Carbenes, imidazolylidene

With the enthusiasm currently being generated by the (so-called) stable carbenes (imidazolylidenes) [7], it is surprising that there are few reports of imidazolium-based ionic liquids being used to prepare metal imidazolylidene complexes. Xiao et al. have prepared bis(imida2olylidene)palladium(II) dibromide in [BMIMJBr [8]. All four possible conformers are formed, as shown in Scheme 6.1-3. 

The ease of formation of the carbene depends on the nucleophilicity of the anion associated with the imidazolium. For example, when Pd(OAc)2 is heated in the presence of [BMIM][Br], the formation of a mixture of Pd imidazolylidene complexes occurs. Palladium complexes have been shown to be active and stable catalysts for Heck and other C-C coupling reactions [34]. The highest activity and stability of palladium is observed in the ionic liquid [BMIM][Brj. Carbene complexes can be formed not only by deprotonation of the imidazolium cation but also by direct oxidative addition to metal(O) (Scheme 5.3-3). These heterocyclic carbene ligands can be functionalized with polar groups in order to increase their affinity for ionic liquids. While their donor properties can be compared to those of donor phosphines, they have the advantage over phosphines of being stable toward oxidation. 

Despite the planar conformation of nitrogens, several possibilities are available for the introduction of chirality. It is possible to prepare benzim-idazolylidenes, triazolylidenes, imidazolylidenes or unsubstituted-backbone imidazolinylidenes with a stereogenic center on one or two N-substituents (carbenes I and II). The other possibility is to relay the imidazolinylidenes backbone stereogenecity via the N-substituents or to combine stereogenic N-substituents with a chiral backbone (carbenes III or IV). It is at least possible to prepare bis-carbenes of type V with one (or two) stereogenic link between the two carbenes (Fig. 7). 

In 2004, Bolm et al. reported the use of chiral iridium complexes with chelating phosphinyl-imidazolylidene ligands in asymmetric hydrogenation of functionalized and simple alkenes with up to 89% ee [17]. These complexes were synthesized from the planar chiral [2.2]paracyclophane-based imida-zolium salts 74a-c with an imidazolylidenyl and a diphenylphosphino substituent in pseudo ortho positions of the [2.2]paracyclophane (Scheme 48). Treatment of 74a-c with t-BuOLi or t-BuOK in THF and subsequent reaction of the in situ formed carbenes with [Ir(cod)Cl]2 followed by anion exchange with NaBARF afforded complexes (Rp)-75a-c in 54-91% yield. The chela-... 

At the origin of this abundance of publications on iV-heterocyclic carbenes is the structural ligand diversity now available (Fig. 1.2). This developing area is noteworthy as most early developments were mainly focused on imidazolylidene and imidazo-lidinylidene NHC-types. 

A one-electron oxidation of the Ru(II) imidazolylidene complex 42, generating the paramagnetic carbene complex 43, has been noted (75) ... 

The activity of catalytic systems based on imidazolylidene carbenes depends on many factors, among which the most important are likely to be the electronic effects of the ligand and the parameters of complexation. Therefore, the dependence of the performance of such systems on, e.g., the choice of precatalyst is not well understood, as in the following example (Equation (34)) in which two similar ligands behave in exactly the opposite way in the systems based on the presynthesized complex or in situ generation of the catalyst 454... 

Iridium 2-pyridinylmethyl imidazolylidene C,N-chelates were obtained by transmetallation of the silver carbene complexes and tested for catalytic activity in the TH of benzophenone and nitroarenes by isopropanol [55]. The neutral monodentate complexes [(L-KC)Ir(COD)Clj [61a,b L = l-methyl-3-(6-mesityl-2-pyridinylmethyl)-2-imidazolylidene, l-mesityl-3-(6-mesityl-2-pyridinylmethyl)-2-... 

This review will focus on the use of chiral nucleophilic A-heterocyclic carbenes, commonly termed NHCs, as catalysts in organic transformations. Although other examples are known, by far the most common NHCs are thiazolylidene, imida-zolinylidene, imidazolylidene and triazolylidene, I-IV. Rather than simply presenting a laundry list of results, the focus of the current review will be to summarize and place in context the key advances made, with particular attention paid to recent and conceptual breakthroughs. These aspects, by definition, will include a heavy emphasis on mechanism. In a number of instances, the asymmetric version of the reaction has yet to be reported in those cases, we include the state-of-the-art in order to further illustrate the broad utility and reactivity of nucleophilic carbenes. 

Nolan and co-workers have extended the scope of transesterification reactions to include phosphonate esters as phosphorylating agents [137]. In this publication the authors use dimethyl methylphosphonate 273 and benzyl alcohol with a variety of imidazolylidene carbenes (Table 23). The nse of molecnlar sieves to absorb methanol leads to increased conversion however, longer reaction times lead to decreased... 

