Diethyl carbonyl rhodium

The direct combination of selenium and acetylene provides the most convenient source of selenophene (76JHC1319). Lesser amounts of many other compounds are formed concurrently and include 2- and 3-alkylselenophenes, benzo[6]selenophene and isomeric selenoloselenophenes (76CS(10)159). The commercial availability of thiophene makes comparable reactions of little interest for the obtention of the parent heterocycle in the laboratory. However, the reaction of substituted acetylenes with morpholinyl disulfide is of some synthetic value. The process, which appears to entail the initial formation of thionitroxyl radicals, converts phenylacetylene into a 3 1 mixture of 2,4- and 2,5-diphenylthiophene, methyl propiolate into dimethyl thiophene-2,5-dicarboxylate, and ethyl phenylpropiolate into diethyl 3,4-diphenylthiophene-2,5-dicarboxylate (Scheme 83a) (77TL3413). Dimethyl thiophene-2,4-dicarboxylate is obtained from methyl propiolate by treatment with dimethyl sulfoxide and thionyl chloride (Scheme 83b) (66CB1558). The rhodium carbonyl catalyzed carbonylation of alkynes in alcohols provides 5-alkoxy-2(5//)-furanones (Scheme 83c) (81CL993). The inclusion of ethylene provides 5-ethyl-2(5//)-furanones instead (82NKK242). The nickel acetate catalyzed addition of r-butyl isocyanide to alkynes provides access to 2-aminopyrroles (Scheme 83d) (70S593). 

Ethylene Carbonylation. The classical rhodium catalyzed carbonylation of ethylene to propionic acid (Eqn. 1) used ethyl iodide or HI as a co-catalyst (6). In the presence of excess ethylene and CO the process could proceed further to propionic anhydride (Eqn. 2). While additional products, such as ethyl propionate (EtC02Et), diethyl ketone (DEK), and ethanol were possible (See Eqns. 3-5), the only byproduct obtained when using a rhodium-alkyl iodide catalyst was small amounts (ca. 1-1.5%) of ethyl propionate. (See Eqns. 3-5.)... 

Suisse and co-workers have studied the asymmetric cyclization/silylformylation of enynes employing catalytic mixtures of a rhodium(i) carbonyl complex and a chiral, non-racemic phosphine ligand. Unfortunately, only modest enantioselectivities were realized.For example, reaction of diethyl allylpropargylmalonate with dimethylphenyl-silane (1.2 equiv.) catalyzed by a 1 1 mixture of Rh(acac)(GO)2 and (i )-BINAP in toluene at 70 °G for 15 h under GO (20 bar) led to 90% conversion to form a 15 1 mixture of cyclization/silylformylation product 67 and cyclization/ hydrosilylation product 68. Aldehyde 67 was formed with 27% ee (Equation (46)). 

In early patents by Halcon, molybdenum carbonyls are claimed to be active catalysts in the presence of nickel and iodide [23]. Iridium complexes are also reported to be active in the carbonylation of olefins, in the presence of other halogen [24] or other promoting co-catalysts such as phosphines, arsines, and stibines [25]. The formation of diethyl ketone and polyketones is frequently observed. Iridium catalysts are in general less active than comparable rhodium systems. Since the water-gas shift reaction becomes dominant at higher temperatures, attempts to compensate for the lack of activity by increasing the reaction temperature have been unsuccessful. 

Coligands, such as triphenyl-, tributyl- and tri( ec-alkyl)phosphanes, at a palladium/phosphane molar ratio of 1 4 result in the highest selectivity. The use of more polar solvents (e.g. diethyl ether, acetone) decreases the yield of tris-o-homobenzene to about 74%. Instead, up to 24% of the dimer 17 is formed. Increased dimer formation (yield 60.8% 93% conversion s ) also occurs when bulky phosphanes, such as tri(r ri-butyl)phosphane, are employed. Tris-a-homo-benzene is also formed as a minor product (25%) in the reaction of 3,3-dimethylcyclopropene with chlorotris(triphenylphosphane)rhodium and carbon monoxide. The major product in this case arises from carbonylation (see Section 1.1.6.3.3.3.). S S... 

Access to a 1,4-dicarbonyl substrate has been realised in several ways. Examples include alkylation of imines with 2-alkoxy-allyl halides (equivalents of 2-halo-ketones),addition of /3-ketoester anions to nitroalkenes, followed by Nef reaction,and rhodium-catalysed carbonylation of 2-substituted acrolein acetals. The dialdehyde (as a mono-acetal) necessary for a synthesis of diethyl furan-3,4-dicarboxylate was obtained by two successive Claisen condensations between diethyl succinate and ethyl formate, as shown in the sequence below. 

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