Cyclohexene Wacker process

In the case of certain diolefins, the palladium-carbon sigma-bonded complexes can be isolated and the stereochemistry of the addition with a variety of nucleophiles is trans (4, 5, 6). The stereochemistry of the addition-elimination reactions in the case of the monoolefins, because of the instability of the intermediate sigma-bonded complex, is not clear. It has been argued (7, 8, 9) that the chelating diolefins are atypical, and the stereochemical results cannot be extended to monoolefins since approach of an external nucleophile from the cis side presents steric problems. The trans stereochemistry has also been attributed either to the inability of the chelating diolefins to rotate 90° from the position perpendicular to the square plane of the metal complex to a position which would favor cis addition by metal and a ligand attached to it (10), or to the fact that methanol (nucleophile) does not coordinate to the metal prior to addition (11). In the Wacker Process, the kinetics of oxidation of olefins suggest, but do not require, the cis hydroxypalladation of olefins (12,13,14). The acetoxypalladation of a simple monoolefin, cyclohexene, proceeds by trans addition (15, 16). 

In the last example, benzoquinone is used as a stoichiometric oxidant instead of Cu that is used as a catalyst in the Wacker process. With multiple catalysis inspired from biological processes, Backwal succeeded in using oxygen from air to ace-toxylate cyclohexene by acetic acid. The redox catalysts are iron phthalocyanine (FePc) and dihydroquinone coupled with PdCl2 ... 

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