Carbene complexes with alkynes

Cocydizations of a,/MJnsaturatecl Fischer Carbene Complexes with Alkynes... 

The thermal benzannulation of Group 6 carbene complexes with alkynes (the Dotz reaction) is highly developed and has been used extensively in synthesis [90,91]. It is thought to proceed through a chromium vinylketene intermediate generated by sequential insertion of the alkyne followed by carbon monoxide into the chromium-carbene-carbon double bond [92]. The realization that photodriven CO insertion into Z-dienylcarbene complexes should generate the same vinylketene intermediate led to the development of a photochemical variant of the Dotz reaction (Table 14). 

The potential synthetic utility of titanium-based olefin metathesis and related reactions is evident from the extensive documentation outlined above. Titanium carbene complexes react with organic molecules possessing a carbon—carbon or carbon—oxygen double bond to produce, as metathesis products, a variety of acyclic and cyclic unsaturated compounds. Furthermore, the four-membered titanacydes formed by the reactions of the carbene complexes with alkynes or nitriles serve as useful reagents for the preparation of functionalized compounds. Since various types of titanium carbene complexes and their equivalents are now readily available, these reactions constitute convenient tools available to synthetic chemists. 

Reaction of Titanium Carbene Complexes with Alkynes 493... 

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]. 

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). 

Vinylketene complexes, generated by treatment of heteroatom-substituted carbene complexes with alkynes, can react intramolecularly with different nucleophiles to yield cyclic compounds (Figure 2.30, Table 2.20). Four- to ten-membered rings have... 

Fig. 3.44. Reactions of carbyne and carbene complexes with alkynes.

In 1985, Dbtz et al. reported during a study on the reaction of Fischer-type carbene complexes with alkynes [10] that 2-oxacyclopentylidene chromium complex 24 was obtained as a side product. Thus, treatment ofmethyl(methoxy)carbene complex with 3-butynol at 70 °C in dibutyl ether gave the cyclic carbene complex 24 in 23% yield along with the desired metathesis product 23. The authors briefly commented that the cyclic carbene complex 24 might be obtained through the vinylidene complex 25, generated by the reaction of the alkyne with the liberated pentacarbonylchromium species (Scheme 5.7). 

The reaction of carbene complexes with alkynes offers useful synthetic methods. The formation of various cyclic compounds by the reaction of alkynes with the alkoxycarbene complex 259 can be summarized by the following scheme, which is simplified for easy understanding, although the explanation is not exactly correct mechanistically. 

For reactions of [(2-amino)a//ce y/]carbene complexes with alkynes, see (a) Duetsch,... 

The high selectivity of the reaction of cobalt-carbene complexes with alkynes for furan products was taken advantage of in the synthesis of bovolide, a natural flavor constituent of butter. The carbene complex (230) was prepared in two steps from n-pentanal and was treated with 3 equiv. of 2-butyne. The crude reaction mixture, which presumably contained the furan (231), was treated directly with 3 equiv. of trimethylsilyl iodide to give bovolide in - 50% yield from carbene complex (230). 

The reactions of Fischer carbene complexes with alkynes can under certain conditions lead to products that result from the incorporation of two alkynes, the carbene ligand and a carbon monoxide. In inter-molecular reactions, this is most commonly observed for acetylene itself or for sterically unhindered al-kynes. °2 As can be anticipated by the mechanism in Scheme 36, two-alkyne incorporated products of the type (258) are also favored for high alkyne concentration. Synthetically, the two-alkyne reactions are most useful in intramolecular reactions, two of which have been reported and are exemplified by the reactions in Scheme 43. The typical product from the reaction of a Fischer carbene complex with a diyne, such as (308), is a bicyclic phenol of the type (309). ° These products are apparently the result of the assembly of pieces indicated by (311). Under some conditions, dienones of the type (310) and (314) can be isolated, and it is thought they are the immediate precursors of the phenol products via an in situ reduction by a chromium(O) species. This reaction is completely regioselective with diyne (308) and the phenol (309) results from incorporation of the terminal alkyne of (308) before the disubstituted alkyne. Phenols of the type (309) have also been observed from the reaction of diynes with carbyne complexes. ... 

Waters, M. L., Bos, M. E., Wulff, W. D. Mechanistic Studies on the Reaction of Fischer Carbene Complex with Alkynes Does the Alkyne Insertion Intermediate Form Irreversibly J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1999, 121, 6403-6413. 

A comprehensive treatment of the benzannulation of Fischer carbene complexes with alkynes is not possible in this review, and thus instead the material presented here will hopefully serve to give the reader an overview of its scope and limitations. The first report of this reaction was in 1975 by Dotz in which he describes the formation of the naphthol chromium tricarbonyl complex (236) from the reaction of the phenyl chromium complex (la) with diphenylacetylene. In the intervening years over 100 papers have been published describing various aspects of this reaction.The reaction of the generic cartene complex (233 Scheme 34) with alkynes will serve to focus the organization of the scope and limitations of the benzaimulation reaction. The issues to be considered are (i) the regioselectivity with unsymmetri-cal alkynes (ii) possible mechanisms (iii) applications in natural product syntheses (iv) the effect of substitution on the aryl or alkenyl substituent of the carbene carbon (v) functionality on the alkyne (vi) effects of the solvent and the concentration of the alkyne (vii) tandem applications with other reactions of carbene complexes (viii) reactions where aromatization is blocked (cyclohexadienone annulation) (ix) annulation of aryl versus alkenyl carbene complexes (x) the effect of the ligands L on the metal (xi) the effect of the ancilliary substituent RX and (xii) reactions with —C X functionality. 

Highly functionalized diaryl ethers are accessible from reaction of aryloxy-substi-tuted Fischer carbene complexes with alkynes. ... 

Several reactions of metal-carbene complexes with alkynes leading to five-membered ring compounds have been described. The action of acetylenes on the chromium phenyl(pyrrolidino)carbene complex 472 results in mixtures of indanones 473 and indenes 474297 Terminal alkynes (pent-l-yne or hex-l-yne) react with the molybdenum carbene complex 475 to afford, after oxidative work-up, indanones 476 in contrast, trimethylsilylacetylene gave only the naphthoquinone 477. ... 

In the same way, the reactions of metal carbene complexes with alkynes give metallacyclobutenes, which leads to applications in organic synthesis. Tebbe s methylene complex is in equilibrium with the metallacyclobutane by... 

Wulff, W.D., Gilbertson, S.R. and Springer, J.P. (1986) Reactions of cobalt carbene complexes with alkynes - ri -vinylketene complex intermediates and a... 

The thermal [3-i-2-i-l]benzannulation reaction of a,/3-unsaturated alkenyl- or aryl-carbene complexes with alkynes represents the unique and most synthetically valuable reaction of chromium carbenes [20]. A variety of densely substituted benze-noid compounds is accessible by this Cr(CO)3-templated one-pot cyclization reaction. Experimental and theoretical studies support a stepwise C-C bond formation according to a mechanism (Scheme 11.6) that starts with a reversible decarbonyla-... 

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