Carbene complexes/ligands

The remaining classes oF monohapto organic ligands listed in Table 19.2 are carbene (=CR2), carbyne (=CR), and carbido (C). Stable carbene complexes were first reported in 1964 by E. O. Fischer and A, Maasbol. Initially they OMe... 

Dimesitylimidazolium chloride with nickelocene gives the carbene complex [(T) -Cp)NiCl(L)] (L= l,3-dimesitylimidazol-2-ylidene), in which the chloride ligand can be substituted by a methyl group by reacting the product with methyl-lithium (OOJOM(596)3). 

Free carbenes based on 1,2,4-triazole are not as numerous as those based on imidazole (70ZN(B)1421, 95AGE1021, 97JA6668, 98JA9100). The carbene complex 169 (Ar = Ph, p-Tol) is prepared by the [3 + 2] cycloaddition route from [W(CO)j(C+=NC-HCOOEt)]- and aryldiazonium (930M3241). Oxidative decomplexation causes tautomerization of the 1,2,4-triazole ligand, the products being 170 (Ar= Ph, i-Tol). 

Imidazole is characterized mainly by the T) (N) coordination mode, where N is the nitrogen atom of the pyridine type. The rare coordination modes are T) - (jt-) realized in the ruthenium complexes, I-ti (C,N)- in organoruthenium and organoosmium chemistry. Imidazolium salts and stable 1,3-disubsti-tuted imidazol-2-ylidenes give a vast group of mono-, bis-, and tris-carbene complexes characterized by stability and prominent catalytic activity. Benzimidazole follows the same trends. Biimidazoles and bibenzimidazoles are ligands as the neutral molecules, mono- and dianions. A variety of the coordination situations is, therefore, broad, but there are practically no deviations from the expected classical trends for the mono-, di-, and polynuclear A -complexes. 

The first reaction pathway for the in situ formation of a metal-carbene complex in an imidazolium ionic liquid is based on the well loiown, relatively high acidity of the H atom in the 2-position of the imidazolium ion [29]. This can be removed (by basic ligands of the metal complex, for example) to form a metal-carbene complex (see Scheme 5.2-2, route a)). Xiao and co-workers demonstrated that a Pd imida-zolylidene complex was formed when Pd(OAc)2 was heated in the presence of [BMIMjBr [30]. The isolated Pd carbene complex was found to be active and stable in Heck coupling reactions (for more details see Section 5.2.4.4). Welton et al. were later able to characterize an isolated Pd-carbene complex obtained in this way by X-ray spectroscopy [31]. The reaction pathway to the complex is displayed in Scheme 5.2-3. 

In the light of these results, it becomes important to question whether a particular catalytic result obtained in a transition metal-catalyzed reaction in an imidazolium ionic liquid is caused by a metal carbene complex formed in situ. The following simple experiments can help to verify this in more detail a) variation of ligands in the catalytic system, b) application of independently prepared, defined metal carbene complexes, and c) investigation of the reaction in pyridinium-based ionic liquids. If the reaction shows significant sensitivity to the use of different ligands, if the application of the independently prepared, defined metal-carbene complex... 

The ease of formation of the carbene depends on the nucleophilicity of the anion associated with the imidazolium. For example, when Pd(OAc)2 is heated in the presence of [BMIM][Br], the formation of a mixture of Pd imidazolylidene complexes occurs. Palladium complexes have been shown to be active and stable catalysts for Heck and other C-C coupling reactions [34]. The highest activity and stability of palladium is observed in the ionic liquid [BMIM][Brj. Carbene complexes can be formed not only by deprotonation of the imidazolium cation but also by direct oxidative addition to metal(O) (Scheme 5.3-3). These heterocyclic carbene ligands can be functionalized with polar groups in order to increase their affinity for ionic liquids. While their donor properties can be compared to those of donor phosphines, they have the advantage over phosphines of being stable toward oxidation. 

The surprising stability of N-heterocyclic carbenes was of interest to organometallic chemists who started to explore the metal complexes of these new ligands. The first examples of this class had been synthesized as early as 1968 by Wanzlick [9] and Ofele [10], only 4 years after the first Fischer-type carbene complex was synthesized [2,3] and 6 years before the first report of a Schrock-type carbene complex [11]. Once the N-heterocyclic ligands are attached to a metal they show a completely different reaction pattern compared to the electrophilic Fischer- and nucleophilic Schrock-type carbene complexes. 

Schrock-type carbenes are nucleophilic alkylidene complexes formed by coordination of strong donor ligands such as alkyl or cyclopentadienyl with no 7T-acceptor ligand to metals in high oxidation states. The nucleophilic carbene complexes show Wittig s ylide-type reactivity and it has been discussed whether the structures may be considered as ylides. A tantalum Schrock-type carbene complex was synthesized by deprotonation of a metal alkyl group [38] (Scheme 7). 

These carbene (or alkylidene) complexes are used for various transformations. Known reactions of these complexes are (a) alkene metathesis, (b) alkene cyclopropanation, (c) carbonyl alkenation, (d) insertion into C-H, N-H and O-H bonds, (e) ylide formation and (f) dimerization. The reactivity of these complexes can be tuned by varying the metal, oxidation state or ligands. Nowadays carbene complexes with cumulated double bonds have also been synthesized and investigated [45-49] as well as carbene cluster compounds, which will not be discussed here [50]. 

