Cyclopropane polymerization

With some catalyst systems, selectivity to primary metathesis products is near 100%, but side reactions (double-bond migration, dimerization, cyclopropanation, polymerization) often reduce selectivity. Such side reactions, such as oligomerization and double-bond shift over oxide catalysts, may be eliminated by treatment with alkali and alkaline-earth metal ions.26... 

Tertiary bismuthines appear to have a number of uses in synthetic organic chemistry (32), eg, they promote the formation of 1,1,2-trisubstituted cyclopropanes by the iateraction of electron-deficient olefins and dialkyl dibromomalonates (100). They have also been employed for the preparation of thin films (qv) of superconducting bismuth strontium calcium copper oxide (101), as cocatalysts for the polymerization of alkynes (102), as inhibitors of the flammabihty of epoxy resins (103), and for a number of other industrial purposes. 

The cyclopropanation of 1-trimethylsilyloxycyclohexene in the present procedure is accomplished by reaction with diiodomethane and diethylzinc in ethyl ether." This modification of the usual Simmons-Smith reaction in which diiodomethane and activated zinc are used has the advantage of being homogeneous and is often more effective for the cyclopropanation of olefins such as enol ethers which polymerize readily. However, in the case of trimethylsilyl enol ethers, the heterogeneous procedures with either zinc-copper couple or zinc-silver couple are also successful. Attempts by the checkers to carry out Part B in benzene or toluene at reflux instead of ethyl ether afforded the trimethylsilyl ether of 2-methylenecyclohexanol, evidently owing to zinc iodide-catalyzed isomerization of the initially formed cyclopropyl ether. The preparation of l-trimethylsilyloxybicyclo[4.1.0]heptane by cyclopropanation with diethylzinc and chloroiodomethane in the presence of oxygen has been reported. "... 

Copper(II) triflate has also been used for the carbenoid cyclopropanation reaction of simple olefins like cyclohexene, 2-methylpropene, cis- or rran.y-2-butene and norbomene with vinyldiazomethane 2 26,27). Although the yields were low (20-38 %), this catalyst is far superior to other copper salts and chelates except for copper(II) hexafluoroacetylaeetonate [Cu(hfacac)2], which exhibits similar efficiency. However, highly nucleophilic vinyl ethers, such as dihydropyran and dihydrofuran cannot be cyclopropanated as they rapidly polymerize on contact with Cu(OTf)2. With these substrates, copper(II) trifluoroacetate or copper(II) hexafluoroacetylaeetonate have to be used. The vinylcyclopropanation is stereospecific with cis- and rra s-2-butene. The 7-vinylbicyclo[4.1.0]heptanes formed from cyclohexene are obtained with the same exo/endo ratio in both the Cu(OTf)2 and Cu(hfacac)2 catalyzed reaction. The... 

Styrene is reported to undergo reduction upon treatment with trifluoroacetic acid and triethylsilane,203 although competing polymerization reactions limit the yield of ethylbenzene to only 30% (Eq. 63).70 Vinylcyclopropane is reduced to ethylcy-clopropane within 30 minutes under similar conditions (Eq. 64) 232 It is important to note that the cyclopropane ring of ethylcyclopropane can be opened under these reaction conditions, albeit with longer reaction times, to give some trans-2-pentene in the final reaction mixture.233... 

The parent [3]radialene 1 has been generated from variously functionalized cyclopropane precursors by classical -elimination reactions (Scheme l)2-6. All these reactions have been carried out as gas-phase reactions, and the radialene has been collected at —63 °C or below. At —78 °C, the pure compound is stable for several days, but polymerization occurs when the vapor is exposed to room temperature as well as in carbon tetrachloride at 273 K2, or in contact with oxygen3. 

If stored as a liquid, even at —78°, cyclopropane undergoes a fairly rapid polymerization reaction. However, in the gas phase, at temperatures above 325° (in a stream of helium), it isomerizes smoothly to yield methylacetylene. This is clearly analogous to the isomerization of cyclopropane to propylene. 

In theoretical work, the initial steps in the polymerization of 1,1-dicyano-, 1,1-difluoro-, and 1,1-dimethyl-cyclopropanes by reaction with H, OH, and Me have been modelled by ab initio methods. " Other ab initio MO calculations for the reactions of H, Me, Ft, j-Pr, and r-Bu with a variety of silanes and germanes have been carried out. The results indicate that the attacking and leaving radicals adopt an almost co-linear arrangement. Bond distances and energy barriers were predicted for the reactions studied. 

Molecular mechanics and ab initio calculations on the cyclopentadienyl cation have been carried out an allylic stmcture is favoured. Calculations referring to the initiation of polymerization of 1,1-disubstituted cyclopropanes by cations (also neutrals and anions) are reported. Rate constants for the solvolyses of (69) show reasonable Yukawa-Tsuno correlations, interpreted in terms of the less reactive substituents... 

