Carbene complexes vinylcarbenes

Non-heteroatom-stabilised Fischer carbene complexes also react with alkenes to give mixtures of olefin metathesis products and cyclopropane derivatives which are frequently the minor reaction products [19]. Furthermore, non-heteroatom-stabilised vinylcarbene complexes, generated in situ by reaction of an alkoxy- or aminocarbene complex with an alkyne, are able to react with different types of alkenes in an intramolecular or intermolecular process to produce bicyclic compounds containing a cyclopropane ring [20]. 

However, exo-selective Diels-Alder reactions are found when a,/J-unsatu-rated exocyclic carbene complexes are used as dienophiles. The fixed s-cis conformation of the vinylcarbene moiety of the complex seems to be responsible for the exo selectivity observed in this reaction. Moreover, the reaction of optically active carbene complexes with 2-morpholino- 1,3-butadienes allows the asymmetric synthesis of spiro compounds [99] (Scheme 53). 

Donor-substituted alkynes can insert into the C-M double bond of alkoxycarbene complexes, yielding donor-substituted vinylcarbene complexes [191,192]. In addition to this, photolysis or thermolysis of a-alkoxycyclopropyl carbonyl complexes or a-alkoxycyclobutanoyl complexes can lead to rearrangement to metallacyclic carbene complexes (Table 2.11). This methodology has not been used as extensively for the preparation of carbene complexes as the other methods described above. 

Heteroatom-substituted vinylcarbene complexes are easily prepared by aldol condensation of aldehydes with alkylcarbene complexes [228]. The latter also react readily with imidates to yield either (2-aminovinyl)- or (2-alkoxyvinyl)carbene complexes [229]. 

Treatment of Fischer-type carbene complexes with different oxidants can lead to the formation of carbonyl compounds [150,253]. Treatment with sulfur leads to the formation of complexed thiocarbonyl compounds [141]. Conversion of the carbene carbon atom into a methylene or acetal group can be achieved by treatment with reducing agents. Treatment of vinylcarbene complexes with diborane can also lead to demetallation and formation of diols [278]. The conversion of heteroatom-substituted carbene complexes to non-heteroatom-substituted carbene complexes... 

The reaction of enynes with Fischer-type carbene complexes can also lead to the formation of cyclobutanones (Figure 2.23) [315]. The mechanism for this reaction is likely to be rearrangement of the intermediate, non-heteroatom-substituted vinylcarbene complex to a vinylketene, which undergoes intramolecular [2 -i- 2] cycloaddition to form the observed cyclobutanones. 

In addition to the reaction of vinylcarbene complexes with alkynes, further synthetic procedures have been developed in which Fischer-type carbene complexes are used for the preparation of benzenes. Most of these transformations are likely to be mechanistically related to the Dbtz benzannulation reaction, and can be rationalized as sequences of alkyne-insertions, CO-insertions, and electrocycli-zations. A selection of examples is given in Table 2.18. Entry 4 in Table 2.18 is an example of the Diels-Alder reaction (with inverse electron demand) of an enamine with a pyran-2-ylidene complex (see also Section 2.2.7 and Figure 2.36). In this example the adduct initially formed eliminates both chromium hexacarbonyl ([4 -I- 2] cycloreversion) and pyrrolidine to yield a substituted benzene. 

In most of the reactions of heteroatom-substituted carbene complexes with alkynes the first event is insertion of the alkyne into the carbon-metal double bond. If vinylcarbene complexes undergo insertion reactions with alkynes, (1,3-butadien-l-yl)carbene complexes result (Figure 2.27). 

Non-heteroatom-substituted vinylcarbene complexes are readily available from alkynes and Fischer-type carbene complexes. These intermediates can undergo the inter- or intramolecular cyclopropanation reactions of non-activated alkenes. Cyclopropanation of 1,3-butadienes with these intermediates also leads to the formation of cycloheptadienes (Entry 4, Table 2.24). 

As mentioned in Sections 3.1.6 and 4.1.3, cyclopropenes can also be suitable starting materials for the generation of carbene complexes. Cyclopropenone di-methylacetal [678] and 3-alkyl- or 3-aryl-disubstituted cyclopropenes [679] have been shown to react, upon catalysis by Ni(COD)2, with acceptor-substituted olefins to yield the products of formal, non-concerted vinylcarbene [2-1-1] cycloaddition (Table 3.6). It has been proposed that nucleophilic nickel carbene complexes are formed as intermediates. Similarly, bicyclo[1.1.0]butane also reacts with Ni(COD)2 to yield a nucleophilic homoallylcarbene nickel complex [680]. This intermediate is capable of cyclopropanating electron-poor alkenes (Table 3.6). 

Interestingly, copper(I) salts also catalyze the cyclopropene-vinylcarbene isomerization [681]. In this case the transient carbene complexes again show electrophilic behavior, behavior similar to that of the complexes formed from copper(I) salts and diazoalkanes or sulfonium ylides. 

