Carboxamide-rhodium complexes

Activation of a C-H bond requires a metallocarbenoid of suitable reactivity and electrophilicity.105-115 Most of the early literature on metal-catalyzed carbenoid reactions used copper complexes as the catalysts.46,116 Several chiral complexes with Ce-symmetric ligands have been explored for selective C-H insertion in the last decade.117-127 However, only a few isolated cases have been reported of impressive asymmetric induction in copper-catalyzed C-H insertion reactions.118,124 The scope of carbenoid-induced C-H insertion expanded greatly with the introduction of dirhodium complexes as catalysts. Building on initial findings from achiral catalysts, four types of chiral rhodium(n) complexes have been developed for enantioselective catalysis in C-H activation reactions. They are rhodium(n) carboxylates, rhodium(n) carboxamidates, rhodium(n) phosphates, and < // < -metallated arylphosphine rhodium(n) complexes. 

Asymmetric C-H insertion using chiral rhodium catalysts has proven rather elusive (Scheme 17.30). Dimeric complexes derived from functionalized amino acids 90 and 91 efficiently promote oxidative cychzation of suifamate 88, but the resulting asymmetric induction is modest at best ( 50% ee with 90). Reactions conducted using Doyle s asymmetric carboxamide systems 92 and 93 give disappointing product yields ( 5-10%) and negligible enantiomeric excesses. In general, the electron-rich carboxamide rhodium dimers are poor catalysts for C-H amination. Low turnover numbers with these systems are ascribed to catalyst oxidation under the reaction conditions. 

Rhodium(II) acetate catalyzes C—H insertion, olefin addition, heteroatom-H insertion, and ylide formation of a-diazocarbonyls via a rhodium carbenoid species (144—147). Intramolecular cyclopentane formation via C—H insertion occurs with retention of stereochemistry (143). Chiral rhodium (TT) carboxamides catalyze enantioselective cyclopropanation and intramolecular C—N insertions of CC-diazoketones (148). Other reactions catalyzed by rhodium complexes include double-bond migration (140), hydrogenation of aromatic aldehydes and ketones to hydrocarbons (150), homologation of esters (151), carbonylation of formaldehyde (152) and amines (140), reductive carbonylation of dimethyl ether or methyl acetate to 1,1-diacetoxy ethane (153), decarbonylation of aldehydes (140), water gas shift reaction (69,154), C—C skeletal rearrangements (132,140), oxidation of olefins to ketones (155) and aldehydes (156), and oxidation of substituted anthracenes to anthraquinones (157). Rhodium-catalyzed hydrosilation of olefins, alkynes, carbonyls, alcohols, and imines is facile and may also be accomplished enantioselectively (140). Rhodium complexes are moderately active alkene and alkyne polymerization catalysts (140). In some cases polymer-supported versions of homogeneous rhodium catalysts have improved activity, compared to their homogenous counterparts. This is the case for the conversion of alkenes direcdy to alcohols under oxo conditions by rhodium—amine polymer catalysts... 

It is noteworthy that, in the carboxamidate-ligated dirhodium(II) complexes (86), (87), and (89), the rhodium core is coordinated by four ligands and two N and two O atoms are bound to each rhodium center, constituting a unique coordination sphere (Figure 10).225... 

Doyle s rhodium(n) carboxamidate complexes are undisputedly the best catalysts for enantioselective cyclizations of acceptor-substituted carbenoids derived from diazo esters and diazoacetamides, displaying outstanding regio- and stereocontrol.4 These carboxamidate catalysts consist of four classes of complexes pyrrolidinones... 

Hydration of nitriles providing carboxamides is usually carried out m strongly basic or acidic aqueous media - these reactions require rather bars conditions and suffer from incomplete selectivity to the desired amide product. A few papers in the literature deal with the possibihty of transition metal catalysis of this reaction [28-30]. According to a recent report [30], acetonitrile can be hydrated into acetamide with water-soluble rhodium(I) complexes (such as the one obtained from [ RhCl(COD) 2] and TPPTS) under reasonably mild conditions with unprecedently high rate... 

The observed first-order rate constants, Kobs (s ) for the reaction of the rhodium] 11) complexes with diazo ester 34 varied over a range of > 10, in which the pivalate catalyst (entry 3) was almost two orders of magnitude faster than any of the other catalysts studied. The carboxamidate catalysts (entries 8-10) were slower than all the carboxy-lates, while the bridged phosphine catalyst (entry 7) behaved like most of the other car-boxy late s. 

In the carboxylate series, the TPA catalyst (entry 4) was the most selective for methine over methylene insertion. Should this remarkable chemoselectivity prove to be general, this complex may add a possibility for high chemoselectivity not previously observed with rhodium(ll) catalysts. The other carboxylate catalysts show less preference for CH over CH2 insertion. We expect that the CH/CH2 ratios would be more pronounced with a less carefully balanced substrate. In the carboxamidate class, MPPIM catalyst (entry 9) was more selective than the corresponding MeOX catalyst (entry 10), with the MEPY catalyst (entry 8) being the least discriminating for CH over CH2 insertion. 

