Butadiene complexes with rhodium

Since conjugated dienes form stable rc-allyl complexes with [Co(CO)4]2, they undergo hydroformylation very slowly to give saturated monoaldehydes in low yields.8 Mixtures of mono- and dialdehydes are usually formed in rhodium-catalyzed hydroformylations.71 72 Saturated monoaldehydes were isolated, however, when 1,3-butadiene and 1,3-pentadiene were hydroformylated in the presence of rhodium dioxide.70... 

In more recent work on hydrogenation of butadiene polymers and copolymers, the attempt was made to explain the dependence on hydrogen pressure with sole rate control by olefin addition to H2RhClPh2 (X3) and quasi-equilibrium rhodium distribution over the complexes with and without hydrogen [59] instead of kinetic significance of the step Xq + H2 — X3. This gives a rate equation for double-bond disappearance of the form... 

A remarkable example of the cooperation of different active sites in a polyfunctional catalyst is the one-step synthesis of 2-ethylhexanol, including a combined hydroformylation, aldol condensation, and hydrogenation process [17]. The catalyst in this case is a carbonyl-phosphine-rhodium complex immobilized on to polystyrene carrying amino groups close to the metal center. Another multistep catalytic process is the cyclooligomerization of butadiene combined with a subsequent hydroformylation or hydrogenation step [24, 25] using a styrene polymer on to which a rhodium-phosphine and a nickel-phosphine complex are anchored (cf Section 3.1.5). 

The interpretation of the formation of the Ci3-lactone requires a sequence of mechanistical pathways which are unknown so far in rhodium-catalysis. Two proposals for the mechanism were given in Equation 12. The mechanism of path B is similar to that shown for palladium catalysis. A rhodium Cg-carboxylate complex is formed which under further incorporation of butadiene could yield the lactone. In the mechanism of path A three molecules of butadiene react with the starting rhodium compound forming a C- 2 Chain, which is bound to the rhodium by two n -ally1 systems and one olefinic double bond. Carbon dioxide inserts into one of the rhodium allyl bonds thus forming a C- 3-carboxyl ate complex, which yields the new C-13-lactone. 

The reaction is catalyzed in the presence of RhCl3 in aqueous HCI and has been studied kinetically by Cramer. It is proposed that under the reducing influence of the ethylene, an unspecified rhodium hydride species (Rh(Cl)2H ) forms as the catalyst and reacts with the ethylene to give an Ti -ethyl complex that may be converted to the q -ethyl complex by complexing with butadiene. This is followed by H transfer to give a Ti-crotyl complex and finally the desired product, as shown in Scheme 5.50. 

Selective codimerization of ethene and 1, 3-butadiene is also possible because the diene first forms an f/ -allyl complex with the metal centre (Fig. 12.4). An industrial process along these lines has been developed in the USA by Du Pont. A rhodium catalyst is employed rhodium trichloride in ethanol itself gives 80% selectivity towards the desired product, irflns-1,4-hexadiene, which is used in the manufacture of an ethene-propene-hexadiene synthetic rubber. The diene introduces some double bonds into the polymer chains which are required for vulcanization. 

A similar insertion of ethylene into a C—M bond of a w-butenyl complex seems to occur in the industrial synthesis of hexadienes from butadiene and ethylene, at least with rhodium and nickel compounds. These catalysts give tra f-l,4-hexadiene as the initial product 178). Cobalt and iron catalysts give the cis isomer 179,180), probably by a different mechanism. 

Conjugated dienes can be selectively hydrated to ketones in the presence of cationic ruthenium complexes with bipyridyl ligands. The role of ruthenium is to catalyze the isomerization of allylic alcohols formed by the addition of water to diene. This method allows one to convert butadiene to methyl ethyl ketone in high yield [187]. Hydration of triple bonds is one of the oldest catalytic processes of organic chemistry. Though this reaction has no industrial value, it can serve as a tool of fine organic synthesis. The hydration can be catalyzed by rhodium salts under phase-transfer conditions [188]. The more exotic process of the hydrolysis of phenylacetylene to toluene and carbon monoxide catalyzed by ruthenium complex should also be mentioned [189] ... 

Sketch (a) the transition state for a concerted metal atom-assisted 3,9 hydride shift (b) two PNP ligands (c) the ligand used for selective dimerization of butadiene (d) a general structure for molybdenum- and tungsten-based metathesis precatalyst (e) a six-coordinate rathenium precatalyst for metathesis (f) a solid isolated from the reaction between Pd(OAc)j plus PRj (R = o-tolyl) (g) a T-shaped palladium complex and a two-coordinate palladium complex with a monodentate phosphine (h) an iron complex with a seven-membered metallacycle (i) the transition state for metal-catalyzed cyclopropanation (j) a rhodium and a copper precatalyst used in cyclopropanation reactions. 

