Carbenes cycloaddition with

Silylketenes in formation of (3-lactones and (3-lactams 98JCS(P1)2105. Syntheses of (3-lactams, (3-lactones, and 1,3- and 1,4-diazetidinediones by pho-tochemically induced cycloaddition reactions of chromium carbene complexes with imines, aldehydes, and azo compounds 97T4105. 

By a photochemically induced elimination of CO, a chromium carbene complex with a free coordination site is generated. That species can coordinate to an alkyne, to give the alkyne-chromium carbonyl complex 4. The next step is likely to be a cycloaddition reaction leading to a four-membered ring compound 5. A subsequent electrocyclic ring opening and the insertion of CO leads to the vinylketene complex 6 ... 

The reactions of Fischer carbene complexes with 1,3-dienes (carbodienes or heterodienes) lead to the formation of cyclic products with different ring sizes depending upon both the nature of the reaction partners and the reaction conditions. Between these synthetically useful transformations are found [2c+2s], [3C+2S], [4S+1C], [3S+3C], [4S+2C], [4S+3C] and [2S+1C+1C0] cycloaddition reactions which will be summarised further on, in addition to the [2S+1C] cycloaddition processes here described. 

The reaction of alkoxyarylcarbene complexes with alkynes mainly affords Dotz benzannulated [3C+2S+1C0] cycloadducts. However, uncommon reaction pathways of some alkoxyarylcarbene complexes in their reaction with alkynes leading to indene derivatives in a formal [3C+2S] cycloaddition process have been reported. For example, the reaction of methoxy(2,6-dimethylphenyl)chromium carbene complex with 1,2-diphenylacetylene at 100 °C gives rise to an unusual indene derivative where a sigmatropic 1,5-methyl shift is observed [60]. Moreover, a related (4-hydroxy-2,6-dimethylphenyl)carbene complex reacts in benzene at 100 °C with 3-hexyne to produce an indene derivative. However, the expected Dotz cycloadduct is obtained when the solvent is changed to acetonitrile [61] (Scheme 19). Also, Dotz et al. have shown that the introduction of an isocyanide ligand into the coordination sphere of the metal induces the preferential formation of indene derivatives [62]. 

Merlic demonstrated the direct, non-photochemical insertion of carbon monoxide from acylamino chromium carbene complexes 14 to afford a presumed chromium-complexed ketene 15 <00JA7398>. This presumed metal-complexed ketene leads to a munchnone 16 or munchnone complex which undergo dipolar cycloaddition with alkynes to yield the pyrroles 17 upon loss of carbon dioxide. 

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. 

Chromium carbene complexes have also been known to react with imine equivalents to afford /3-lactam derivatives234. Furthermore, [3 + 2]-cycloaddition of an alkenylchromium carbene 133 with imines proceeded to afford 3-pyrroline derivatives 134 in the presence of a Lewis acid catalyst (Equation (21)),235 where GaClj or Sn(OTf)2 were efficient promoters. Alkenylcarbenes bearing chiral auxiliaries afforded the desired cycloadduct in optically pure form. 

Cyclopropanation of l,3-dienes. a,0-Unsaturated carbenes can undergo [4 + 2]cycloaddition with 1,3-dienes (12, 134), but they can also transfer the carbene ligand to an isolated double bond to form cyclopropanes. Exclusive cyclopropanation of a 1,3-diene is observed in the reaction of the a,(3-unsaturated chromium carbene 1 with the diene 2, which results in a frans-divinylcyclopropane (3) and a seven-membered silyl enol ether (4), which can be formed from 3 by a Cope rearrangement. However, the tungsten carbene corresponding to 1 undergoes exclusive [4 + 2]cycIoaddition with the diene 2. 

Terminal alkynes readily react with coordinatively unsaturated transition metal complexes to yield vinylidene complexes. If the vinylidene complex is sufficiently electrophilic, nucleophiles such as amides, alcohols or water can add to the a-carbon atom to yield heteroatom-substituted carbene complexes (Figure 2.10) [129 -135]. If the nucleophile is bound to the alkyne, intramolecular addition to the intermediate vinylidene will lead to the formation of heterocyclic carbene complexes [136-141]. Vinylidene complexes can further undergo [2 -i- 2] cycloadditions with imines, forming azetidin-2-ylidene complexes [142,143]. Cycloaddition to azines leads to the formation of pyrazolidin-3-ylidene complexes [143] (Table 2.7). 

