Conclusion In Search of New Catalysts

Another application of rhodium carbenoid chemistry relates to the synthesis of strained-ring nitro compounds as high energy-density materials. Nitrocyclo-propanes are the simplest members of this class of compounds and catalyzed additions of a nitrocarbene to an olefin have only been described recently [40], Detailed studies have shown that the success of the reaction is, as expected, dependent on both the alkene and the nitrodiazo precursor. Consistently with the electrophilic character of rhodium carbenoids, only electron-rich alkenes are cyclopropanated. The reaction has been extended to the synthesis of nitrocyclo-propenes but the yields are good for terminal acetylenes only [41]. 

Rhodium-based catalysis suffers from the high cost of the metal and quite often from a lack of stereoselectivity. This justifies the search for alternative catalysts. In this context, ruthenium-based catalysts look rather attractive nowadays, although still poorly documented. Recently, diruthenium(II,II) tetracarboxylates [42], polymeric and dimeric diruthenium(I,I) dicarboxylates [43], ruthenacarbor-ane clusters [44], and hydride and silyl ruthenium complexes [45 a] and Ru porphyrins [45 b] have been introduced as efficient cyclopropanation catalysts, superior to the Ru(II,III) complex Ru2(OAc)4Cl investigated earlier [7]. In terms of efficiency, electrophilicity, regio- and (partly) stereoselectivity, the most efficient ruthenium-based catalysts compare rather well with the rhodium(II) carboxylates. The ruthenium systems tested so far seem to display a slightly lower level of activity but are somewhat more discriminating in competitive reactions, which apparently could be due to the formation of less electrophilic carbenoid species. This point is probably related to the observation that some ruthenium complexes competitively catalyze both olefin cyclopropanation and olefin metathesis [46], which is at variance with what is observed with the rhodium catalysts. 

The role of water also comes to the fore in the classical Synthol and Kogasin processes (/ oks Gas Benzm i.e., carbon — gaseous products — gasoline) of Fischer and Tropsch, not least by virtue of the ubiquitous water-gas shift reaction following eq. (3), (cf. Section 3.2.11). It is obvious that the reducing action of water leads to a corresponding amount of carbon dioxide which is in equilibrium under the standard process conditions. 

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