C-H insertion carbenes

Singlet Carbene C-H Insertions Although [1,2]-H shifts are formally carbene C-H insertions, these rearrangements have different orbital symmetry aspects than those of intramolecular insertions. As described above, overwhelming evidence exists that triplet carbenes undergo abstraction-recombination reactions to... 

Of course carbene C-H insertion reactions are well known absolute kinetics have been reported for the insertions of ArCCl into isooctane, cyclohexane, and n-hexane,67 and of PhCCl into Si-H, Sn-H, and C-H bonds.68 More recently, detailed studies have appeared of PhCCl insertions into a variety of substrates bearing tertiary C-H bonds, especially adamantane derivatives.69 Nevertheless, because QMT is considered important in the low temperature solution reactions of MeCCl,60,63 and is almost certainly involved in the cryogenic matrix reactions of benzylchlorocarbene,59 its possible intervention in the low temperature solution reactions of the latter is a real possibility. We are therefore faced with two alternative explanations for the Arrhenius curvature exhibited by benzylchlorocarbene in solution at temperatures < 0°C either other classical reactions (besides 1,2-H shift) become competitive (e.g., solvent insertion, azine formation), or QMT becomes significant.7,59,66... 

As shown in the previous two sections, rhodium(n) dimers are superior catalysts for metal carbene C-H insertion reactions. For nitrene C-H insertion reactions, many catalysts found to be effective for carbene transfer are also effective for these reactions. Particularly, Rh2(OAc)4 has demonstrated great effectiveness in the inter- and intramolecular nitrene C-H insertions. The exploration of enantioselective C-H amination using chiral rhodium catalysts has been reported by several groups.225,244,253-255 Hashimoto s dirhodium tetrakis[A-tetrachlorophthaloyl-(A)-/ r/-leuci-nate], Rh2(derived rhodium complex, Rh2(i -BNP)4 48,244 afforded moderate enantiomeric excess for amidation of benzylic C-H bonds with NsN=IPh. 

The reaction of alkoxy(alkyl)carbene chromium complexes with alkynes has been reported to give modest yields of cyclopentenones [368] and a few examples of intramolecular carbene C-H insertions of Fischer-type carbene complexes, leading to five-membered heterocycles, have been reported [369,370] (Table 2.22). 

Intramolecular carbene C-H insertion frequently leads to the formation of five-membered rings [967,990,1021,1113-1128], In particular l-diazo-2-alkanones tend to yield cyclopentanones exclusively when treated with rhodium(ll) carboxylates. The use of enantiomerically pure catalysts for diazodecomposition enables the preparation of non-racemic cyclopentane derivatives [1005,1052,1074,1092,1129]. Intramolecular 1,5-C-H insertion can efficiently compete with 1,2-C-H insertion... 

Table 4.8. Preparation of six- and seven-membered carbo- and heterocycles by intramolecular carbene C-H insertion.

If chiral catalysts are used to generate the intermediate oxonium ylides, non-racemic C-O bond insertion products can be obtained [1265,1266]. Reactions of electrophilic carbene complexes with ethers can also lead to the formation of radical-derived products [1135,1259], an observation consistent with a homolysis-recombination mechanism for 1,2-alkyl shifts. Carbene C-H insertion and hydride abstraction can efficiently compete with oxonium ylide formation. Unlike free car-benes [1267,1268] acceptor-substituted carbene complexes react intermolecularly with aliphatic ethers, mainly yielding products resulting from C-H insertion into the oxygen-bound methylene groups [1071,1093]. 

DiazotriazoIe 28 (R = Ph) reacted with /-butyl alcohol and 2-propanol to give compounds 148 and 149 (Scheme 40) in comparable yields by carbenic C—H insertion and nucleophilic substitution, respectively [81DIS(B)(42)1892]. In the case of 2-propanol, an oxidation-reduction process, to give the parent triazole and acetone, was also observed to a smaller extent. Also, it was previously reported that 3-diazotriazole 28 (R = COOH) oxidizes primary and secondary alcohols to the corresponding aldehydes and ketones (1898LA33). 

The preferential formation of the suitones 236 by intramolecular carbene C-H insertion was observed <20070L61> hereby the diazosulfonates 235 required as substrates were prepared by standard methods. The insertion conditions are Rh2(OAc)4, CH2CI2, slow addition at rt over 5 h, then 10 h at rt the cyclization products could be isolated in good yield (Scheme 66). 

In 1956, Doering et al. reported that methylene (CH2) inserted into the C H bonds of pentane, 2,3-dimethylbutane, and cyclohexene with no discrimination (other than statistical) between chemically different sites CH2 was classed as the most indiscriminate reagent known in organic chemistry. Doering and Kirmse also demonstrated that the C—H insertion reactions of CH2 in solution were direct, single barrier concerted processes with transition states that could be represented as 27 (Fig. 7.12). In particular, they did not proceed via initial H abstraction to give radical pair intermediates that subsequently recombined. (Triplet carbene C H insertions, however, do follow abstraction-recombination, radical pair mechanisms, as demonstrated in classic experiments of Closs and Closs and Roth (see Chapter 9 in this volume). 

Although lesser-known than the addition transformations of metal carbenes, C-H insertion processes are among the most important asymmetric C-C bond-forming reactions available to synthetic chemists [7,10,112,113]. They result from cleavage of C-H and metal-C bonds with concurrent formation of C-C and C-H bonds (Scheme 5.5). The construction of five-membered rings is most common, but six-, four- and even eleven-membered rings [96] have been formed by C-H insertion. 

Cycloaddition of the carbene derived from 205 to bis(trimethylsilyl)acetylene yields the expected cyclopropene in low yield both photochemically (20%) and under catalysis by copper triflate at 80 °C (10-13%)119. The latter version of the reaction is accompanied by [3 + 2] cycloaddition of the diazo compound to the alkyne, and the photochemical route yields a by-product which obviously comes from carbenic C,H insertion at a SiMe3 group of the alkyne. 

Grignard additions to non-activated C=C bonds, 9, 55 high-throughput discovery, 1, 344 hydrogenation on electrophilic dihydrogen, 1, 679 and intramolecular carbene C-H insertions, 10, 182 in ionic liquids... 

Dihapto 7>ligands, in copper complexes, 2, 174 Dihydride iridium complexes, preparation, 7, 396 Dihydrido clusters, with decarutheniums, 6, 1036 Dihydrobenzofuran, carbene C-H insertions, 10, 193 Dihydrobenzopyran, carbene C-H insertions, 10, 193 ring-closing diene metathesis,... 

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