Carbene cycloaddition with alkene

Carbenes are only rarely detected, let alone isolated and characterized. Kinetically favorable exothermic reactions (among them cycloaddition with alkenes and insertion into CH bonds) generally preclude this. l,3-Diadamantylimidazol-2-ylidene, 8Ad, is an exception, in that it forms a stable solid, the crystal structure of which has been determined. ... 

Whereas Fischer-type chromium carbenes react with alkenes, dienes, and alkynes to afford cyclopropanes, vinylcyclopropanes, and aromatic compounds, the iron Fischer-type carbene (47, e.g. R = Ph) reacts with alkenes and dienes to afford primarily coupled products (58) and (59) (Scheme 21). The mechanism proposed involves a [2 -F 2] cycloaddition of the alkene the carbene to form a metallacyclobutane see Metallacycle) (60). This intermediate undergoes jS-hydride elimination followed by reductive elimination to generate the coupled products. Carbenes (47) also react with alkynes under CO pressure (ca. 3.7 atm) to afford 6-ethoxy-o -pyrone complexes (61). The unstable metallacyclobutene (62) is produced by the reaction of (47) with 2-butyne in the absence of CO. Complex (62) decomposes to the pyrone complex (61). It has been suggested that the intermediate (62) is transformed into the vinylketene complex... 

Abstract The photoinduced reactions of metal carbene complexes, particularly Group 6 Fischer carbenes, are comprehensively presented in this chapter with a complete listing of published examples. A majority of these processes involve CO insertion to produce species that have ketene-like reactivity. Cyclo addition reactions presented include reaction with imines to form /1-lactams, with alkenes to form cyclobutanones, with aldehydes to form /1-lactones, and with azoarenes to form diazetidinones. Photoinduced benzannulation processes are included. Reactions involving nucleophilic attack to form esters, amino acids, peptides, allenes, acylated arenes, and aza-Cope rearrangement products are detailed. A number of photoinduced reactions of carbenes do not involve CO insertion. These include reactions with sulfur ylides and sulfilimines, cyclopropanation, 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions, and acyl migrations. 

Alkenes are scavengers that are able to differentiate between carbenes (cycloaddition) and carbocations (electrophilic addition). The reactions of phenyl-carbene (117) with equimolar mixtures of methanol and alkenes afforded phenylcyclopropanes (120) and benzyl methyl ether (121) as the major products (Scheme 24).51 Electrophilic addition of the benzyl cation (118) to alkenes, leading to 122 and 123 by way of 119, was a minor route (ca. 6%). Isobutene and enol ethers gave similar results. The overall contribution of 118 must be more than 6% as (part of) the ether 121 also originates from 118. Alcohols and enol ethers react with diarylcarbenium ions at about the same rates (ca. 109 M-1 s-1), somewhat faster than alkenes (ca. 108 M-1 s-1).52 By extrapolation, diffusion-controlled rates and indiscriminate reactions are expected for the free (solvated) benzyl cation (118). In support of this notion, the product distributions in Scheme 24 only respond slightly to the nature of the n bond (alkene vs. enol ether). The formation of free benzyl cations from phenylcarbene and methanol is thus estimated to be in the range of 10-15%. However, the major route to the benzyl ether 121, whether by ion-pair collapse or by way of an ylide, cannot be identified. 

Cycloreversion of four-membered metallacycles is the most common method for the preparation of high-valent titanium [26,27,31,407,599-606] and zirconium [599,601] carbene complexes. These are usually very reactive, nucleophilic carbene complexes, with a strong tendency to undergo C-H insertion reactions or [2 -F 2] cycloadditions to alkenes or carbonyl compounds (see Section 3.2.3). Figure 3.31 shows examples of the generation of titanium and zirconium carbene complexes by [2 + 2] cycloreversion. 

The chemistry of the carbene l,3-dithian-2-ylidene, generated from 2-diazo-l,3-dithiane, was briefly discussed in Section 8.11.6.3.1. It reacts poorly with alkenes or alkynes if they are not highly electron deficient. However, it was found that Cso as source of C=C bonds efficiently provides the [2-1-1] cycloaddition product, which can be hydrolyzed to the Cso-cyclopropanone (Scheme 51) <2001HC0223>. 

Epoxide 96 was prepared such that photolytic conversion to the carbonyl ylide could be followed by an intramolecular cycloaddition with the tethered pendant olefin. However, photolysis of epoxide 96 led only to the formation of the regio-isomer 97 and the aldehyde 98 with no evidence of the corresponding cycloadduct. It was presumed that 97 arose from the ylide by thermal recyclization to the epoxide while 98 could form through the loss of a carbene from the ylide. The failure of the tethered alkene to undergo cycloaddition may have resulted from a poor trajectory for the cycloaddition. An extended analogue (99) allowed greater flexibility for the dipolarophile to adopt any number of conformations. Photolysis of epoxide 99 did lead to formation of the macrocyclic adduct 100, albeit in modest yields. 

