Diazo compounds, reactions with metal carbonyls

Diazo compounds react with aldehydes and ketones to give homologated carbonyl compounds and epoxides. Lewis acids accelerate these processes, and in some cases direct the reactions to single products. frara-Epoxides result from aldehydes and ethyldiazoacetates in the presence of MeReOs (although this can occur via a metal carbene pathway rather than a Lewis acid mechanism) [139], whereas... 

It is generally accepted that a typical carbonyl yhde reaction proceeds as shown in Fig. 2. Interaction of diazo compound 1 with the metal forms diazonium complex 2, which then extrudes nitrogen forming carbenoid intermediate 3. Reaction of 3 with the carbonyl group present in the substrate forms intramolecular carbonyl yhde 4 (or an intermolecular carbonyl yhde) in which the metal catalyst may or may not remain associated with the ylide [13]. Finally, the [3+2]-cycloaddition and regeneration of the active cat-... 

These reactions are covered in other chapters of Volume 11 (Chapters 11.06 and 11.07). This part deals only with examples which are in connection with other sections of this chapter. Additions of metallocarbenoids to unsaturated partners have been extensively studied. Most of the initial studies have involved the transition metal-catalyzed decomposition of cr-carbonyl diazo compounds.163,164 Three main reaction modes of metallocarbenoids derived from a-carbonyl diazo precursor are (i) addition to an unsaturated C-C bond (olefin or alkyne), (ii) C-H insertion, and (iii) formation of an ylid (carbonyl or onium).1 5 These reactions have been applied to the total synthesis of natural... 

Cyclopropanation reactions are one set in an array of C-C bond-forming transformations attributable to metal carbenes (Scheme 5.1) and are often mistakenly referred to by the nonspecific term carbenoid. Both cyclopropanation and cyclopropenation reactions, as well as the related aromatic cycloaddition process, occur by addition. Ylide formation is an association transformation, and insertion requires no further definition. All of these reactions occur with diazo compounds, preferably those with at least one attached carbonyl group. Several general reviews of diazo compounds and their reactions have been published recently and serve as valuable references to this rapidly expanding field [7-10]. The book by Doyle, McKervey, and Ye [7] provides an intensive and thorough overview of the field through 19% and part of 1997. 

Cyclopropane formation occurs from reactions between diazo compounds and alkenes, catalyzed by a wide variety of transition-metal compounds [7-9], that involve the addition of a carbene entity to a C-C double bond. This transformation is stereospecific and generally occurs with electron-rich alkenes, including substituted olefins, dienes, and vinyl ethers, but not a,(J-unsaturated carbonyl compounds or nitriles [23,24], Relative reactivities portray a highly electrophilic intermediate and an early transition state for cyclopropanation reactions [15,25], accounting in part for the relative difficulty in controlling selectivity. For intermolecular reactions, the formation of geometrical isomers, regioisomers from reactions with dienes, and enantiomers must all be taken into account. 

More recently, Pfaltz has reported high enantioselectivities for the cyclopropanation of monosubstituted alkenes and dienes with diazo carbonyl compounds using chiral (semicorrinato)copper complexes (P-Cu) (23-25), and Evans, Masamune, and Pfaltz subsequently discovered exceptional enantioselectivities in intermolecular cyclopropanation reactions with the analogous bis-oxazoline copper complexes (26-28). With the exception of the chiral (camphorquinone dioximato)cobalt(II) catalysts (N-Co) reported by Nakamura and coworkers (29,30), whose reactivities and selectivities differ considerably from copper catalysts, chiral complexes of metals other than copper have not exhibited similar promise for high optical yields in cyclopropanation reactions (37). 

Caution. Diazo compounds are potentially explosive. Although neat 5-diazo-l,3-cyclopentadiene is known to be highly explosive,6 it may be handled conveniently and safely in a pentane solution.2,1 Tetrachloro-5-diazo-l,3-cyclopentadiene is reported to be stable, but due caution should be exercised in the manipulation of this compound. Carbon monoxide, volatile metal carbonyls, and some diazo compounds are highly toxic, and reactions with these species should be conducted in a well-ventilated fume hood. Avoid inhalation or contact with skin. 

Tandem carbonyl ylide generation from the reaction of metallo carbenoids with carbonyl continues to be of great interest both mechanistically and synthetically. Effective carbonyl ylide formation in transition metal catalyzed reactions of diazo compounds depends on the catalyst, the diazo species, the nature of the interacting carbonyl group and competition with other processes. The many structurally diverse and highly successful examples of tetrahydrofuran formation cited in this mini-review clearly indicate that the tandem cyclization/cycloaddition cascade of metallo carbenoids has evolved as an important strategy in both carbo- and heterocyclic synthesis. 

In the catalytic cycle itself, ylides A are generated in situ in the presence of carbonyl compounds in a reaction between a sulfide and a carbenoid B, which in turn is generated from a diazo compound C and a metal catalyst D. At the same time, ylides A react with carbonyl compounds to give trans-(S,S)-epoxides and are simultaneously regenerated to... 

Triorganylbismuthines can mediate such C-C bond forming reactions as shown in Scheme 5.38 in the presence or absence of a transition metal salt. Tributylbismuthine promotes the allylation of carbonyl compounds with allylic bromide [91HAC297] and the olefination of diazo compounds with carbonyl compounds in the presence of catalytic amounts of a copper(I) halide [90TL5897]. A combination of triphenylbismuthine and WCle promotes the metathesis of olefins, while a similar combination with TiC facilitates the stereoselective Diels-Alder reaction of unsaturated esters [76TMC183, 93JOC4783]. 

Another efficient method to obtain metal carbenoid species is by treating diazo compounds with catalytic amounts of transition metals (see preceding two papers) [22, 23, 24]. Although a-diazo carbonyl compounds [23] are very useful precursors for this transformation, alkyl- or aryl-substituted diazo compounds can be also used [24,25]. The most effective catalysts for this reaction are rhodium and copper based, but several other transition metals, possessing a vacant... 

Although the formation of three-membered rings by cyclopropanation of olefins with metal carbenoids is commonplace, the construction of such systems via intramolecular C-H insertion is quite rare. This is because 1,2 migration of any hydride atoms a to the carbenoid center is typically very facile, rendering it inactive toward further transformations [56], It was found, however, that [i-tosyl a-diazo carbonyl compounds 37 are suitable substrates for intramolecular 1,3 C-H insertion reactions catalyzed by achiral rhodium carboxylates 25 (Scheme 6) [57],... 

---