Carbenes, generation 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). 

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... 

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). 

Gold-catalysed intramolecular oxidation of terminal alkynes with an arenesulfinyl group as the tethered oxidant has been reported to involve a gold carbene generation via alkyne oxidation. DFT studies suggest that the cyclized product is formed via an intramolecular [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement instead of the previously proposed Friedel-Crafts-type cyclization (Scheme 12) ... 

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 ... 

Cross-metathesis of terminal alkyne 142 and cyclopentene gives cyclic compound 143 having a diene moiety [Eq. (6.114)]. ° Terminal ruthenium carbene generated from an alkyne and methylidene ruthenium carbene complex reacts with cyclopentene to afford two-carbon elongated cycloheptadiene 143 ... 

However, difluoromethylation occurs when nucleophiles intercept difluoro-carbene generated under basic conditions, providing a route to difluoromethyl-ethers of phenols [33] and thiophenols [34]. The reaction with phosphite anion leads to the corresponding difluoromethyl phosphonate (see Sect. 2.3.2) while nucleophilic carbanions such as alkynes [35] also undergo formal alkylation, as do malonates [36,37]. An -difluoromethylaziridine was reported in a reaction with a glycine imine [38]. The scope of the established chemistry is summarised in Fig. 1. Bromodifluoromethylation occurs with a similar range of nucleophiles [39,40], and also with carbonyl-stabilised carbanions such as malonates [41,42]. 

Reaction of the carbene complex 148 with alkyne affords vinylcarbene 150 via metallacyclobutene 149. In the intramolecular reaction of enyne 152, catalysed by carbene complex 151, the triple bond is converted to vinylcarbene 153 which then reacts with the double bond to give the conjugated diene 154. Generation of 154 is expected by the formation and cleavage of cyclobutene 155 as a hypothetical intermediate. Based on this reaction, Ru-catalysed intramolecular metathesis of enyne 156 gave the N-containing cyclic diene 157, from which (—)-stemoamide (158) was synthesiszed. The reaction can be understood by assuming the formation of the hypothetical cyclobutene 159 from 156 [52],... 

Common to these molecules with their cyclopentadiene moieties is the so-called fulvene subunit 27. The first fulvenes, 6,6-dialkylfulvenes, were prepared as early as 1906 by Thiele et al. from sodium cydopentadienide and ketones [16]. The parent hydrocarbon 27 and many other derivatives have been thoroughly studied since the 1960s [17-19]. Diazocyclo-pentadiene (28), which is also easily prepared from cydopentadienide, is a heteroanalogue of fulvene. It has frequently been used as a precursor to other theoretically interesting molecules containing annelated cydopentadiene moieties, because its irradiation readily generates the cyclopentadienylidene 29. This carbene has, for example, been trapped with alkynes to form spiro-annelated cydopentadiene derivatives 30 (Scheme 5) [20]. It has been proved by UV spectroscopy [21] and supported by calculations [22] that these spiro[2.4]heptatrienes (so-called [1.2]spirenes) 30 experience a spedal kind of electronic... 

Reactions of 4-amino-l-metalla-l,3-dienes, generated from (1-alkynyl) carbene complexes 1 by addition of secondary amines (Scheme 32), with alkynes may lead to production of different compounds, depending on the substitution pattern as well as on the reaction conditions employed.3r Whereas successive addition of a secondary amine and one molecule of a terminal alkyne to a (l-alkynyl)carbene complex lj affords cyclopentadi-enes (Scheme 35), addition of two molecules of a terminal alkyne to complex lj yields cyclopenta[h]pyrans (Scheme 36). In an extension of this reaction sequence, (methylene)cyclopent-2-enones 103 are obtained from (1-alky-nyl)carbene chromium compounds 1 (R = rc-Pr, Ph, CH2CH2CH2OTBDS) by addition of secondary amines (NR) = NMe2, morpholino) and disubsti-tuted alkynes (Scheme 37).9e... 

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... 

The formation of substituted cyclopropane rings by the reaction of alkenes with Fischer carbenes has been known for some time [58]. More recently, cyclopropyl groups have been produced as parts of bicyclic and tricyclic ring systems by, formally, the reaction of Fischer carbenes with one equivalent of alkene and one equivalent of alkyne. Indeed, this reaction type proceeds through alkene trapping of a metal carbene generated in situ. The various methodologies that have been developed may be divided into three classes the intermolecular reaction of a,co-enynes with Fischer carbenes, the partially intramolecular reaction of Fischer carbene-tethered alkynes with alkenes, and the fully intramolecular reactions of Fischer carbene-tethered enynes. No fiilly intramolecular version of this reaction has been reported. 

The related but more stable chelate carbene complex 43 also reacts with pressurized carbon monoxide to give munchnones that can be trapped with alkynes to afford the expected pyrroles (Fig. 4.9). The relatively sensitive acylamino chromium complexes (e.g., 45) can be prepared in situ from stable amino carbene complexes (e.g., 44), as shown for the generation of munchnone 46 and conversion to pyrrole 47 with DMAD (Fig. 4.10). 

The general strategy for carrying out these MCRs starts with the generation of the NHC, which involves the deprotonation of the corresponding azolium salt by an appropriate base. Next, this carbene reacts with several electrophiles to produce reactive zwitterionic intermediates (typically from reaction with carbonyl compound or activated alkynes), followed by different rearrangements, rendering the final product. In this section, only examples based on thiazol-2-ylidenes... 

Addition of diazo compounds to metallic complexes allows the formation of metal carbenoid species which can react with unsaturated molecules to form new carbon-carbon bonds. The Cp RuCl(cod)-catalyzed addition of diazo compoimds to alkynes led to the selective synthesis of functional 1,3-dienes by the combination of two molecules of diazoaUcane and one molecule of alkyne [115,116] [Eqs. (53) and (54)]. The ruthenium carbene, generated from diazo compound, reacts with the C=C bond to produce vinylcarbene intermediate able to add a second molecule of diazo compotmd to generate dienes. The stereoselective formation of these conjugated dienes results from the selective creation of two C=C bonds, probably due to the possibility for (C5Me5)RuCl moiety to accomodate two cis carbene ligands. This reaction occurred with terminal or internal alkynes as well as 1,3-diynes [115] and was applied successfully to alkynylboronates [116]. 

---