Cobalt complexes alkyl halides

Prior equilibrium. Consider the net reaction between certain metal halide and alkyl cobalt complexes, RCo + MX = Co+ + RM + X". There is a rapid equilibrium ... 

The corresponding reactions of transient Co(OEP)H with alkyl halides and epoxides in DMF has been proposed to proceed by an ionic rather than a radical mechanism, with loss of from Co(OEP)H to give [Co(TAP), and products arising from nucleophilic attack on the substrates. " " Overall, a general kinetic model for the reaction of cobalt porphyrins with alkenes under free radical conditions has been developed." Cobalt porphyrin hydride complexes are also important as intermediates in the cobalt porphyrin-catalyzed chain transfer polymerization of alkenes (see below). 

The electrochemistry of cobalt-salen complexes in the presence of alkyl halides has been studied thoroughly.252,263-266 The reaction mechanism is similar to that for the nickel complexes, with the intermediate formation of an alkylcobalt(III) complex. Co -salen reacts with 1,8-diiodo-octane to afford an alkyl-bridged bis[Co" (salen)] complex.267 Electrosynthetic applications of the cobalt-salen catalyst are homo- and heterocoupling reactions with mixtures of alkylchlorides and bromides,268 conversion of benzal chloride to stilbene with the intermediate formation of l,2-dichloro-l,2-diphenylethane,269 reductive coupling of bromoalkanes with an activated alkenes,270 or carboxylation of benzylic and allylic chlorides by C02.271,272 Efficient electroreduc-tive dimerization of benzyl bromide to bibenzyl is catalyzed by the dicobalt complex (15).273 The proposed mechanism involves an intermediate bis[alkylcobalt(III)] complex. 

A second interfacial exchange reaction of the o-acylcobalt complex with hydroxide ion leads to the production of the alkanecarboxylate anion, which migrates into the aqueous phase, leaving the cobalt tetracarbonyl anion in the organic phase for subsequent reaction (Scheme 8.2). Optimum yields of the carboxylic acids are obtained with ca. 40 1 ratio of the alkyl halide to dicobalt octacarbonyl. Co(Ph,P)2Cl2 can also be used and has the advantage that the cobalt can be recycled easily [5]. 

Selected examples of the conversion of alkyl halides into ethyl esters using cobalt carbonyl complexes... 

Vitamin B12 derivatives and their model compounds have recently been used as recyclable electrocatalysts for the reduction of alkyl halides since low-valent Co species are good nucleophiles toward organic substrates [367-369]. Examples of such elec-trocatalysts are the vitamin B12 derivatives aquocobalamin (230), dibromo[l-hydr-oxy-2,2,3,3,7,7,8,8,12,12,13,13,17,17,18,18-hexadecamethyl-10,20-diazaoctahydropor-phinato]cobalt(III) (231), and cobaloxim (232). The above Co(I) complexes can be... 

Carbonvlation of Benzyl Halides. Several organometallic reactions involving anionic species in an aqueous-organic two-phase reaction system have been effectively promoted by phase transfer catalysts(34). These include reactions of cobalt and iron complexes. A favorite model reaction is the carbonylation of benzyl halides using the cobalt tetracarbonyl anion catalyst. Numerous examples have appeared in the literature(35) on the preparation of phenylacetic acid using aqueous sodium hydroxide as the base and trialkylammonium salts (Equation 1). These reactions occur at low pressures of carbon monoxide and mild reaction temperatures. Early work on the carbonylation of alkyl halides required the use of sodium amalgam to generate the cobalt tetracarbonyl anion from the cobalt dimer(36). 

The chemistry takes place via an initial reduction of vitamin B12 or a similar cobalt (III) species 275, in a process that sees the conversion of cobalt from the +3 to the -1-1 oxidation state, and the opening of two sites of unsaturation, to afford 276 [74], This very reactive, highly nucleophilic intermediate reacts rapidly with the alkyl halide to form the octahedral complex 277, and reestablish... 

Control experiments establish that the initial process converting the dibromide 275 to 276 takes place in two steps with E1/2 for extrusion of the first and second axial ligands occurring at —0.36 and —1.08 V, respectively [75]. After reaction with the alkyl halide, the resulting octahedral complex 277 is further reduced in the range of -1.4 to -1.7 V to form a cobalt (II) complex which decays via the addition of an additional electron, cleavage of the C-Co and Co-Y bonds, and reaction with the Michael acceptor. 

Other pubKcations dealing with the catalytic ability of electrogenerated cobalt(I) species have appeared. Cob(I)alamin reacts with 1,4-dibromobutane to yield a tet-ramethylene-1,4-di-Co -cobalamin complex [138]. Alkyl radicals (which arise from the oxidative addition of cobalt(I) tetraphenyl porphyrin to an alkyl halide) have been found to migrate from the cobalt center to a nitrogen of a pyrrole ring [139]. 

Because such alkylation proceeds by S l mechanism, even cobalt complexes derived from unreactive (in an SN2 sense) halides can be formed. The cobalt complexes are air-stable compounds, but are affected by direct daylight. The incorporated Co—C bond is weak and, therefore, photolysis of 33 sets free the anomeric radical 11. In the presence of olefins 12 this radical adds to the double bond, followed by subsequent combination to give the insertion product 35 (Scheme 9). 

The second-order rate constants for reactions of Co(I)(BDHC) with alkyl halides were determined spectrophotometrically at 400 nm (17). These rate constants are listed in Table VII along with those for Co(I)(corrinoid)(vitamin Bi2s) in methanol at 25°C (35). These data indicate that the SN2 mechanism is operative in the reaction of Co(I)(BDHC) the iodides are more reactive with the cobalt complex than the bromides, and the rate decreases with increasing bulkiness of the alkyl donor. The steric effect is more pronounced for Co(I)(BDHC) than for vitamin B12s, which is confirmed by the rate ratios for... 

Alkylcobalt(III) complexes can also be synthesized in aqueous solution. Two of the best-known systems are methylcobalamin and a group of related cobaloximes, and alkylcobalt(III) complexes having ancillary cyanide ligands. As with the chromium(III) system, alkyl cobalt(III) complexes having dimethylglyoxime (DMG) or cyanide ligands can be synthesized by reaction of the cobalt(II) precursor with alkyl halides (Scheme... 

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