Carbenes as intermediates

Ylide (45, X = CH2) reacts with a number of alkyl and aryl alkynes, in the presence of copper(I) chloride as catalyst, to form bicyclic furan derivatives (equation 52) . This reaction probably involves a carbene as intermediate. 

The production of hydrocarbons from CH3OH was achieved for the first time when it was heated (<190°C) in phosphorus pentoxide, polyphos-phoric acid, or combinations thereof.127 About 200 hydrocarbons were obtained in ca. 36—39% yield. The discovery is remarkable because CH3OH does not form an alkene and yet must proceed from a one-carbon compound to multi-carbon units. Two interpretations of the reaction mechanism, based on either the five-co-ordinate carbon atom of Olah or carbene as intermediates, have been proposed.127... 

In a sequence which may involve a carbene as intermediate, 2-lithiobenzofuran reacts with aryl- or alkyllithiums with ring opening, as shown. ... 

Diazoalkanes are decomposed by nickel carbonyl yielding nitrogen and reaction products indicative of the presence of carbenes as intermediates (25). Although carbenes usually show little tendency to combine with carbon monoxide, formation of ketenes was detected by decomposing the diazoalkanes in the presence of excess nickel carbonyl. This carbonylation of carbenes undoubtedly occurs via nickel-carbene complexes (25)... 

Atomic Carbon.—Skell and Plonka have extended their studies of the chemistry of atomic carbon, which they generate in a low-intensity carbon arc. The mechanism of the conversion of carbon-hydrogen bonds to carbon-methyl bonds has been investigated thoroughly the detection of triplet carbenes as intermediates infers that the inserting carbon atoms are in the state. 

The preparation of cyclopropane derivatives has been greatly facilitated by the development of carbene-type intermediates (see Chapter 13) and their ready reaction with olefins. The preparation of phenylcyclopropane from styrene and the methylene iodide-zinc reagent proceeds in only modest yield, however, and the classical preparation of cyclopropane derivatives by the decomposition of pyrazolines (first employed by Buchner in 1890) is therefore presented in the procedure as a convenient alternative. 

The diazo function in compound 4 can be regarded as a latent carbene. Transition metal catalyzed decomposition of a diazo keto ester, such as 4, could conceivably lead to the formation of an electron-deficient carbene (see intermediate 3) which could then insert into the proximal N-H bond. If successful, this attractive transition metal induced ring closure would accomplish the formation of the targeted carbapenem bicyclic nucleus. Support for this idea came from a model study12 in which the Merck group found that rhodi-um(n) acetate is particularly well suited as a catalyst for the carbe-noid-mediated cyclization of a diazo azetidinone closely related to 4. Indeed, when a solution of intermediate 4 in either benzene or toluene is heated to 80 °C in the presence of a catalytic amount of rhodium(n) acetate (substrate catalyst, ca. 1000 1), the processes... 

Catalytic cyclopropanation of alkenes has been reported by the use of diazoalkanes and electron-rich olefins in the presence of catalytic amounts of pentacarbonyl(rj2-ris-cyclooctene)chromium [23a,b] (Scheme 6) and by treatment of conjugated ene-yne ketone derivatives with different alkyl- and donor-substituted alkenes in the presence of a catalytic amount of pentacarbon-ylchromium tetrahydrofuran complex [23c]. These [2S+1C] cycloaddition reactions catalysed by a Cr(0) complex proceed at room temperature and involve the formation of a non-heteroatom-stabilised carbene complex as intermediate. 

There are four types of organic species in which a carbon atom has a valence of only 2 or 3/ They are usually very short lived, and most exist only as intermediates that are quickly converted to more stable molecules. However, some are more stable than others and fairly stable examples have been prepared of three of the four types. The four types of species are carhocations (A), free radicals (B), carbanions (C), and carbenes (D). Of the four, only carbanions have a complete octet around the carbon. There are many other organic ions and radicals with charges and unpaired electrons on atoms other than carbon, but we will discuss only nitrenes (E), the nitrogen analogs of carbenes. 

The reactions of nitrenes are also similar to those of carbenes. As in that case, many reactions in which nitrene intermediates are suspected probably do not involve free nitrenes. It is often very difficult to obtain proof in any given case that a free nitrene is or is not an intermediate. 

