Carbon coupling with alkynes

Previous chapters presented examples of Pd-catalyzed carbon-hydrogen activation as a route to indole ring formation, and several new examples are presented here. Lu and coworkers effected C-H activation of A-arylamides and subsequent coupling with alkynes to give 2,3-disubsti-mted indoles (Scheme 3, equation 1) [33]. Similar indoles were synthesized by Cabrera and colleagues from a Pd-catalyzed direct combination of anilines and a-diketones (equation 2) [34], With 2,3-hexanedione, only 2-n-Pr-3-methyhndole was obtained (95%), and 4-methoxyaniline afforded 2,3-diphenyl-5-methoxyindole in lower yield... 

Li J, Jia G, Lin Z (2008) Theoretical studies on coupling reactions of carbon dioxide with alkynes mediated by nickel(O) complexes. Organometallics 27 3892-3900... 

Hydroboration of alkenes or alkynes followed by cross-coupling with organic electrophiles provides a straightforward method for the carbon-carbon bond formation (Scheme 1-19). The hydroboration of thioalkynes with catecholborane in the presence of a nickel or palladium catalyst yields P-(aLkylthio)-l-alkenylboronates (72a)... 

A three-component coumarin synthesis involves the Pd-catalysed coupling of o-iodophenols with alkynes and subsequent insertion of carbon monoxide. With internal alkynes, pyridine is the crucial base for successful annulation the regioselectivity with unsymmetrically substituted alkynes is only moderate (Scheme 43) . 

Some synthetically important allenylmetallics, such as allenylzinc and allenylin-dium reagents, are prepared from allenylpalladium intermediates. These reactions are discussed in appropriate sections of this chapter. This section covers the reactions of allenylpalladium compounds without further transmetallation. Allenylpalladium complexes can be prepared from propargylic halides, acetates, carbonates, mesylates, alcohols and certain alkynes [83-87], The allenylpalladium compound prepared from 3-chloro-3-methyl-l-butyne has been isolated and characterized spectroscopically (Eq. 9.106) [83], It was found to couple with organozinc chlorides to produce homologated allenes quantitatively (Eq. 9.107). 

The 16-electron ruthenium(Il) complexes [(tj -C5Me5)Ru(NHC)Cl] with steri-cally demanding NHCs catalyze the carbon-carbon coupling of terminal alkynes HC R (R = Ph, SiMes, rBu, p-Tol) under mild conditions. The product selectivity strongly depends on the substituent R." ... 

The Merck process group in Rahway has developed two syntheses of rizatriptan (4) utilizing palladium catalyzed indolization reactions (Schemes 19 and 20). Both routes start from the iodoaniline 51, which was prepared by reaction of 47 with iodine monochloride in the presence of CaCOa. " Palladium catalyzed coupling of iodoaniline 51 with bis-triethylsilyl protected butynol in the presence of NaaCOa provided a mixture of indoles 52a and 52b. This mixture was desilylated with aqueous HCl in MeOH to furnish the tryptophol 53 in 75% yield from 51. Protection of the alkyne prevented coupling at the terminal carbon of the alkyne and tnethylsilyl (TES) was found to be optimal because it offered the correct balance between reactivity (rate of coupling) and... 

The same transition metal systems which activate alkenes, alkadienes and alkynes to undergo nucleophilic attack by heteroatom nucleophiles also promote the reaction of carbon nucleophiles with these unsaturated compounds, and most of the chemistry in Scheme 1 in Section 3.1.2 of this volume is also applicable in these systems. However two additional problems which seriously limit the synthetic utility of these reactions are encountered with carbon nucleophiles. Most carbanions arc strong reducing agents, while many electrophilic metals such as palladium(II) are readily reduced. Thus, oxidative coupling of the carbanion, with concomitant reduction of the metal, is often encountered when carbon nucleophiles arc studied. In addition, catalytic cycles invariably require reoxidation of the metal used to activate the alkene [usually palladium(II)]. Since carbanions are more readily oxidized than are the metals used, catalysis of alkene, diene and alkyne alkylation has rarely been achieved. Thus, virtually all of the reactions discussed below require stoichiometric quantities of the transition metal, and are practical only when the ease of the transformation or the value of the product overcomes the inherent cost of using large amounts of often expensive transition metals. 

As noted in the introduction, in contrast to attack by nucleophiles, attack of electrophiles on saturated alkene-, polyene- or polyenyl-metal complexes creates special problems in that normally unstable 16-electron, unsaturated species are formed. To be isolated, these species must be stabilized by intramolecular coordination or via intermolecular addition of a ligand. Nevertheless, as illustrated in this chapter, reactions of significant synthetic utility can be developed with attention to these points. It is likely that this area will see considerable development in the future. In addition to refinement of electrophilic reactions of metal-diene complexes, synthetic applications may evolve from the coupling of carbon electrophiles with electron-rich transition metal complexes of alkenes, alkynes and polyenes, as well as allyl- and dienyl-metal complexes. Sequential addition of electrophiles followed by nucleophiles is also viable to rapidly assemble complex structures. 

The reaction sequence in the vinylation of aromatic halides and vinyl halides, i.e. the Heck reaction, is oxidative addition of the alkyl halide to a zerovalent palladium complex, then insertion of an alkene and completed by /3-hydride elimination and HX elimination. Initially though, C-H activation of a C-H alkene bond had also been taken into consideration. Although the Heck reaction reduces the formation of salt by-products by half compared with cross-coupling reactions, salts are still formed in stoichiometric amounts. Further reduction of salt production by a proper choice of aryl precursors has been reported (Chapter III.2.1) [1]. In these examples aromatic carboxylic anhydrides were used instead of halides and the co-produced acid can be recycled and one molecule of carbon monoxide is sacrificed. Catalytic activation of aromatic C-H bonds and subsequent insertion of alkenes leads to new C-C bond formation without production of halide salt byproducts, as shown in Scheme 1. When the hydroarylation reaction is performed with alkynes one obtains arylalkenes, the products of the Heck reaction, which now are synthesized without the co-production of salts. No reoxidation of the metal is required, because palladium(II) is regenerated. 

Pale and coworkers provided the first example of combined desilylation/coupling catalytic for silver. They found that 1-trimethylsilyl-l-alkynes in the presence of tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)palladium, a silver(I) salt, and an activator (potassium carbonate in methanol, or TBAF-3H20) in DMF coupled with vinyl triflates and aryl iodides to give enynes good yields (Scheme 1.66).143,144 Although silver salt was not necessary for reaction when TBAF-3H20 was used for activation of the carbon-silicon bond, a small to significant improvement was observed for all reported... 

A mononuclear tantalum-benzyne complex (121) has been prepared by thermolysis of 120 [Eq. (20)].14 An X-ray crystal structure was reported for 121. Bond lengths for the benzyne unit are given in Table III. Complex 121 exhibits a rich insertion chemistry similar to that of Ti, Zr, and Ru benzyne complexes. Insertion reactions of 121 with ethylene, 2-butyne, acetonitrile, and carbon dioxide give 122, 123, 124, and 125, respectively (Scheme 15). Diphenylacetylene does not couple with 121, presumably because of steric constraints. Reagents with acidic protons such as methanol or terminal alkynes cleave the Ta—C bond to give butyl isocyanide and carbon monoxide, but... 

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