Cleavage olefin metathesis

As stated above, olefin metathesis is in principle reversible, because all steps of the catalytic cycle are reversible. In preparatively useful transformations, the equilibrium is shifted to one side. This is most commonly achieved by removal of a volatile alkene, mostly ethene, from the reaction mixture. An obvious and well-established way to classify olefin metathesis reactions is depicted in Scheme 2. Depending on the structure of the olefin, metathesis may occur either inter- or intramolecularly. Intermolecular metathesis of two alkenes is called cross metathesis (CM) (if the two alkenes are identical, as in the case of the Phillips triolefin process, the term self metathesis is sometimes used). The intermolecular metathesis of an a,co-diene leads to polymeric structures and ethene this mode of metathesis is called acyclic diene metathesis (ADMET). Intramolecular metathesis of these substrates gives cycloalkenes and ethene (ring-closing metathesis, RCM) the reverse reaction is the cleavage of a cyclo-... 

The course of decomposition of confirmed or presumed metallocyclo-butane intermediates is important, but most results reported deal with stoichiometric rather than catalytic processes. Retention of the 3-carbon skeleton via pathways d or f in Eq. (26) occurs much more frequently than does cleavage to metathesis-related products. For example, thermolysis of phenyl-substituted platinocyclobutanes yields propenylben-zenes and phenyl-cyclopropane, but no styrene or ethylene (77). Similarly, the decomposition of tantalum carbene adducts (8) with olefins... 

Despite the successful reactions mentioned above, olefin metathesis utilizing titanocene-methylidene is not necessarily regarded as a useful synthetic tool. Indeed, the steric interaction between the substituent at the carbon a to titanium and the bulky cyclopentadienyl ligand disfavors the formation of the titanocene-alkylidene 15. Hence, cleavage of the titanacycle affords only titanocene-methylidene and the starting olefin (Scheme 14.9). 

Some of these intermediates are analogous to those proposed by Chauvin in olefin metathesis ( Chauvin s mechanism ) [36]. They can be transformed into new olefins and new carbene-hydrides. The subsequent step of the catalytic cycle is then hydride reinsertion into the carbene as well as olefin hydrogenation. The final alkane liberation proceeds via a cleavage of the Ta-alkyl compounds by hydrogen, a process already observed in the hydrogenolysis [10] or possibly via a displacement by the entering alkane by o-bond metathesis [11]. Notably, the catalyst has a triple functionality (i) C-H bond activation to produce a metallo-carbene and an olefin, (ii) olefin metathesis and (iii) hydrogenolysis of the metal-alkyl. 

The most important difference between Chauvin s mechanism for olefin metathesis and the mechanism for alkane metathesis is that the latter applies itself to the reverse reaction of cleavage of alkanes by methane (which has no single C-C bond, see below) and, especially, it is based on a metal hydrido-carbene in equi-Ubrium with a metal-alkyl. 

The main strategies used for the preparation of alkenes by cleavage from insoluble supports are (3-elimination and olefin metathesis (Figure 3.35). Because some of these strategies enable the preparation of pure alkenes, devoid of additional functional groups, the linkers are sometimes also called traceless linkers, although the C=C double bond reveals the original point of attachment to the support. 

Figure 3.38. Mechanism of olefin metathesis and strategies for the cleavage of alkenes from polymeric supports by olefin metathesis.

Table 3.44. Generation of alkenes upon cleavage from insoluble supports by olefin metathesis.

The olefin metathesis reaction was so named by Calderon1 in 1967 following the discovery that it involved the total cleavage of the C=C bond and the apparent exchange of alkylidene moieties between two alkene molecules (equation 1). 

It has generally been assumed that in olefin metathesis reactions the olefin first coordinates to the metal carbene complex, en route to the formation of the intermediate metallacyclobutane complex, and that after cleavage of this intermediate the newly formed double bond is temporarily coordinated to the metal centre. A number of stable metal-carbene-olefin complexes are known see elsewhere116,117 for earlier references. They are mostly stabilized by chelation of the olefin and/or by heteroatom substituents on the carbene, although some have been prepared which enjoy neither of these modes of stabilization118,119. 

The synthesis of four-membered ring metallacycles was initially driven by the recognition that low-valent transition metals could mediate cyclopropane carbon-carbon bond cleavage and by the extensive attention devoted to reactivity patterns thought to be relevant to olefin metathesis. More recently, however, organometallic and organic researchers... 

Olefin metathesis can be very useful in the CM mode, as shown in the synthesis of insect phere-mones.46 In the first example for the synthesis of the peach twig borer pheromone 23, an excess of 1-hexene was used to increase the yield of the desired product. However, both of the other products could be recycled (Scheme 28.17). In the second example, CM was used to change the ester groups of meadowfoam oil (24) through cleavage of the alkenes rather than ester bonds. The sequence resulted in the synthesis of the mosquito pheromone (25) (Scheme 28.18). 

Mechanism 8-10 Acid-Catalyzed Opening of Epoxides 362 8-14 Syn Dihydroxylation of Alkenes 364 8-15 Oxidative Cleavage of Alkenes 366 8-16 Polymerization of Alkenes 369 8-17 Olefin Metathesis 373... 

The term alkene (olefin) metathesis refers to the equilibrium reaction shown in equation (1) in which the alkylidene groups of a pair of alkenes are exchanged with one another in the presence of a transition metal-containing catalyst. The reaction involves the net cleavage of the bonds of the substrate(s) and formation of the new carbon-carbon double bonds of the prodncts. Once equilibrium has been established, the resultant prodnct mixture has a distribution of alkenes (including isomers) that is determined solely by the relative thermodynamic stabilities of the prodncts. 

This review will focus upon the subset of interesting reactions involving the apparent cleavage of carbon-carbon single bonds promoted by transition metals under homogeneous conditions. An excellent previous review should also be referred to [ 1 ]. Reactions in the presence of heterogeneous catalysts or in the vapor phase with naked metal ions [2] are outside the scope of this review. Reactions breaking carbon-carbon double bonds, such as olefin metathesis, are not included herein. 

The contribution of W. Bannwarth in this book (Chapter 2) provides a good review of cyclative cleavage in the context of olefin metathesis therefore, this reaction is not described in detail here. 

The industrially important olefin metathesis reaction is a reaction that involves the simultaneous cleavage of two olefin double bonds followed by the formation of the alternate double bonds [Eq. (4)] ... 

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