Diarylcarbenes

The N+ relationship, as discussed above, is a systematization of experimental facts. The equation of Scheme 7-4 has been applied to nearly 800 rate constants of over 30 electrophiles with about 80 anionic, neutral, and even cationic nucleophiles covering a range of measured rate constants between 10-8 and 109s 1 (Ritchie, 1978). Only about a dozen rate constants deviated from the predicted values by more than a factor of 10, and about fifty by factors in the range 5-10. It is therefore, very likely that this correlation is not purely accidental. Other workers have shown it to be valid for other systems, e.g., for ferrocenyl-stabilized cations (Bunton et al., 1980), for coordinated cyclic 7r-hydrocarbons (Alovosus and Sweigart, 1985), and for selectivities of diarylcarbenes towards alkenes (Mayr, 1990 Mayr et al., 1990). On the other hand, McClelland et al. (1986) found that the N+ relationship is not applicable to additions of less stable triphenylmethyl cations. 

Suggestive evidence for the protonation of diphenylcarbene was uncovered in 1963.10 Photolysis of diphenyldiazomethane in a methanolic solution of lithium azide produced benzhydryl methyl ether and benzhydryl azide in virtually the same ratio as that obtained by solvolysis of benzhydryl chloride. These results pointed to the diphenylcarbenium ion as an intermediate in the reaction of diphenylcarbene with methanol (Scheme 3). However, many researchers preferred to explain the O-H insertion reactions of diarylcarbenes in terms of electrophilic attack at oxygen (ylide mechanism),11 until the intervention of car-bocations was demonstrated by time-resolved spectroscopy (see Section III).12... 

Table 1. Decay Kinetics and Yields for Various Carbocations 141 Produced by Protonation of Diarylcarbenes 139...

If the reaction rates of a specific carbene with various quenchers are studied in the same solvent, and with small concentrations of Q, K will be constant. Relative reactivities for the singlet state of a spin-equilibrated carbene can thus be derived. However, few researchers have varied the acidity of ROH, estimated kinetic isotope effects, and compared alcohols with ethers (Table 4). The data indicate proton transfer to diarylcarbenes (139d, 139k, 205, 206)112-117 and diadamantylcarbene (207).118... 

Table 5. Rate Constants for Reactions of Triplet Diarylcarbenes with Methanol...

Carbene protonation has been amply demonstrated by product studies, time-resolved spectroscopy, and kinetic measurements. The ability of singlet carbenes to accept a proton is not adequately described by the traditional scale of carbene philicities, which is based on addition reactions with alkenes. In particular, aryl- and diarylcarbenes excel as proton acceptors but would traditionally be classified as electrophiles. 

Electron absorption and emission spectra of triplet diarylcarbenes have also been obtained. The emission of diphenylcarbene occurs around 480 nm. The ex-... 

Heteroatom-substituted carbene complexes are less electrophilic than the corresponding methylene, dialkylcarbene, or diarylcarbene complexes. For this reason cyclopropanation of electron-rich alkenes with the former does not proceed as readily as with the latter. Usually high reaction temperatures are necessary, with radical scavengers being used to supress side-reactions (Table 2.16). Also acceptor-substituted alkenes can be cyclopropanated by Fischer-type carbene complexes, but with this type of substrate also heating is generally required. 

Arene(alkoxy)carbene chromium complexes react with aryl-, alkyl-, terminal, or internal alkynes in ethers or acetonitrile to yield 4-alkoxy-1-naphthols, with the sterically more demanding substituent of the alkyne (Rl Figure 2.24) ortho to the hydroxy group. Acceptor-substituted alkynes can also be used in this reaction (Entry 4, Table 2.17) [331]. Donor-substituted alkynes can however lead to the formation of other products [191,192]. Also (diarylcarbene)pentacarbonyl chromium complexes can react with alkynes to yield phenols [332]. 