Alternatively, [2 -1- 2] cycloaddition of carbene complexes to alkynes, followed by [2 -I- 2] cycloreversion can also lead to the formation of vinylcarbene complexes (Sections 3.2.5.6 and 2.2.4). 

Fig. 4.3. Possible mechanisms for the formation of vinylcarbene complexes from alkynes and electrophilic carbene complexes.

The intramolecular addition of acylcarbene complexes to alkynes is a general method for the generation of electrophilic vinylcarbene complexes. These reactive intermediates can undergo inter- or intramolecular cyclopropanation reactions [1066 -1068], C-H bond insertions [1061,1068-1070], sulfonium and oxonium ylide formation [1071], carbonyl ylide formation [1067,1069,1071], carbene dimerization [1066], and other reactions characteristic of electrophilic carbene complexes. 

For this reason unstable cyclopropanes or only rearrangement products are obtained when donor-substituted alkenes react with acceptor-substituted carbene complexes [1409-1416]. In reactions of acyl- and vinylcarbene complexes with enol ethers the most common types of rearrangement observed are those shown in Figure 4.23. 

The Cu(I)-catalyzed decomposition of (alkynyloxysilyl)diazoacetates 119 furnishes the silaheterocycles 120 and/or 121 (equation 30) in modest yield63. In these cases, the photochemical extrusion of nitrogen from 119 does not lead to defined products and the thermal reaction is dominated by the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition ability of these diazo compounds. In mechanistic terms, carbene 122 or more likely a derived copper carbene complex, is transformed into cyclopropene 123 by an intramolecular [1 + 2] cycloaddition to the triple bond. The strained cyclopropene rearranges to a vinylcarbene either with an exo-cyclic (124) or an endocyclic (125) carbene center, and typical carbene reactions then lead to the observed products. Analogous carbene-to-carbene rearrangements are involved in carbenoid transformations of other alkynylcarbenes64. 

Reaction of the carbene complex 148 with alkyne affords vinylcarbene 150 via metallacyclobutene 149. In the intramolecular reaction of enyne 152, catalysed by carbene complex 151, the triple bond is converted to vinylcarbene 153 which then reacts with the double bond to give the conjugated diene 154. Generation of 154 is expected by the formation and cleavage of cyclobutene 155 as a hypothetical intermediate. Based on this reaction, Ru-catalysed intramolecular metathesis of enyne 156 gave the N-containing cyclic diene 157, from which (—)-stemoamide (158) was synthesiszed. The reaction can be understood by assuming the formation of the hypothetical cyclobutene 159 from 156 [52],... 

The carbene complex 253 reacts with alkyne to give vinylcarbene complex 255 via the metallacyclobutene 254. The triple bond in allylpropargylamine 256 reacts at first to form vinylcarbene 257, and cyclopropanation of the double bond gives 258 [82],... 

At first, cycloaddition of alkyne to the carbene complex 259 gives the chromacyclobutene 260, which is cleaved to form the vinylcarbene complex 261. It is claimed that vinylcarbenes 255 and 261 are formed directly without forming chromacyclobutenes 254 and 260 (M = Cr) [83]. The 67r-electrocyclization of 261... 

Insertion of the alkyne into the chromium carbene bond in intermediate B affords vinyl carbene complex D, in which the C=C double bond may be either (Z) or (E). A putative chromacydobutene intermediate resulting from a [2+2] cydoaddition of the alkyne across the metal-carbene bond on the way to chromium vinylcarbene D, as was sometimes suggested in early mechanistic discussions, has been characterized as a high energy spedes on the basis of theoretical calculations [9c]. Its formation and ring-opening cannot compete with the direct insertion path of the alkyne into the chromium-carbene bond. An example of an (E)-D alkyne insertion product has been isolated as the decarbonylation product of a tetracarbonyl chromahexatriene (4, Scheme 4) [14], and has been characterized by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray analysis. 

The anion 117 prepared by deprotonation of the carbene complex [Cr(CO)s C(OEt)CH2CHS(CH2)3S ] (116) also rearranges spontaneously by carbonyl insertion to give a neutral six-membered chelate (118) after alkylation. The analogous tungsten carbene complex affords stereoselec-tively a vinylcarbene complex (119) by opening of the 1,3-dithiane ring (705). Reaction of 118 with methyl hydrazine produces mainly an NMe- or... 

The anionic carbene complexes of type 225 (M = Cr, W) simply add C1CHS(CH2)3S to form 226, but they rearrange to the vinylcarbene complex 227 with loss of thiophenol when treated with PhCH(SPh)Cl 105). 

The mechanism of the Dotz benzannulation reaction has not been fully elucidated. The first step is the ratedetermining dissociation of one carbonyl ligand from the Fischer carbene complex, which is cis to the carbene moiety. Subsequently, the alkyne component coordinates to the coordinatively unsaturated carbene complex, and then it inserts into the metal-carbon bond. After the alkyne insertion, a vinylcarbene is formed that can lead to the product by two different pathways (Path A or Path b). ... 

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