2-diazoalkane complexes

In this chapter we discuss host-guest complexes of arenediazonium salts with crown ethers and related compounds. Transition metal complexes of arenediazonium ions are treated together with those of dinitrogen and of diazoalkanes in our second book (Zollinger, 1995, Sec. 10.1). 

Diazoalkanes and related compounds are not suitable guests for the types of hosts discussed above. Very weak complexation was found with diazodicyanoimidazole (2.53 Sheppard et al., 1979) in which the mesomeric zwitterionic structure with a formal diazonio group (see Secs. 2.6 and 6.2) is dominant. However, no complexation was found for another compound with a formal diazonio group, the ben-zothiazol-azidinium salt 2.50 (Szele and Zollinger, 1982). 

Catalytic cyclopropanation of alkenes has been reported by the use of diazoalkanes and electron-rich olefins in the presence of catalytic amounts of pentacarbonyl(rj2-ris-cyclooctene)chromium [23a,b] (Scheme 6) and by treatment of conjugated ene-yne ketone derivatives with different alkyl- and donor-substituted alkenes in the presence of a catalytic amount of pentacarbon-ylchromium tetrahydrofuran complex [23c]. These [2S+1C] cycloaddition reactions catalysed by a Cr(0) complex proceed at room temperature and involve the formation of a non-heteroatom-stabilised carbene complex as intermediate. 

At this point the catalytic process developed by Dotz et al. using diazoalkanes and electron-rich dienes in the presence of catalytic amounts of pentacar-bonyl(r]2-ds-cyclooctene)chromium should be mentioned. This reaction leads to cyclopentene derivatives in a process which can be considered as a formal [4S+1C] cycloaddition reaction. A Fischer-type non-heteroatom-stabilised chromium carbene complex has been observed as an intermediate in this reaction [23a]. 

These complexes can be isolated in some cases in others they are generated in situ from appropriate precursors, of which diazo compounds are among the most important. These compounds, including CH2N2 and other diazoalkanes, react with metals or metal salts (copper, palladium, and rhodium are most commonly used) to give the carbene complexes that add CRR to double bonds. Ethyl a-diazoacetate reacts with styrene in the presence of bis(ferrocenyl) bis(imine), for example, to give ethyl 2-phenylcyclopropane-l-carboxylate. Optically active complexes have... 

Diazoalkanes are u.seful is precursors to ruthenium and osmium alkylidene porphyrin complexes, and have also been investigated in iron porphyrin chemistry. In an attempt to prepare iron porphyrin carbene complexes containing an oxygen atom on the /(-carbon atom of the carbene, the reaction of the diazoketone PhC(0)C(Ni)CH3 with Fe(TpCIPP) was undertaken. A low spin, diamagnetic carbene complex formulated as Fe(TpCIPP)(=C(CH3)C(0)Ph) was identified by U V-visible and fI NMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis. Addition of CF3CO2H to this rapidly produced the protonated N-alkyl porphyrin, and Bit oxidation in the presence of sodium dithionitc gave the iron(II) N-alkyl porphyrin, both reactions evidence for Fe-to-N migration processes. ... 

Bertani, R., Michelin, R.A., Mozzon, M., Traldi, P., Seraglia, R., Busetto, L., Cassani, M.C., Tagliatesta, P. and D Arcangelo, G. (1997) Mass Spectrometric Detection of Reactive Intermediates. Reaction Mechanism of Diazoalkanes with Platinum(O) and Gold (I) Complexes. Organometallics, 16(14), 3229-3233. 

The reaction of low-valent Ru, Os, and Ir substrates with diazoalkanes provides the most general route to ds alkylidene complexes of these metals. Some features of this reaction are outlined below. 

The reaction conditions should be as mild as possible to prevent uncontrolled decomposition of the diazoalkane and carbene complex product. 

A Mechanism for Alkylidene Formation. There is no unambiguous example of free-carbene capture by a metal substrate, and the mild reaction conditions used in the generation of these carbene complexes from diazoalkanes suggests that such a mechanism is highly unlikely here. Transition metal diazoalkane complexes, then, are almost certainly implicated as intermediates in these reactions. 

It is not known whether there is any carbenoid chemistry of end-on coordinated manganese-diazoalkane complexes 420 410). However, it is known that diaryldiazo-methanes 408,411 and azibenzil411 yield carbene rather than diazoalkane complexes with (n5-C5H5)Mn(CO),THF. 