Closely related to the ring-closing metathesis of enynes (Section 3.2.5.6), catalyzed by non-heteroatom-substituted carbene complexes, is the reaction of stoichiometric amounts of Fischer-type carbene complexes with enynes [266,308 -315] (for catalytic reactions, see [316]). In this reaction [2 + 2] cycloaddition of the carbene complex and the alkyne followed by [2 -t- 2] cycloreversion leads to the intermediate formation of a non-heteroatom-substituted, electrophilic carbene complex. This intermediate, unlike the corresponding nucleophilic carbene... 

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. 

When planning reactions of thiocarbonyl compounds with electrophilic carbene complexes it should be taken into aceount that thiocarbonyl compounds can undergo uncatalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition with acceptor-substituted diazomethanes to yield 1,3,4-thiadiazoles. These can either be stable or eliminate nitrogen to yield thiiranes or other products similar to those resulting from thiocarbonyl ylides [1338]. 

A kinetic study of the 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of alkynyl Fischer carbene complexes with nitrones showed tirst-order kinetics for both nitrones and the alkynyl carbene complexes. The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of chiral non-racemic Fischer... 

The carbonyl ylide precursor can be generated by lead tetraacetate oxidation of the hydrazone 58. Thermolysis of 59 in the presence of perdeuterated acetone led to a variety of products, some of which are shown above. An internal quench of the ylide via a 1,4-proton migration led to enol ether 61, while cycloaddition with perdeuterated acetone formed the dioxolane 62 and its regioisomer. Interestingly, the presence of products such as acetone and propene-t/s are proposed to indicate a reversible fragmentation of the ylide to a carbonyl derivative and a carbene. 

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. 

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. ... 

An alternative approach in the asymmetric catalysis in 1,3-dipole cycloaddition has been developed by Suga and coworkers. The achiral 1,3-dipole 106 was generated by intramolecular reaction of an Rh(ii) carbene complex with an ester carbonyl oxygen in the Rh2(OAc)4-catalyzed diazo decomposition of <9-methoxycarbonyl-o -diazoacetophenone 105 (Scheme 12). The asymmetric induction in the subsequent cycloaddition to G=G and G=N bond was achieved by chiral Lewis acid Sc(iii)-Pybox-/-Pr or Yb(iii)-Pybox-Ph, which can activate the dipolarophile through complexation. With this approach, up to 95% ee for G=0 bond addition and 96% ee for G=G bond addition have been obtained, respectively. ... 

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... 

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. 

The 5,7-diaryl-2-fluoro-4/7-l,3-diazepines have been synthesized from 3-aryl-substituted 277-azirines and difluoro-carbene (Scheme 13). The reaction involves isomerization of azirinium ylide into a 2-aza-l,3-diene, which undergoes [4+2] cycloaddition with the starting azirine, followed by ring expansion and dehydrofluorination <2006TL639>. 

The generation of four-membered ring systems can be accomplished by a cycloaddition process under photochemical conditions or with special substrates under thermal conditions. Iron-vinylidene complexes belong to such a class of special substrates where a thermal [2 + 2]-cycloaddition is possible. If imines are used, a hetero-[2 + 2]-cycloaddition with an iron-vinylidene complex leads to an iron-carbene complex attached to an azetidine ring system, as reported by Barrett and coworkers (Scheme 9.20) [46, 47]. The oxidation of these iron-carbene complexes leads to [3-lactams 27. Interestingly, the application of 2-thiazolines generates penam... 

In addition to the representative [3 + 2] cycloaddition reactions shown in Table I, the delocalized singlet vinyl carbenes have been shown to participate as it2a components of non-Hnear cheletropic [tt 2s + tt 2a] cycloadditions to provided cyclopropanes with an observable endo effect, and as7r2s components of [tt4s + tt 2S] cycloadditions with selected dienes to provide cyclo-... 

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