Transmetallation is not restricted to palladium and has been extended to rhodium and copper, so far. [(CODjRhClJj promotes the room-temperature JKOcycli-zation of cross-conjugated chroma- and tungsta-amino-l-metalla-l,3,5-hexatrienes with alkynes to give vinylcyclopentadienes as single isomers [96]. Alternatively, vinylcyclopentadienes are also formed from l-alken-3-ynes and 4-amino-l-metalla-1,3-butadiene complexes of chromium and tungsten RhClj 3 HjO in methanol turns out to be the most efficient (pre)catalyst (Scheme 11.44) [97]. 

A cationic rhodium complex-catalyzed codimerization of 1,3-dienes with alkynes gives the corresponding cyclohexadienes in good yields with high regioselectively, as exemplified in the reaction of 2-methyl-l,3-butadiene with phenylacetylene (Eq. 12) [31]. 

Metal-catalyzed [4 + 2 + 2] cyclotrimerizations of either heteroatom-containing enyne 62 with 1,3-butadiene (Eq. 17) [42] or heteroatom-containing dienyne 64 with an alkyne (Eq. 18) [43] are effected by cationic rhodium complexes generated in situ from a chlo-rorhodium complex modified with silver salts. These processes afford eight-membered ring products 63 and 65, respectively. In both processes, the nature and amount of the silver salt profoundly affect the outcomes. 

In view of results obtained in the rhodium chemistry of OFCOT (see Section VIII,F,1), the molecular formula and spectroscopic data for 65 do not allow a distinction to be made between the l,2-f/2-C8F8 and l,4-f/2-C8F8 ligation modes for the OFCOT ligand. The latter structure would also be consistent with that observed for the complex 37 formed between perfluoro- 1,3-butadiene and the [Fe(CO)4] fragment (see Section III,E). 

Butadiene and ethylene are codimerized with a soluble rhodium-phosphine complex as the catalyst. Very little has been reported on the mechanistic evidence for this reaction. However, a catalytic cycle as shown in Fig. 7.9 involving a rhodium hydride seems likely. Reducing rhodium trichloride with ethanol in the presence of a tertiary phosphine generates the hydride complex 7.32. The 1,4-hydride attack on the coordinated butadiene gives an rf-allyl complex. This is shown by the conversion of 7.33 to 7.34. Ethylene coordination to 7.34 produces 7.35. 

In contrast to olefins, little is known on catalytic hydroboration of conjugated dienes. Suzuki and Miyaura20 described a 1,4-addition of catecholborane to acyclic 1,3-dienes, catalyzed with tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)pa]ladium(0). An interesting Markovnikov type regioselectivity was observed in the enantioselective dihydroboration of (E)-1-phenyl-1,3-butadiene with catecholborane, catalyzed by chiral rhodium complexes.21 However, the scope of these reactions is not well known, and the choice of catalysts is very limited. 

Catalysts from Group VIII metals have given unsatisfactory results. In the polymerization of butadiene with soluble cobalt catalysts tritium is not incorporated when dry active methanol is employed [115], although it is combined when it has not been specially dried [117, 118]. Alkoxyl groups have been found when using dry alcohol [115, 119] but the reaction is apparently slow and not suited to quantitative work [119]. Side reactions result in the incorporation of tritium into the polymer other than by termination of active chains [118], probably from the addition of hydrogen chloride produced by reaction of the alcohol with the aluminium diethyl chloride [108], Complexes of nickel, rhodium and ruthenium will polymerize butadiene in alcohol solution [7, 120], and with these it has not been possible to determine active site concentrations directly. 

Butadiene is polymerized by rhodium compounds in aqueous or alcoholic solution [178]. It is generally accepted that the active species is a TT-allyl rhodium complex of low valency [28, 179] which is not rapidly terminated by reaction with water or alcohol. No clear kinetic pattern was observed in the earlier papers but a recent investigation [180] has shown the rate and molecular weight data to be accommodated by a scheme involving monomer transfer and physical immobilization of the active centres in precipitated polymer. In the initial stages the polymerization is first order in rhodium and, at constant monomer concentration, is (pseudo) zero order E = 14.8 kcal mole" ). This is followed by a declining rate which is almost independent of temperature. Molecular weights rise slowly to a maximum value with time (ca. 4000 after 22 h at 70°C). 

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