Generally, at least in theory, an important aspect of cation-radical polymerization, from a commercial viewpoint, is that either catalysts or monomer cation-radicals can be generated electrochem-ically. Such an approach deserves a special treatment. The scope of cation-radical polymerization appears to be very substantial. A variety of cation-radical pericyclic reaction types can potentially be applied, including cyclobutanation, Diels-Alder addition, and cyclopropanation. The monomers that are most effectively employed in the cation-radical context are diverse and distinct from those that are used in standard polymerization methods (i.e., vinyl monomers). Consequently, the obtained polymers are structurally distinct from those available by conventional methods although the molecular masses observed so far are still modest. Further development in this area would be promising. 

Glos and co-workers introduced the aza-bis(oxazolines) 258 and 259 (Fig. 9.78) as a new class of chiral C2-symmetric bis(oxazoline) ligands.These catalysts were used in various reactions such as enantioselective allylic substitution and cyclopropanation it was also shown that these new catalysts could easily be tethered to a polymeric support, as shown in structure 259, allowing for facile recovery of the catalyst. There have been other examples of bis(oxazoline) ligands immobilized on solid supports and their use in catalysis.These methods have shown mixed results. 

Both W(CO)5[C(C6Hs)2] and the analogous di-p-tolylmethylene complex have been used in model studies of the olefin metathesis reaction.2 3 In contrast to heteroatom-stabilized carbene complexes such as W(CO)s [C(OCH3)(C6Hs)], pentacarbonyl(diphenylmethylene)tungsten(0) reacts with alkenes to give cyclopropanes and 1,1-diphenylalkenes.2 The compound W(CO)5 [C(C6H5)2] is the best reported catalyst for the metathetical polymerization of 1-methylcyclo-butene.4... 

Suzuki has shown that vinylcyclopropane 143 behaves both as an electrophile and a nucleophile and thus undergoes palladium-catalyzed ring-opening polymerization as shown in Equation (66). Vinyl cyclopropane 143 first reacts with palladium(O) to induce ring opening of the cyclopropane ring and forms zwitterionic TT-allylpalladium/molonate anion species. Repeated intermolecular attack of the malonate anionic moiety to the 7r-allylpalladium part through bond formation of an r/i -carbon atom affords finally the polymer 142. ... 

Recent advances in Cp-based catalyst technology made it possible to produce unique microstructure polymers from ethylene and BD. Longo and co-workers have reported in a series of publications the unprecedented cyclo-co-polymerization of ethylene and BD using a sterically encumbered isospecific metallocene F13-8 with MAO, which affords 1,2-cyclopropane rings together with 1,2-cyclopentane rings in the polymer chain, both with high trans-... 

Butadiene. The reaction of methylene with butadiene was studied by Frey44 under experimental conditions similar to those in the case of allene, except that lower pressures were required to avoid butadiene polymerization. Products formed by attack of methylene on the C—H bonds were cis and vinyl-cyclopropane resulting from addition of CH2 to the carbon-carbon double bond underwent collisional deactivation or isomerization to cyclopentene and C dienes, with the exception of isoprene. 

Rhodium(II) acetate catalyzes C—H insertion, olefin addition, heteroatom-H insertion, and ylide formation of a-diazocarbonyls via a rhodium carbenoid species (144—147). Intramolecular cyclopentane formation via C—H insertion occurs with retention of stereochemistry (143). Chiral rhodium (TT) carboxamides catalyze enantioselective cyclopropanation and intramolecular C—N insertions of CC-diazoketones (148). Other reactions catalyzed by rhodium complexes include double-bond migration (140), hydrogenation of aromatic aldehydes and ketones to hydrocarbons (150), homologation of esters (151), carbonylation of formaldehyde (152) and amines (140), reductive carbonylation of dimethyl ether or methyl acetate to 1,1-diacetoxy ethane (153), decarbonylation of aldehydes (140), water gas shift reaction (69,154), C—C skeletal rearrangements (132,140), oxidation of olefins to ketones (155) and aldehydes (156), and oxidation of substituted anthracenes to anthraquinones (157). Rhodium-catalyzed hydrosilation of olefins, alkynes, carbonyls, alcohols, and imines is facile and may also be accomplished enantioselectively (140). Rhodium complexes are moderately active alkene and alkyne polymerization catalysts (140). In some cases polymer-supported versions of homogeneous rhodium catalysts have improved activity, compared to their homogenous counterparts. This is the case for the conversion of alkenes direcdy to alcohols under oxo conditions by rhodium—amine polymer catalysts... 

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