The q1-coordinated carbene complexes 421 (R = Ph)411 and 422412) are rather stable thermally. As metal-free product of thermal decomposition [421 (R = Ph) 110 °C, 422 PPh3, 105 °C], one finds the formal carbene dimer, tetraphenylethylene, in both cases. Carbene transfer from 422 onto 1,1-diphenylethylene does not occur, however. Among all isolated carbene complexes, 422 may be considered the only connecting link between stoichiometric diazoalkane reactions and catalytic decomposition [except for the somewhat different results with rhodium(III) porphyrins, see above] 422 is obtained from diazodiphenylmethane and [Rh(CO)2Cl]2, which is also known to be an efficient catalyst for cyclopropanation and S-ylide formation with diazoesters 66). 

The ruthenium carbene complexes 1 discussed in the previous chapter have set the standards in the field of olefin metathesis and are widely appreciated tools for advanced organic synthesis [3]. A serious drawback, however, relates to the preparation of these compounds requiring either 3,3-diphenylcyclopropene or diazoalkanes, i.e. reagents which are rather difficult to make and/or fairly hazardous if used on a large scale [60]. Therefore, a need for metathesis catalysts persists that exhibit essentially the same activity and application profile as 1 but are significantly easier to make. 

It has been shown that [(r]6-arene)RuCl2]2 6 and [(r 6-arene)RuCl2] PR3 7 complexes can be activated in situ to afford active metathesis catalysts, either on treatment with diazoalkanes [15] or by UV irradiation [16]. The structure of the active species thus formed is unknown, but it initiates the ring opening metathesis polymerization reactions (ROMP) of various cycloalkenes very efficiently. Therefore these in situ recipes may also be useful in the context of preparative organic chemistry. 

Recently, the C—C bond formation through an electroreduction of a diazoalkane group, incorporated as a ligand into W complexes, has been reported. One-electron reduction of trans-[W(N2CH2)L2F]+ in an MeCN-Bu4NBF4-(Hg) system affords W(N2CH2CH2N2) L4F2 (L = dppe) in 55% yield [500]. 

Metallic groups as in case (c) lead to electrophilic or even carbocation-like carbene complexes. Typical examples are Fischer-type carbene complexes [e.g. (CO)5Cr=C(Ph)OMe] and the highly reactive carbene complexes resulting from the reaction of rhodium(II) and palladium(II) carboxylates with diazoalkanes. Also platinum ylides [1,2], resulting from the reaction of diazoalkanes with platinum(Il) complexes, have a strong Pt-C o bond but only a weak Pt-C 7t bond. In situation (d) the interaction between the metal and the carbene is very weak, and highly reactive complexes showing carbene-like behavior result. Similar to uncomplexed carbenes. 

Non-heteroatom-substituted carbene complexes can also be generated by treatment of electrophilic transition metal complexes with ylides (e.g. diazoalkanes, phosphorus ylides, nucleophilic carbene complexes, etc. Section 3.1.3). Alkyl complexes with a leaving group in the a-position are formed as intermediates. These alkyl complexes can undergo spontaneous release of the leaving group to yield a carbene complex (Figure 3.2). 

It has been known for a long time that the decomposition of diazoalkanes can be catalyzed by transition metal complexes [493-496]. Carbene complexes were proposed as possible intermediates by Yates in 1952 [497]. However, because reactions of diazoalkanes with metal complexes tend to be difficult to control, it was not until 1975 [498] that stable carbene complexes could be directly obtained from diazoalkanes (Figure 3.19). 

Fig. 3.19. First preparation of a stable carbene complex from a diazoalkane [498].

Numerous carbene complexes have since been prepared by this method [1,52,60,499-503], even utilizing highly reactive diazoalkanes such as diazomethane [504], Because of their high nucleophilicity and reactivity, non-acceptor-substituted diazoalkanes can displace even strongly bound ligands, such as phosphines. Examples of such reactions are shown in Figure 3.20. 

Experirnental Procedure 3.1.3. Preparation of a Ruthenium Carbene Complex from a Diazoalkane DichIoro-bis(tiicyelohexylphosphine)benzylidenemthenium... 

Transition metal complexes which react with diazoalkanes to yield carbene complexes can be catalysts for diazodecomposition (see Section 4.1). In addition to the requirements mentioned above (free coordination site, electrophi-licity), transition metal complexes can catalyze the decomposition of diazoalkanes if the corresponding carbene complexes are capable of transferring the carbene fragment to a substrate with simultaneous regeneration of the original complex. Metal carbonyls of chromium, iron, cobalt, nickel, molybdenum, and tungsten all catalyze the decomposition of diazomethane [493]. Other related catalysts are (CO)5W=C(OMe)Ph [509], [Cp(CO)2Fe(THF)][BF4] [510,511], and (CO)5Cr(COD) [52,512]. These compounds are sufficiently electrophilic to catalyze the decomposition of weakly nucleophilic, acceptor-substituted diazoalkanes. 

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