For example, in the photolysis of (30) in toluene solution, the product of insertion of DPC into the benzylic C—H bonds, 1,1,2-triphenylmethane (31), was accompanied by substantial amounts of 1,1,2,2-tetraphenylethane (32) and bibenzyl (33).When solvents such as cyclohexane are used, tetraphenylethane (32) is formed as the major product, indicating that direct C—H insertion in the singlet state is not the main process in most diarylcarbenes (Scheme 9.7). ° In contrast, 9-cyclohexylfluorene (37) is produced by photolysis of diazofluorene (36) in cyclohexane as a main product (65%) along with a small amount of escaped products (38 and 39). One can estimate in this case that at most 14% of 37 arises from free radical processes. Similarly, direct or sensitized photolysis of diazomalonate in 2,3-dimethylbutane gives C—H insertion products, but in the triplet-sensitized... 

In order to determine whether QMT may contribute to the overall reaction of diarylcarbenes with hydrogen atom donors in solution at ambient temperature, kinetic isotope effects for the benzylic hydrogen atom abstractions of the triplet states of several diarylcarbenes with toluene-toluene-i g in fluid solution were determined over the temperature ranges of —75 to 135 °C. The results are very much dependent on the structure of the carbene (Table 9.11)." The differential... 

TABLE 9.13. Bimolecular Rate Constants for the Reaction of Excited Triplet Diarylcarbenes with Snhstrates"... 

The formation of olehnic dimerization products as the main product is rare in the decomposition of diazo compounds, whereas formation of ketazine is virtually omnipresent. The authors explained these data by assuming that the hindered diarylcarbenes do not have accessible singlet counterparts, because the singlet would require a smaller carbene angle and incur severe aryl-aryl repulsion. As a result of severe steric hindrance and consequent resistance to external attack by solvent, the... 

Triplet diphenylcarbene is chosen as a prototypical triplet system as it has been the most extensively studied of diarylcarbenes and abundant basic data are available. Alkyl, halo and fluoroalkyl groups have been used as kinetic protectors for DPCs (Scheme 9.36). 

TABLE 9.14. Zero-Field Splitting Parameters" and Kinetic Parameters for Persistent Triplet Diarylcarbenes (106)... 

The first examples of a chalcogen insertion into a transition metal-carbene bond were reported in 1981. Stirring solutions of the pentacarbonyl-(diarylcarbene)tungsten complexes 39 in pentane in the presence of solid sulfur afforded the thioketone complexes 40 [Eq. (8)].171 The reaction rate increased considerably when pentane was replaced by CS2 as the solvent due to the higher solubility of elemental sulfur in CS2. 

The diarylcarbene complexes 39 (R = H, Me, OMe, Br, CF3) also reacted with various organyl isothiocyanates R NCS (R = Ph, Et, Me) to give the corresponding diarylthioketone complexes 40.50,173 On the basis of a kinetic study of these reactions and the dependence of the reaction rate on the... 

The route could be extended to the syntheses of selenoketone complexes of chromium and tungsten (43) from the corresponding diarylcarbene complexes (e.g., 39 R = H, Me, OMe, Br, CF3) and PhNCSe. Later on, the use of tetraethylammonium or potassium salts of [ECN]- as the heteroatom sources turned out to be superior to R NCE.175 Thus it was even possible to synthesize a pentacarbonyl tellurobenzophenone complex of tungsten (44) from K+[TeCN]" and 39 (R = H).176... 

Electron impact mass spectrometry of the cyclobutanedione (24) gives rise to dimethylcarbene radical cation.35 Appearance energy measurements and ah initio calculations indicated that the radical cation lies 84 kJ mol 1 above the propene radical cation and is separated from it by a barrier of 35 kJ mol-1. Diarylcarbene radical cations have been generated by double flash photolysis of diaryldiazomethanes in the presence of a quinolinium salt (by photo-induced electron transfer followed by photo-initiated loss of N2).36 Absolute rate constants for reactions with alkenes showed the radicals to be highly electrophilic. In contrast to many other cation radicals, they also showed significant radicophihc properties. 

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