The kinetic and thermodynamic properties of Fischer-type carbene complexes have also been addressed by Bernasconi, who relates the strength of the 7r-donor substituent to the thermodynamic acidity [95-101] and the kinetics and mechanism of hydrolysis and reversible cyclization to differences in the ligand X [96,102]. 

A decade after Fischer s synthesis of [(CO)5W=C(CH3)(OCH3)] the first example of another class of transition metal carbene complexes was introduced by Schrock, which subsequently have been named after him. His synthesis of [((CH3)3CCH2)3Ta=CHC(CH3)3] [11] was described above and unlike the Fischer-type carbenes it did not have a stabilizing substituent at the carbene ligand, which leads to a completely different behaviour of these complexes compared to the Fischer-type complexes. While the reactions of Fischer-type carbenes can be described as electrophilic, Schrock-type carbene complexes (or transition metal alkylidenes) show nucleophilicity. Also the oxidation state of the metal is generally different, as Schrock-type carbene complexes usually consist of a transition metal in a high oxidation state. 

The ability of Fischer carbene complexes to transfer their carbene ligand to an electron-deficient olefin was discovered by Fischer and Dotz in 1970 [5]. Further studies have demonstrated the generality of this thermal process, which occurs between (alkyl)-, (aryl)-, and (alkenyl)(alkoxy)carbene complexes and different electron-withdrawing substituted alkenes [6] (Scheme 1). For certain substrates, a common side reaction in these processes is the insertion of the carbene ligand into an olefinic C-H bond [6, 7]. In addition, it has been ob-... 

Asymmetric versions of the cyclopropanation reaction of electron-deficient olefins using chirally modified Fischer carbene complexes, prepared by exchange of CO ligands with chiral bisphosphites [21a] or phosphines [21b], have been tested. However, the asymmetric inductions are rather modest [21a] or not quantified (only the observation that the cyclopropane is optically active is reported) [21b]. Much better facial selectivities are reached in the cyclopropanation of enantiopure alkenyl oxazolines with aryl- or alkyl-substituted alkoxy-carbene complexes of chromium [22] (Scheme 5). 

The reaction of alkoxyarylcarbene complexes with alkynes mainly affords Dotz benzannulated [3C+2S+1C0] cycloadducts. However, uncommon reaction pathways of some alkoxyarylcarbene complexes in their reaction with alkynes leading to indene derivatives in a formal [3C+2S] cycloaddition process have been reported. For example, the reaction of methoxy(2,6-dimethylphenyl)chromium carbene complex with 1,2-diphenylacetylene at 100 °C gives rise to an unusual indene derivative where a sigmatropic 1,5-methyl shift is observed [60]. Moreover, a related (4-hydroxy-2,6-dimethylphenyl)carbene complex reacts in benzene at 100 °C with 3-hexyne to produce an indene derivative. However, the expected Dotz cycloadduct is obtained when the solvent is changed to acetonitrile [61] (Scheme 19). Also, Dotz et al. have shown that the introduction of an isocyanide ligand into the coordination sphere of the metal induces the preferential formation of indene derivatives [62]. 

All around this chapter, we have seen that a,/J-unsaturated Fischer carbene complexes may act as efficient C3-synthons. As has been previously mentioned, these complexes contain two electrophilic positions, the carbene carbon and the /J-carbon (Fig. 3), so they can react via these two positions with molecules which include two nucleophilic positions in their structure. On the other hand, alkenyl- and alkynylcarbene complexes are capable of undergoing [1,2]-migration of the metalpentacarbonyl allowing an electrophilic-to-nucleophilic polarity change of the carbene ligand /J-carbon (Fig. 3). These two modes of reaction along with other processes initiated by [2+2] cycloaddition reactions have been applied to [3+3] cyclisation processes and will be briefly discussed in the next few sections. 

For clarity, the reactions contained in this section can be divided into three categories according to the structure of the carbene complexes (Fig. 4) (i) those in which the dienophile and the diene are tethered through the heteroatom and the carbene carbon of the complex (type 1), (ii) those in which the dienophile and the diene are part of the same carbon chain (type 2), and finally (iii) those where the diene and the dienophile belong to different ligands within the complex (type 3). 

Aryl- and alkenylcarbene complexes are known to react with alkynes through a [3C+2S+1C0] cycloaddition reaction to produce benzannulated compounds. This reaction, known as the Dotz reaction , is widely reviewed in Chap. Chromium-Templated Benzannulation Reactions , p. 123 of this book. However, simple alkyl-substituted carbene complexes react with excess of an alkyne (or with diynes) to produce a different benzannulated product which incorporates in its structure two molecules of the alkyne, a carbon monoxide ligand and the carbene carbon [128]. As referred to before, this [2S+2SH-1C+1C0] cycloaddition reaction can be carried out with diyne derivatives, showing these reactions give better yields than the corresponding intermolecular version (Scheme 80). 

Another example of a [2s+2sh-1c+1co] cycloaddition reaction was observed by Barluenga et al. in the sequential coupling reaction of a Fischer carbene complex, a ketone enolate and allylmagnesium bromide [120]. This reaction produces cyclopentanol derivatives in a [2S+2SH-1C] cycloaddition process when -substituted lithium enolates are used (see Sect. 3.1). However, the analogous reaction with /J-unsubstituted lithium enolates leads to the diastereoselective synthesis of 1,3,3,5-tetrasubstituted cyclohexane- 1,4-diols. The ring skeleton of these compounds combines the carbene ligand, the enolate framework, two carbons of the allyl unit and a carbonyl ligand. Overall, the process can be considered as a for-... 

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]. 

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