Cyclopro-panation

Although the rationalization of the reactivity and selectivity of this particular substrate is distinct from that for chiral ketals 92-95, it still agrees with the mechanistic conclusions gained throughout the study of Simmons-Smith cyclopropa-nations. StOl, the possibility of the existence of a bimetallic transition structure similar to v (see Fig. 3.5) has not been rigorously ruled out. No real changes in the stereochemical rationale of the reaction are required upon substitution of such a bimetallic transition structure. But as will be seen later, the effect of zinc iodide on catalytic cyclopropanations is a clue to the nature of highly selective reaction pathways. A similar but unexplained effect of zinc iodide on these cyclopro-panation may provide further information on the true reactive species. 

Transition metal-catalyzed carbenoid transfer reactions, such as alkene cyclopro-panation, C-H insertion, X-H insertion (X = heteroatom), ylide formation, and cycloaddition, are powerful methods for the construction of C-C and C-heteroatom bonds [1-6]. In contrast to a free carbene, metallocarbene-mediated reactions often proceed stereo- and regioselectively under mild conditions with tolerance to a wide range of functionalities. The reactivity and selectivity of metallocarbenes can be... 

Iron porphyrins display pronounced substrate preferences for alkene cyclopro-panation with EDA. In general, electron-rich terminal alkenes in conjunction with aromatic moiety or heteroatoms can efficiently undergo cyclopropanation with high catalyst turnover and selectivity. In contrast, 1,2-disubstituted alkenes cannot undergo cyclopropanation with diazoesters. Alkyl alkenes are poor substrates, giving cyclopropanated products in low yields. In both cases, the dimerization product diethyl maleate was obtained in high yield [53]. 

Scheme 4. Yields of intramolecular competition between E and Z double bonds upon cyclopro-panation with EDA in the presence of different catalysts. Conditions 22 °C molar ratio 800 (diene)/200 (EDA)/1 (catalyst).

Cycloheptatriene, as an example of a conjugated triene, is mainly cyclopro-panated at an outer double bond (Scheme 6). This is true for Rh2(OAc)4, Cu(OTf)2 and Pd(OAc)2, but the highest yield is obtained again with the rhodium catalyst72>. Twofold cyclopropanation occurs to only a minor extent, as long as an excess of olefin is applied. With equal amounts of diazo ester and cycloheptatriene, double cyclopropanation increases and even traces of the triply cyelopropanated triene are found with Rh2(OAc)4 and Cu(OTf)2. This behavior essentially parallels the earlier... 

A striking example for the preferred formation of the thermodynamically less stable cyclopropane is furnished by the homoallylie halides 37, which are cyclopro-panated with high c/s-selectivity in the presence of copper chelate 3891 The cyclopropane can easily be converted into cw-permethric acid. In contrast, the direct synthesis of permethric esters by cyclopropanation of l,l-dichloro-4-methyl-l,3-pentadiene using the same catalyst produces the frans-permethric ester (trans-39) preferentially in a similar fashion, mainly trans-chrysanthemic ester (trans-40) was obtained when starting with 2,5-dimethyl-2,4-hexadiene 92). 

Scheme 61).22 149 150 152 229 230 The methylene-bridged bis(oxazoline)s (70) can afford either neutral copper complexes of the semicorrin type (72) or cationic copper complexes (73). Cyclopro-panation with copper complexes of type (70) shows similar stereochemistry to that with the corresponding copper semicorrin complexes.229-231 Alternatively, bis(oxazoline) ligand (71), bearing... 

Several studies now exist which add credence to Casey s attractive proposal that metallocyclobutanes intervene in metathesis and cyclopro-panation reactions. Additionally, metallocyclobutanes have been observed to interconvert to propylene derivatives by way of /3-hydrogen transfer reactions. It is not well established, however, whether precoordination of the reacting olefin is required in all these processes. The proposed interrelation of these reactions may be formally presented as follows ... 

From a mechanistic point of view, the titanocene(II)-promoted intramolecular cyclopro-panation of gem-dihalides possessing a terminal double bond is interesting. Although the products of ring-closing metathesis, i. e. cycloalkenes, are produced in certain cases, the treatment of 6,6- and 7,7-dihalo-l-alkenes (e. g. 39 and 40) with titanocene(II) species affords bicyclo[3.1. OJhexane and bicyclo[4.1.0]heptane derivatives 41 and 42, respectively (Scheme 14.19) [34],... 

These observations indicate that there is no sharp borderline between cyclopro-panating and metathesis-catalyzing carbene complexes. Fortunately the number of carbene complexes which mediate both cyclopropanation and alkene metathesis is rather small, and in the detailed overview given in the following sections it will become apparent that most carbene complexes are highly selective and thus valuable reagents for organic synthesis. 

Complexes of the type [Cp(CO)2Fe=CR2] X , which are probably the cyclopro-panating intermediates when using [Cp(CO)2Fe(THF)][BF4] as catalyst for diazodecomposition, have been isolated, characterized spectroscopically, and shown to cyclopropanate olefins. 

