Substituted carbenes, properties

The development of the chemistry of carbene complexes of the Group 8a metals, Ru, Os, and Ir, parallels chemistry realized initially with transition metals from Groups 6 and 7. The pioneering studies of E. O. Fischer and co-workers have led to the characterization of many hundreds of carbene complexes in which the heteroatoms N, O, and S are bonded to the carbene carbon atoms. The first carbene ligands coordinated to Ru, Os, and Ir centers also contained substituents based on these heteroatoms, and in this section the preparation and properties of N-, O-, S-, and Se-substituted carbene complexes of these metals are detailed. 

Compared to the parent system 3a, the barrier for formation of 3d is the highest in this series whereas the formation of 3b should be the most facile according to our computations. Although the reactions of carbenes la-c are initiated photochemically, the observed reactivity seems to be in line with the computed ground state properties. Thus, while methyl substitution in 3-and 5-position inhibits the vinylcarbene-cyclopropene rearrangement, methyl substitution in 2- and 6-position has the opposite effect. 

These results are inconsistent with a radical rebound mechanism because this mechanism is a two-step process that requires the involvement of intermediates. Instead the results suggest that the hydroxylation is a concerted process, much like a singlet carbene reaction, which does not involve intermediates. However, this conclusion is in conflict with the properties of singlet carbene reactions discussed above. Subsequent studies on a number of substituted methylcyclopropanes and other stained hydrocarbon systems established that these findings were not anomalous. 

This property is relatively rare in the very large number of reactions for which substituent effects were evaluated quantitatively106. It seems to be common, however, for all dediazoniations of arenediazonium ions and of related compounds, e.g. of substituted phenyl azides forming nitrenes, as well as for additions of carbenes to alkenes. 

Because of n-electron donation by the heteroatom, these carbene complexes are generally less electrophilic at C than the corresponding non-heteroatom-substituted complexes (Chapter 3). This effect is even more pronounced in bis-heteroatom-substituted carbenes, which are very weak Tt-acceptors and towards low-valent transition metals show binding properties similar to those of phosphines or pyridine. Alkoxycarbenes, on the other hand, have electronic properties similar to those of carbon monoxide, and stable heteroatom-monosubstituted carbene complexes are also usually formed from metals which form stable carbonyl complexes. 

Diaminocarbene complexes were reported as early as 1968 [152], Preparation and applications of such complexes have been reviewed [153], Because of 7t-electron donation by both nitrogen atoms, diaminocarbenes are very weak tt-acceptors and have binding properties towards low-valent transition metals similar to those of phosphines or pyridines [18,153]. For this reason diaminocarbenes form complexes with a broad range of different metals, including those of the titanium group. Titanium does not usually form stable donor-substituted carbene complexes, but rather ylide-like, nucleophilic carbene complexes with non-heteroatom-substituted carbenes (Chapter 3). 

The heteroatom-substituted carbene complexes most frequently used in organic synthesis are carbonyl complexes of the type (CO)5M=C(X)R (M Cr, Mo, W X OR, NR2 R H, alkyl, aryl, vinyl, alkynyl, etc.). To some extent such complexes behave as carboxylic esters or amides, the (CO)5M=C group having electronic properties similar to those of a carbonyl group (Figure 2.16). 

Non-heteroatom-substituted carbene complexes of almost all transition metals are known. Depending on the oxidation state of the metal, the overall charge of the complex, and the properties of the additional ligands, the reactivity of alkyl or aryl carbene complexes can vary greatly. Some examples of compounds with strikingly different chemical properties are shown in Figure 3.1. 

Non-heteroatom-substituted carbene complexes cover a broad spectrum of different reactivities, largely dependent on the electronic properties of the metal. In Chapter 1 the division of carbene complexes into Fischer-type and Schrock-type carbenes was discussed. This way of grouping carbene complexes, although difficult to apply... 

It is of interest to compare the properties of substituted carbenes with those of methylene itself. Theoretical calculations predict that as a linear carbene triplet begins to bend, the orbitals containing the unpaired electrons must rehybridize and gain some 5 character. The... 

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