102) cannot interact with the n bond of an allyl group attached to the ortho position. Rotation about the bond connecting the divalent carbon to the ring must occur in order for an electrophilic approach to take place. This rotation will result in the loss of benzylic stabilization. In marked contrast, the first step of the triplet addition can take place with no rotation of the divalent carbon. 

Although singlet and triplet imidogen have similar absorption spectra, singlet and triplet methylene do not. In fact, most carbenes have rather poor chromo-phores for UV-vis detection by LEP and must be visualized by trapping with pyridine to form ylides. The exceptions are arylcarbenes, which have n n transitions localized on the aromatic n system. " ... 

Understanding the chemistry of arylnitrenes proceeded more slowly than that of arylcarbenes because product studies were less informative. Unlike carbenes, much... 

Singlet phenylnitrene undergoes ISC three orders of magnitude more slowly than arylcarbenes. " There are at least three reasons why arylcarbenes do ISC much faster than singlet phenylnitrene. The rate of a radiationless transition increases as the energy separation between the two states goes to zero. The calculated... 

The arylcarbenes (51 X = CH2, O, SiMe2) underwent fi-CH insertion via the triplet carbene.63 The related systems (52) underwent predominant insertion into the C—X bonds. In fact, when X = SiMe2, products of insertion into all four C—Si bonds were observed. Treatment of the dibromophosphinaethene (53) with butyllithium gave rise... 

The gas-phase pyrolysis of 2040 in the absence of other reagents gave the products shown in equation 54. Olefin 182 is probably formed from two carbene molecules or from reaction of the carbene with 20, and benzyltrimethylsilane is a typical product of a twofold H abstraction attributed to a triplet carbene. A carbene-to-carbene rearrangement, not uncommon for arylcarbenes, should account for the formation of 183, and styrene... 

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