Working with diazo compounds, known since the early 1900s to undergo loss of dinitrogen when treated with copper or copper salts, Yates described in 1952 the possibility that transition metals could form an intermediate that combined units of the diazo compound and the metal (Eq. 1, L = ligand) and acted like a carbene in addition and insertion reactions. Somewhat later, but independently, E. O. Fischer isolated and characterized stable metal carbenes that could also undergo cyclopro-panation reactions." They were derived from transition metals on the left side of the... 

Cyclopropanation.1 Ultrasound irradiation facilitates Simmons-Smith cyclopro-panation. Ordinary zinc can be used. The reaction is Caster and yields are considerably improved. 1,2-Dimethoxyethane is recommended as solvent in place of the usual solvent (ether). 

Kunz RK, MacMillan DWC (2005) Enantioselective organocatalytic cyclopro-panations. The identification of a new class of iminium catalyst based upon directed electrostatic activation. J Am Chem Soc 127 3240-3241 Lacour J, Hebbe-Viton V (2003) Recent developments in chiral anion mediated asymmetric chemistry. Chem Soc Rev 32 373-382 Li X, List B (2007) Catalytic asymmetric hydrogenation of aldehydes. Chem Commun 17 1739-1741... 

The use of chiral additives with a rhodium complex also leads to cyclopropanes enantioselectively. An important chiral rhodium species is Rh2(5-DOSP)4, which leads to cyclopropanes with excellent enantioselectivity in carbene cyclopro-panation reactions. Asymmetric, intramolecular cyclopropanation reactions have been reported. The copper catalyzed diazoester cyclopropanation was reported in an ionic liquid. ° It is noted that the reaction of a diazoester with a chiral dirhodium catalyst leads to p-lactones with modest enantioselectivity Phosphonate esters have been incorporated into the diazo compound... 

Doyle has shown that the rhodium-catalyzed reaction of allylic sulfides and amines with ethyl diazoacetate produced smoothly the products of 3,2-rearrangement. In contrast with the copper-catalyzed reaction, allylic amines can be used and the yields are good to high (Scheme 44) virtually no cyclopro-panation is observed. These observations demonstrate the superiority of rhodium catalysts compared with either copper ones or the use of light. 

The chiral ruthenium(II) carbene complex 8, prepared from diazo(trimethylsilyl)methane, (p-cymene)2ruthenium(II) chloride, and 2,6-bis(4-isopropyloxazolinyl)pyridine, has been introduced as catalyst for the enantioselective cyclopropanation of alkenes with ethyl diazoacetate. The carbene complex 8 also serves as a transfer reagent for trimethylsilylcarbene and cyclopro-panates styrene in 34% yield. This reaction demonstrates the similarities between catalytic and stoichiometric cyclopropanations and between in situ generated and isolated transition metal carbenes. 

Ishitani and Achiwa [16] have recently prepared an axially disymmetric rhodium (11) biphenylcarboxylate catalyst, Rh2(S-BDME)4 of Fig. 2, and found that although the transxis diastereoselectivity in its catalysis of the styrene-EDA reaction was poor, the enantiocontrol was better than that observed with the pro-linate catalyst. The biphenyl based catalyst yielded an 87% ee for the cyclopro-panation of 2-naphthylethene and tert-butyl diazoacetate, though again the diastereoselectivity was very low. Use of an additional chiral auxiliary in the diazoester as in the d-menthyl derivative in Eq. (10) furnished a mixture of cyclopropanes, the cis-isomer of which was found to have an ee of 99%. 

S. Davies has used an iron complex as an auxiliary for the asymmetric cyclopro-panation of a,P-unsaturated carbonyls [105]. The iron acyl is most stable in the s-cis conformation, as illustrated in Scheme 6.27, in order to avoid severe interactions between the iron ligands and R. Coordination of the Simmons-Smith reagent to the carbonyl oxygen, anti to the iron, forces the alkene moiety out of conjugation and approximately orthogonal to the carbonyl. Because of the bulky triphenyl phosphine in the rear, this rotation can only be towards the front. Transfer of the methylene via the illustrated transition state accounts for the observed diastereoselectivity. Oxidation with bromine removes the iron acyl and derivatization with a-methyl-benzyl amine allowed evaluation of the stereoselectivity. 

Brunei, J.M., Legrand, O., Reymond, S. and Buono, G. (1999) First iminodiazaphospholidines with a stereogenic phosphorus center. Application to asymmetric copper-catalysed cyclopro-panation. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 121, 5807-5808. 

Hagen, M. Liining. U. Concave reagents, 22 Cyclopro-panation of alkenes with ethyl diazoacetate Copper (I) complexes of concave 1.10-phenanthrolines as diastereoselective catalysts. Chem. Ber./Recueil 1997. 130. 231-234. 

Ciaccio, J. A. Aman, C. E. Instant Methylide Modification of the Corey-Chaykovsky Cyclopro-panation Reaction. Synthetic Communications 2006,36,1333-1341. This experiment was developed by Truong, T. and Lampman, G. M., Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA. 

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