Rhodium(II) forms a dimeric complex with a lantern structure composed of four bridging hgands and two axial binding sites. Traditionally rhodium catalysts faU into three main categories the carboxylates, the perfluorinated carboxylates, and the carboxamides. Of these, the two main bridging frameworks are the carboxylate 10 and carboxamide 11 structures. Despite the similarity in the bridging moiety, the reactivity of the perfluorinated carboxylates is demonstrably different from that of the alkyl or even aryl carboxylates. Sohd-phase crystal structures usually have the axial positions of the catalyst occupied by an electron donor, such as an alcohol, ether, amine, or sulfoxide. By far the most widely used rhodium] 11) catalyst is rhodium(II) acetate [Rh2(OAc)4], but almost every variety of rhodium] 11) catalyst is commercially available. 

As already mentioned (Section 2.5.1.2.1.3), rhodium(III) borohydride complexes with chiral carboxamide ligands have also been used as enantioselective catalysts for the hydrogenation of a,/ -unsaturated carboxylic esters89. In one case, with methyl 3-phenyl-2-butenoate as substrate, optical yields in the range of 60% have been achieved. 

The dimeric rhodium(II) compounds become enantioselective catalysts if they contain optically active ligands. For this the anions of optically active carboxylic acids seem to be most appropriate. The complex in which the Rhz unit is clamped by four mande-late anions was synthesized and structurally characterized some time ago. [7] As a catalyst, however, this complex results in only small enantiomeric excesses. [8] The reason for this is probably that the asymmetric centers lie in a plane between the two Rh atoms and are thus too far away from the coordination sites directed to the outside, at which the catalysis occurs. Chiral substituents at the nitrogen atoms of carboxamide anions would be considerably closer to these reaction centers, and... 

Fig. 9 a ruthenium(Il)-arene complexes b rhodium and ruthenium carbene complexes c rhodium, iridium and ruthenium tripodal phosphine complexes d gold [1,3-(dimesitylmeth)dimidazolinium)] chloride complexes e metal carboxamide derivatives... 

Arenes suffer dearomatization via cyclopropanation upon reaction with a-diazocarbonyl compounds (Btlchner reaction) [76]. Initially formed norcaradiene products are usually present in equilibrium with cycloheptatrienes formed via electrocyclic cyclopropane ring opening. The reaction is dramatically promoted by transition metal catalysts (usually Cu(I) or Rh(II) complexes) that give metal-stabilized carbenoids upon reaction with diazo compounds. Inter- and intramolecular manifolds are known, and asymmetric variants employing substrate control and chiral transition metal catalysts have been developed [77]. Effective chiral catalysts for intramolecular Buchner reactions include Rh Cmandelate), rhodium carboxamidates, and Cu(I)-bis(oxazolines). While enantioselectivities as high as 95% have been reported, more modest levels of asymmetric induction are typically observed. 

Cyclopropanation of olefins is currently performed by direct transition metal-catalyzed carbene transfer from a diazo compound to the olefin. Dirhodium(II) carboxylates and carboxamidates have proved to be the catalysts of choice. Other rhodium compounds, such as Rh (CO),6, Rh2(BF4)4, and rhodium(III) porphyrins, have been also investigated, but did not show better reactivity, while rhodium(I) compounds have never been successful [66]. Other complexes containing copper or ruthenium have been tested in cyclopropanation reactions, but have never shown better reactivity or selectivity than rhodinm(II) compounds [67]. 

The search for an efficient and versatile dirhodium-catalyzed asymmetric C(sp )-H amination reaction is an issue for which there is stiU ample room for improvement. The field was pioneered again by Muller who had designed chiral rhodium(II) complexes for inter- and intramolecular reactions, though with limited success as the ees did not exceed 66%. " With respect to the catalytic asymmetric intramolecular nitrene C(sp )—H insertion, the best results reported so far have been obtained with the rhodium(II) carboxamidate species Rh2(S-nap)4 This complex affords the corresponding cyclic sulfamates with excellent ees (ees enantiomeric excesses) of up to 99% (Scheme 32). However, the scope is limited to benzyhc substrates as, despite the excellent chemoselectivity, the ees remain below 84%... 

C-H alkylation and amination reactions involving metal-carbenoid and metal-nitrenoid species have been developed for many years, most extensively with (chiral) dirhodium(ll) carboxylate and carboxamidate complexes as catalysts [45]. When performed in intramolecular settings, such reactions offer versatile methods for the (enantioselective) synthesis of hetero- and carbocy-cles. In the past decade, Zhang and coworkers had explored the catalysis of cobalt(II)-porphyrin complexes for carbene- and nitrene-transfer reactions [46] and revealed a radical nature of such processes as a distinct mechanistic feature compared with typical metal (e.g., rhodium)-catalyzed carbenoid and nitrenoid reactions [47]. Described below are examples of heterocycle synthesis via cobalt(II)-porphyrin-catalyzed intramolecular C-H amination or C-H alkylation. 

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