Chromium salts alkenes

The Phillips catalyst is prepared from relatively inexpensive chromium salts it is robust, but structurally complex, and the catalytic sites are not identified. To make a structurally simpler silica-supported alkene polymerization catalyst, Ajjouet al. used the precursor bis(neopentyl)chromium(IV). The synthesis chemistry was represented as follows ... 

The hydrosilylation of terminal alkynes disclosed by Trost can be applied to internal alkynes as well. i Remarkably, the (Z)-isomer is generated in this process, resulting from trans addition during hydrosilylation. The protodesilylation of these sily-lated products in the presence of copper(I) iodide and tetrabuty-lammonium fluoride (TBAF) or silver(I) fluoride (eq 15) leads to internal fraws-olefins. This two-step method is a useful synthetic transformation to access ( j-alkenes from internal alkynes. In contrast, the chemoselective reduction of alkynes to the corresponding ( -alkenes is conventionally accomplished readily with Lindlar s catalyst. The complementary process to afford ( )-olefins has proven much more difficult. Methods involving metal hydrides, dissolving metal reductions, low-valent chromium salts provide the desired chemical conversion, albeit with certain limitations. For example, functional substitution at the propargylic position (alcohols, amines, and carbonyl units) is often necessary to achieve selectivity in these transformations. Conversely, the hydrosilylation/protodesilyla-tion protocol is a mild method for the reduction of alkynes to ( )-alkenes. 

Substituted bicyclo[ . 1.0]alkanes may also be obtained by condensation of secondary amines with 2-haloketones. A variety of nucleophilic reactions can be carried out on the intermediate cyclopropaniminium salt 116251 (Scheme 108). Competing alkene scission and cyclopropanation occurs on reaction of enamines with pentacarbonyl-chromium carbene complexes252 (Scheme 109). N-Silylated allylamines and their derived N-silylated enamines undergo rhodium or copper catalysed cyclopropanation by methyl diazoacetate253 (Scheme 110). 

Cyclopropanation reactions of nonheteroatom-stabilized carbenes have also been developed. The most versatile are the cationic iron carbenes that cyclopropanate alkenes with high stereospecificity under very mild reaction conditions. The cyclopropanation reagents are available from a number of iron complexes, for example, (9-alkylation of cyclopentadienyl dicarbonyliron alkyl or acyl complexes using Meerwein salts affords cationic Fischer carbenes. Cationic iron carbene intermediates can also be prepared by reaction of CpFe(CO)2 with aldehydes followed by treatment with TMS-chloride. Chiral intermolecular cyclopropanation using a chiral iron carbene having a complexed chromium tricarbonyl unit is observed (Scheme 61). 

Alkenes can be oxidized to ketones of the same chain length by using salts of copper, palladium, and mercury as catalysts and air, electrolysis [120], hydrogen peroxide, or chromium compounds as oxidants [60, 65, 140, 565] (equation 90). 

In view of the purification and waste disposal problems with the chromium oxidations catalytic methods with ruthenium catalysts are more attractive. Ruthenium(Vlll) oxide is a strong oxidant that will also oxidize alkenes, alkynes, sulfides, and in some cases benzyl ethers. The method is compatible with glycosidic linkages, esters and acetals, and is usually carried out in a biphasic solvent system consisting of water and a chlorinated solvent. Acetonitrile or a phase-transfer catalyst has been shown to further promote the oxidation [29,30]. Normally, a periodate or a hypochlorite salt serve as the stoichiometric oxidant generating rutheni-um(VIII) oxide from either ruthenium(IV) oxide or ruthenium(III) chloride [30]. 

The synthesis of cyclobutanones can in some cases be accomplished more efficiently by addition of a ketene-iminium salt or a chromium carbene to an alkene. For example, under photochemical conditions, the chromium carbene 174 gave the cyclobutanone 175 as a single diastereomer (3.118). The product 175 was converted to the antifungal antibiotic (-l-)-cerulenin by way of the lactone 176. 

Olefinic aldehydes have been synthesized by a variety of methods including oxidation of the corresponding primary alcohols with the chromium trioxide-pyridine complex 195—197) or N-chlorosuccinimide-dimethyl sulfide complex 198), heating a primary alken-l-yl mesylate with dimethylsulfoxide 199), or by alkylation of the lithium salt of 5,6-dihydro-2,4,4,6-tetramethyl-l,3-(4H)-oxazine with an alkynyl iodide followed by sodium borohydride reduction and acid hydrolysis (200). 

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