Dirhodium carboxamidate activation

Activation of a C-H bond requires a metallocarbenoid of suitable reactivity and electrophilicity.105-115 Most of the early literature on metal-catalyzed carbenoid reactions used copper complexes as the catalysts.46,116 Several chiral complexes with Ce-symmetric ligands have been explored for selective C-H insertion in the last decade.117-127 However, only a few isolated cases have been reported of impressive asymmetric induction in copper-catalyzed C-H insertion reactions.118,124 The scope of carbenoid-induced C-H insertion expanded greatly with the introduction of dirhodium complexes as catalysts. Building on initial findings from achiral catalysts, four types of chiral rhodium(n) complexes have been developed for enantioselective catalysis in C-H activation reactions. They are rhodium(n) carboxylates, rhodium(n) carboxamidates, rhodium(n) phosphates, and < // < -metallated arylphosphine rhodium(n) complexes. 

Dirhodium(II) compounds are reported to be the most suitable catalysts for insertion. Selectivity is higher and yields are greater with dirhodium(II) carboxylates or carboxamidates than with copper catalysts, whereas Ru catalysts are not known to facilitate C-H insertion. As expected by a process that is basically electrophilic, electron-donating substituents that are adjacent to the site of insertion activate that center for C-H insertion ril4]. In addition to electronic influences, however, conformational effects that are basically steric in origin can also control reaction selectivity [115]. 

The enantioselective intramolecular formal 2+4-cycloaddition of acrylates and a, -unsaturated imines (99) catalysed by chiral phosphines (100), derived from amino acids, produced A-heterocycles (101) (Scheme 31). Chiral dirhodium(II) carboxamidates (102) catalysed the hetero-Diels-Alder reactions between 2-aza-3-silyloxy-l,3-butadienes and aldehydes to yield all cw-substituted l,3-oxazinan-4-ones in high yields and high enantioselectivity (98% ee)P The nickel-catalysed 4 + 2-cycloaddition of a, -unsaturated oximes with alkynes yielded 2,3,4,6-tetrasubstituted pyridine derivatives. The reaction of isoquinoline, an activated alkyne, and 4-oxo-4//-l-benzopyran-3-carboxaldehyde (103), in ionic solvents, produced 9a//,15//-benzo[a][l]benzopyrano[2,3-/t]quinolizine derivatives (105) via the zwitterion (104) selectively and in good yields (Scheme 32).The Diels-Alder cycloaddition of ethyl 3-(tetrazol-5-yl)-l,2-diaza-l,3-butadiene-l-carboxylates with -rich heterocycles, nucleophilic olefins, and cumulenes formed 3-tetrazolyl-l,4,5,6-tetrahydropyridazines regioselectively. The silver-catalysed formal inverse-electron-demand Diels-Alder... 

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