Addition reactions with alkenes to form cyclopropanes are the most studied reactions of carbenes, both from the point of view of understanding mechanisms and for synthetic applications. A concerted mechanism is possible for singlet carbenes. As a result, the stereochemistry present in the alkene is retained in the cyclopropane. With triplet carbenes, an intermediate 1,3-diradical is involved. Closure to cyclopropane requires spin inversion. The rate of spin inversion is slow relative to rotation about single bonds, so mixtures of the two possible stereoisomers are obtained from either alkene stereoisomer. 

This article is an attempt at evaluating new important features of tin(II) chemistry the central point is the interrelationship between molecular structure and reactivity of molecular tin(II) compounds. To define these compounds more closely, only those are discussed which are stable, monomeric in solvents and which may be classified as carbene analogs21. Thus, not a complete survey of tin(II) chemistry is given but stress is laid on the structures and reactions of selected compounds. A general introduction to the subject precedes the main chapters. For comparison, also solid-state tin(II) chemistry is included to demonstrate the great resemblance with molecular tin(II) chemistry. Tin(II) compounds, which are either generated as intermediates or only under definite conditions such as temperature or pressure, are not described in detail. 

Photoelimination of nitrogen from diazoketones is complicated by Wolff rearrangement of the intermediate carbene, as shown below for diazoaceto-phenone<35) ... 

A Mechanism for Alkylidene Formation. There is no unambiguous example of free-carbene capture by a metal substrate, and the mild reaction conditions used in the generation of these carbene complexes from diazoalkanes suggests that such a mechanism is highly unlikely here. Transition metal diazoalkane complexes, then, are almost certainly implicated as intermediates in these reactions. 

Based on a detailed investigation, it was concluded that the exceptional ability of the molybdenum compounds to promote cyclopropanation of electron-poor alkenes is not caused by intermediate nucleophilic metal carbenes, as one might assume at first glance. Rather, they seem to interfere with the reaction sequence of the uncatalyzed formation of 2-pyrazolines (Scheme 18) by preventing the 1-pyrazoline - 2-pyrazoline tautomerization from occurring. Thereby, the 1-pyrazoline has the opportunity to decompose purely thermally to cyclopropanes and formal vinylic C—H insertion products. This assumption is supported by the following facts a) Neither Mo(CO)6 nor Mo2(OAc)4 influence the rate of [3 + 2] cycloaddition of the diazocarbonyl compound to the alkene. b) Decomposition of ethyl diazoacetate is only weakly accelerated by the molybdenum compounds, c) The latter do not affect the decomposition rate of and product distribution from independently synthesized, representative 1-pyrazolines, and 2-pyrazolines are not at all decomposed in their presence at the given reaction temperature. 

Some examples of carbene dimer formation resulting from diazoalkane decomposition on transition-metal surfaces have been reported. Diazomethane is decomposed to give ethylene and N2 upon passage over a C0O/M0O3 catalyst as well as on Ni, Pd, Fe, Co, Ru and Cu surfaces 367). Similarly, 2-diazopropane is readily decomposed on Raney nickel 368). At room temperature, propene and N2 were the only detectable products, but above 50 °C, the carbene dimer 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene started to appear which reached its maximum yield at 100 °C, where approximately 40 % of the carbene fragments dimerized. It is assumed 367,368), that surface carbenes are formed as intermediates from both diazomethane and 2-diazopropane which either dimerize or desorb by migration of a P-hydrogren, if available (Scheme 40). 

Compounds of the same type are accessible by reaction of l-methyl-imidazol-2-yl lithium with components XAu(tht) (X = CN, C6F5). Treatment of the complex salts thus obtained as intermediates with strong methylating agents affords the carbene complexes (Scheme 61).257,260... 

The initial photochemical step in almost all of the reactions described in this chapter is formation of either trivalent radicals of the type R3E-, or else the divalent analogues of carbenes, R2E . Such species are obviously very reactive, and are only observed as intermediates or in experiments in the presence of trapping agents. The relative stability of the intermediates depends greatly on the nature of the substituents R, and this can influence the type of reaction products ultimately formed. Where appropriate, comparisons with the behaviour of the analogous silicon species are made. 

The mechanism of the insertion is not clear, however, since both carbenes have triplet ground states, an abstraction-recombination mechanism with radical pairs as intermediates is most likely. The only other triplet carbene that has been reported to insert into CH4 in low temperature matrices is methylene.89,90 However, in this case it is not completely clear if the insertion is a thermal or photochemical reaction. 

Carbene-mediated methylenation of aldonolactones provides a direct route to 1-methylene sugars, which may be used as intermediates for the preparation of furanoid or pyranoid C-glycosyl compounds, or chiral precursors for the synthesis of natural products. 

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