In a recent paper, Moss wrote The addition of a carbene to an alkene with the formation of a cyclopropane is perhaps the most fundamental of cycloaddition reactions, as well as a basic component of the synthetic armamentarium. Indeed,... 

However, the reaction was shown to be catalyzed by a methylidene tungsten-carbene complex rather than the Fischer tungsten carbene complex. They proposed that the reaction would proceed by [2 + 2] cycloaddition of the tungsten carbene complex with the alkyne in Equation (3), ring opening, and another [2 + 2] cycloaddition with the alkene moiety to finally give the cyclized product. 

The use of alkenes with chiral auxiliary groups leads to chiral cyclobutanones 4. Reaction yields of 50 67% and diastereomeric excesses of 86-97% were obtained for the 3-amidocy-clobutanones which were obtained from cycloaddition of the chromium carbene complexes with chiral ene carbamates (see also Section 1.3.4.3.3.).11... 

The diverse chemistry of carbenes is beyond the scope of this account, but a few typical reactions are shown here to illustrate the usefulness of the photochemical generation of these reactive species. A carbene can insert into a C—H bond, and this finds application in the reaction of an a-diazoamide to produce a P-lactam (5.29). Carbenes derived from o-diazoketones can rearrange to ketenes, and thus a route is opened up to ring-contraction for making more highly strained systems <5.301. Carbenes also react with alkenes, often by cycloaddition to yield cyclopropanes in a process that can be very efficient (5.31) and highly stereoselective (5.321. 

In recent years there has been a growing interest in the use of carbonyl ylides as 1,3-dipoles for total synthesis.127-130 Their dipolar cycloaddition to alkenic, alkynic and hetero multiple bonded dipolaro-philes has been well documented.6 Methods for the generation of carbonyl ylides include the thermal and photochemical opening of oxiranes,131 the thermal fragmentation of certain heterocyclic structures such as A3-l,3,4-oxadiazolines (141) or l,3-dioxolan-4-ones132-134 (142) and the reaction of carbenes or car-benoids with carbonyl derivatives.133-138 Formation of a carbonyl ylide by attack of a rhodium carbenoid... 

Another anomalous cycloaddition is the insertion of a carbene into an alkene. 6-Electron cheletropic reactions (p. 28) are straightforward allowed pericyclic reactions, which we can now classify with the drawings 3.47 for the suprafacial addition of sulfur dioxide to the diene 2.179 and its reverse. Similarly, we can draw 3.48 for the antarafacial addition of sulfur dioxide to the triene 2.180 and its reverse. The new feature here is that one of the orbitals is a lone pair, which is given the letter co to distinguish it from o- and n-bonds, with suprafacial and antarafacial defined by the drawings 3.45 and 3.46, which apply to all sp3 hybrids and p orbitals, filled or unfilled. 

Transition-metal mediated carbene transfer from 205 to benzaldehyde generates carbonyl ylides 211 which are transformed into oxiranes 216 by 1,3-cyclization, into tetrahydrofurans 212, 213 or dihydrofurans 214 by [3 + 2] cycloaddition with electron-deficient alkenes or alkynes, and 1,3-dioxolanes 215 by [3 + 2] cycloaddition with excess carbonyl compound120 (equation 67). Related carbonyl ylide reactions have been performed with crotonaldehyde, acetone and cyclohexanone (equation 68). However, the ylide generated from cyclohexanone could not be trapped with dimethyl fumarate. Rather, the enol ether 217, probably formed by 1,4-proton shift in the ylide intermediate, was isolated in low yield120. In this respect, the carbene transfer reaction with 205 is not different from that with ethyl diazoacetate121, whereas a close analogy to diazomalonates is observed for the other carbonyl ylide reactions. 

Dicarbonyl(ri5-cyclopentadienyl)iron-alky] complexes represent useful precursors for iron-carbene complexes [47]. For example, iron-carbene complexes are intermediates in the acid-promoted reaction of Fp-alkyl ether derivatives with alkenes to provide cyclopropanes via a [2 + l]-cycloaddition (Scheme 1.16). 

Metathesis of alkene 6 to give the new alkenes 11 and 15 is explanined by the following mechanism. The first step is [2+2] cycloaddition between metal carbene 5 and alkene 6 to generate the metallacyclobutane 7 as an intermediate. The real catalyst 8 is generated by retrocycloaddition of the metallacyclobutane 7. Reaction of 8 with alkene 6 generates the metallacyclobutanes 9 and 10 as intermediates. The intermediate 10 is a nonproductive intermediate, which reproduces 6 and 8, while 9 is a productive intermediate and yields the new alkene 11 and the real catalyst 12. Cycloaddition of 12 to alkene 6 produces the productive intermediate 14, from which the new alkene 15 and the active catalytic species 8 are formed. The intermediate 13 is a nonproductive one. 

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