Cross-coupling reaction with carbon nucleophiles

Many organometallic zinc species are too unreactive to undergo cross-coupling reactions with carbon nucleophiles. This general statement cannot be applied to allylic organometallic species which smoothly react with several electrophiles, such as carbonyl compounds [35,36], nitriles [37,38], or triple bonds [39] (Scheme 9-10). 

Cross-coupling reactions with vinylboronic acids can yield either the normal product (ipso-substitution of boron) or a regioisomer formed via a Heck-type reaction (cine-substitution Scheme 8.17) [135]. Formation of the normal product (1-phenylhexene in Scheme 8.17) requires a base capable of binding to the boronic acid, thereby increasing the nucleophilicity of the boron-bound carbon atom (typically ROM, MOH, M2C03, M3P04, where M= alkali metal [136]). Products of cine-substitution result when tertiary amines are used as bases, i.e. under Heck-type reaction conditions. 

The synthesis starts with 2,4-dibromothiazole (40), a regioselective Pd(0)-catalysed cross coupling step introduces a substituent at the 2-position. Alkyl or aryl zinc halides were employed as the nucleophiles to give 41. The 4-bromothiazole derivative 41 was then converted into a carbon nucleophile either as a zinc derivative (Negishi conditions) or as a tin derivative (Stille conditions) which then underwent a second cross coupling reaction with 2,4-dibromothiazole (40) to give exclusively 2 ,4-disubstituted 2,4 -bithiazoles 42. 

The Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions of metal nucleophiles with carbon electrophiles are of considerable value for the regio- and stereocontrolled synthesis of functionalized organometalhc compounds, in particular, silanes, stannanes, and boranes, which are important reagents for Pd-catalyzed carbon-carbon cross-coupling as shown in Sects. in.2.2-in.2.4. Symmetrical bimetallic compounds such as disilanes, distannanes, and diborons are usually used as metal nucleophiles. The present metallation is applicable to aryl, benzyl, vinyl, acyl, and aUyl (Sect. V.2.3.3) electrophiles. 

As shown in the previous sections, a (cr-allenyl)palladium species, which is formed from a propargyl electrophile and a Pd(0) catalyst, reacts with a hard carbon nucleophile in a manner analogous to the Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction to give a substituted allene. The results indicate that the reactivity of the (cj-allenyl)palladium species is similar to that of an alkenylpalladium intermediate. Indeed, it was found that the (cr-allenyl)palladium species reacted with olefins to give vinylallenes, a reaction process that is similar to that of the Heck reaction of alkenyl halides [54]. 

For Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions the organopalladium complex is generated from an organic electrophile RX and a Pd(0) complex in the presence of a carbon nucleophile. Not only organic halides but also sulfonium salts [38], iodonium salts [39], diazonium salts [40], or thiol esters (to yield acylpalladium complexes) [41] can be used as electrophiles. With allylic electrophiles (allyl halides, esters, or carbonates, or strained allylic ethers and related compounds) Pd-i73-jt-allyl complexes are formed these react as soft, electrophilic allylating reagents. 

Scheme8.5. Palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions of stannanes and other carbon nucleophiles with aryl, allyl, and vinyl bromides [56, 69-72],...

Alkylpalladium complexes generated by oxidative addition of Pd(0) to alkyl halides with a /3 hydrogen can undergo /3-elimination to yield an alkene and a Pd-hydrido complex (as in the Heck reaction Scheme8.7). Nevertheless, this process is relatively slow compared with transmetalations and reductive eliminations, and simple alkyl halides or tosylates with /3 hydrogen can be cross-coupled with carbon nucleophiles under optimized conditions if the nucleophile is sufficiently reactive [9, 73-75] (Scheme8.6). 

A cross-coupling reaction can be partially defined by equation (1), where Nu is a carbon (or heteroatom) nucleophile see Nucleophile), R X is an electrophilic substrate, X is a halogen or other appropriate leaving group, and M is a metal or metalloid. At first glance, it would appear that simple nucleophihc substitution reactions should fall under this definition. However, what makes the cross-coupling chemistry special is its ability to perform transformations that cannot be accomplished with simple substitution chemistry. 

The catalytic cycle for the Suzuki cross-coupling reaction involves an oxidative addition (to form RPd(II)X)-transmetalation-reductive elimination sequence. The transmeta-lation between the RPd(lI)X intermediate and the organoboron reagent does not occur readily until a base, such as sodium or potassium carbonate, hydroxide or alkoxide, is present in the reaction mixture. The role of the base can be rationalized by its coordination with the boron to form the corresponding ate-complex A, thereby enhancing the nucleophilicity of the organic group, which facilitates its transfer to palladium. Also, the base R O may activate the palladium by formation of R-Pd-OR from R-Pd-X. 

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