Trifluoromethylation can be achieved with the use of imidazolylidene carbene 1 [159], Song and co-workers found this transformation is tolerant of both electron-rich and electron-poor aldehydes (Table 26). Even enolizable aldehydes undergo trifluoromethylation in 81% yield (entry 3). Selective reaction occurs with an aldehyde in the presence of a ketone in the substrate (entry 5). The use of activated ketones as acceptors leads to tertiary alcohols in good yields (entries 7 and 8). 

Most electrophilic carbenes, such as 2/f-imidazolylidenes and 3H- and 4i/-triazolylidenes, in nitrobenzene gave rise to deoxygenation processes involving the intermediacy of the ylide 42, which decomposed to ni-trosobenzene and 43 (Scheme 12). However, the azolones 43 are too unstable to be detected or trapped in the reaction conditions. 

Another strategy was successfully implemented by synthetic deprotonation of the acidic C2 group of the imidazolium cation by basic ligands of metal complexes, forming carbenes (Scheme 12). When Pd(OAc)2 was heated in the presence of [BMIM]Br, a mixture of palladium imidazolylidene complexes formed. The palladium carbene complexes have been shown to be active and stable catalysts for the... 

To conclude the details on zero-valent nickel carboxylation catalysts, some recent synthetic approaches worthy of note showed that this area of research still has a rich chemistry. For example, Louie and coworkers reported on the use of N-heterocyclic carbenes (diaryl-imidazolylidene) as new efficient ligands in the Ni-catalyzed coupling of various symmetrical di-ynes with C02 (Scheme 5.19) [60a]. 

Starting from the early work by Kaufmann and al. in 1996 [48], many groups have investigated Heck-reactions in ionic liquids (for detailed reviews see [49, 20, 21]). However, as has been demonstrated by Xiao et al. [50] and Welton et al. [51], the use of imidazolium based ionic liquids in Pd-catalysed Heck reaction always bears the possibility of an in-situ formation of Pd-carbene complexes. The reason for this originates from the well-known relatively high acidity of the H atom in the 2-position of the imidazolium ion [52], Xiao and coworkers demonstrated that a Pd imidazolylidene complex is formed when Pd(OAc)2 was heated in presence of [BMIM]Br. The isolated Pd carbene complex was found to be active and stable in Heck coupling reactions. Welton et al. were later able to characterize an isolated Pd-carbene complex obtained in this way by X-ray spectroscopy. The reaction pathway to form the Pd-carbene in presence of a base is displayed in Scheme 4. 

The abnormal metallation is also favored when the carbon-truncated pyridine-imidazolylidene precursor 35 (with a smaller bite angle) is used. For these precursors the abnormal binding is produced even when small wingtip groups are used, as shown in Scheme 29. Under the same conditions, the pyridin-benzimidazolium analog (37) afforded the C-2 carbene complex, 38 (Scheme 29) [122],... 

The discovery of stable and isolable free phosphinocarbenes by Bertrand was quickly followed by the isolation of stable imidazolin-2-ylidenes by Arduengo (Figure 5.7). Imidazolylidene complexes of most of the transition metals have since been prepared directly from free carbenes. 

The electrophilic carbene, 4H-imidazolylidene (63), has been prepared by photodecomposition of 4-diazo-4H-imidazole (64). Reaction with cyclohexane affords the C-H insertion product, 4(5)-cyclohexylimidazole (65), whereas reaction with benzene yields 4(5)-phenylimidazole (66). Analogous addition of 4H-imidazolylid-ene to derivatives of benzene is influenced by the presence and nature of the substituents. 

The main advantage of these coordinating anions is that they stabilize the active species. This is particularly obvious in the case of palladium complexes, whose tendency to decompose into black metal is well documented. Imidazolium-based ionic liquids can generate in situ formation of metal-imidazolylidene carbene complexes by a deprotonation of the imidazolium cation. The ease of deprotonation depends on the nucleophilicity of the anions. In this case, NAILs may act as both solvents and catalyst ligand precursors [13],... 

Interestingly, the imidazolylidene structure of 39 is not essential to the isolabli-lity of bis(amino)carbenes Alder et al. prepared bis(diisopropylamino)carbene. 

With respect to the ionic hquid s cation the situation is quite different, since catalytic reactions with anionic transition metal complexes are not yet very common in ionic liquids. However, the 1,3-dialkyhmidazolium cation can act as a hgand precursor for the dissolved transition metal. Its transformation under the reaction conditions into a ligand has been observed in three different ways (i) formation of metal carbene complexes by oxidative addition of the imidazolium cation (ii) formation of metal-carbene complexes by deprotonation followed by coordination of the imidazolylidene on the metal center (iii) dealkylation of the imidazolium cation and formation of a metal imidazole complex. These different ways are displayed in a general form in Scheme 5.3-2. 

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