Complexes, alkyne-metal decarbonylation

The Dotz reaction mechanism has received further support from kinetic and theoretical studies. An early kinetic investigation [37] and the observation that the reaction of the metal carbene with the alkyne is supressed in the presence of external carbon monoxide [38] indicated that the rate-determining step is a reversible decarbonylation of the original carbene complex. Additional evidence for the Dotz mechanistic hyphotesis has been provided by extended Hiickel molecular orbital [23, 24] and quantum chemical calculations [25],... 

Although the oxidative promoters have been quite effective, the reaction with less reactive olefins is still troublesome. Under the conditions with the oxidative promoter, the PKR is inevitably competing with the demetallation of the alkyne-cobalt carbonyl complex to give the metal-free alkynes. This competition is insignificant when the reactive olefins are employed, but it is prone to give more demetallated alkynes when the less reactive olefins are used (Scheme 3). This is reasoned by the fact that it is hard to expect from those promoters to oxidize only one of the COs on metal, and, in other words, the decarbonylation is not discriminative. As a result, the finding of the optimum condition is critical to favor the desired PKR product. 

Insertion of the alkyne into the chromium carbene bond in intermediate B affords vinyl carbene complex D, in which the C=C double bond may be either (Z) or (E). A putative chromacydobutene intermediate resulting from a [2+2] cydoaddition of the alkyne across the metal-carbene bond on the way to chromium vinylcarbene D, as was sometimes suggested in early mechanistic discussions, has been characterized as a high energy spedes on the basis of theoretical calculations [9c]. Its formation and ring-opening cannot compete with the direct insertion path of the alkyne into the chromium-carbene bond. An example of an (E)-D alkyne insertion product has been isolated as the decarbonylation product of a tetracarbonyl chromahexatriene (4, Scheme 4) [14], and has been characterized by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray analysis. 

For a few combinations of less reactive dienes and dienophiles, transition metal catalyzed variants of the Diels Alder reaction have been developed. An example is the cycloaddition of an unpolar diene and an unactivated alkyne however, except when the reaction is catalyzed with iron, nickel, cobalt, or rho-dium(I) complexes, the temperature required often causes competing decomposition, even for the intramolecular version. [2] Wilkinson s catalyst [3] - tris(triphenylphosphane)rho-dium(I) chloride - frequently used for hydrogenations and for decarbonylations, permits the cyclization of 4 to the annelated cyclo-hexadiene 5 in excellent yield in only 15 minutes at 55 °C in trifluoroethanol as solvent (Scheme 2). [2c]... 

The use of both LIU and HIU has been shown to increase the efficiency of the P-K reaction, which involves the formation of cyclopentenone from the annulation of a cobalt alkynyl carbonyl complex and an alkene. The use of low-power ultrasound, as for example, from a cleaning bath, although capable of producing intramolecular P-K reactions, generated relatively low cyclization yields. The motivation for the use of high intensity came from its ability, as previously described, to effectively decarbonylate metal carbonyl and substituted metal carbonyl complexes. Indeed, HIU produced by a classic horn-type sonicator has been shown to be capable of facile annulation of norbornene and norbornadiene in under 10 min in the presence of a trimethylamine or trimethylamine N-oxidc dihydrate (TMANO) promoter, with the latter promoter producing cleaner product mixtures. This methodology also proved effective in the enhancement of the P-K reaction with less strained alkenes such as 2,5-dihydrofuran and cyclopentene, as well as the less reactive alkenes -fluorostyrene and cycloheptene. The mechanism has been postulated to involve decarbo-nylation of the cobalt carbonyl alkyne, followed by coordination by the amine to the vacant coordination sites on the cobalt. 

The bridging phosphide group in bimetallic transition metal complexes appeared to participate in a transformation, rather than behave as an inert spectator ligand. This is particularly obvious in homobimetallic iron and cobalt systems.Mays et al. showed that the reactions of iron-cobalt phosphido-bridged complex 25 with both symmetrical and unsymmetrical alkynes gave five-membered ferracycle-containing compounds, such as 26, in which a CO and an alkyne were inserted regiospecifically into a Co-P bond in 25. Subsequent decarbonylation led to a set of four-membered ferracyclic species 27-30 in low yields. 

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