Electrophiles, transition-metal complexes

With an electrophilic transition metal complex, it is believed that the hydration of an alkyne occurs through a trans-addition of water to an 72-alkyne metal complex (Scheme 15, path A),380 although the m-pathway via hydroxymetallation has also been proposed (path B).381,382 However, distinguishing between the two pathways is difficult due to the rapid keto-enol tautomerization that renders isolation of the initial water adduct challenging. 

Non-heteroatom-substituted carbene complexes can also be generated by treatment of electrophilic transition metal complexes with ylides (e.g. diazoalkanes, phosphorus ylides, nucleophilic carbene complexes, etc. Section 3.1.3). Alkyl complexes with a leaving group in the a-position are formed as intermediates. These alkyl complexes can undergo spontaneous release of the leaving group to yield a carbene complex (Figure 3.2). 

Electrophilic transition metal complexes can react with organic ylides to yield alkylidene complexes. A possible mechanism would be the initial formation of alkyl complexes, which are converted into the final carbene complexes by electrophilic a-abstraction (Figure 3.18). This process is particularly important for the generation of acceptor-substituted carbene complexes (Section 4.1). 

The most frequently used ylides for carbene-complex generation are acceptor-substituted diazomethanes. As already mentioned in Section 3.1.3.1, non-acceptor-substituted diazoalkanes are strong C-nucleophiles, easy to convert into carbene complexes with a broad variety of transition metal complexes. Acceptor-substituted diazomethanes are, however, less nucleophilic (and more stable) than non-acceptor-substituted diazoalkanes, and require catalysts of higher electrophilicity to be efficiently decomposed. Not surprisingly, the very stable bis-acceptor-substituted diazomethanes can be converted into carbene complexes only with strongly electrophilic catalysts. This order of reactivity towards electrophilic transition metal complexes correlates with the reactivity of diazoalkanes towards other electrophiles, such as Brpnsted acids or acyl halides. 

Ylides other than acceptor-substituted diazomethanes have only occasionally been used as carbene-complex precursors. lodonium ylides (PhI=CZ Z ) [1017,1050-1056], sulfonium ylides [673], sulfoxonium ylides [1057] and thiophenium ylides [1058,1059] react with electrophilic transition metal complexes to yield intermediates capable of undergoing C-H or N-H insertions and olefin cyclopropanations. 

Electron-rich olefins are nucleophilic and therefore subject to thermal cleavage by various electrophilic transition metal complexes. As the formation of tetraaminoethylenes, i.e., enetetramines, is possible by different methods, various precursors to imidazolidin-2-ylidene complexes are readily available. " Dimerization of nonstable NHCs such as imidazolidin-2-ylidenes is one of the routes used to obtain these electron-rich olefins [Eq. (29)]. The existence of an equilibrium between free NHC monomers and the olefinic dimer was proven only recently for benzimidazolin-2-ylidenes. In addition to the previously mentioned methods it is possible to deprotonate imidazolidinium salts with Grignard reagents in order to prepare tetraaminoethylenes. " The isolation of stable imidazolidin-2-ylidenes was achieved by deprotonation of the imidazolidinium salt with potassium hydride in THF. ... 

To minimize the indane, 99, formation, dimerization was conducted in two-phase systems containing toluenesulfonic acid,354 sulfuric acid,355 356 electrophilic transition-metal complexes,357 the polymeric solid-state acid Nafion,358 359 metal oxide solid-state catalysts such as tungstophosphoric acid,360 various zeolites,361 362 mixed oxides,363 and montmorillonite clay in the presence of organic solvents.364 365 The major limitation of the cationic approach, however, is the unavoidable formation of internal isomer 100. Since isomer 100 is inert in radical polymerization, the lower the content of isomer 100, the higher activity of the 98 mixture. Even in the very best cases, its presence is never less than 5—15%. 

Ring opening with milder but more selective reagents such as NEtj -SHF or KHFj/lS-crown-G proceeds significantly more slowly but it can be catalyzed by electrophilic transition metal complexes. With a chiral salen catalyst even enantio-selective synthesis of chiral fluorohydrins can be achieved [70]. This type of reaction is of enormous interest for enantioselective synthesis of fluoropharmaceutical compounds (Scheme 2.26). 

Metal-catalyzed hydroarylation of alkynes catalyzed by electrophilic transition metal complexes has received much attention as a valuable synthetic alternative to the Heck and cross-coupling processes for the synthesis of alkenyl arenes (384). Metal trifluoromethanesulfonates (metal triflates) [M(OTQn M = Sc, Zr, In] catalyze the hydroarylation of alkynes via 71 complexation to give 1,1-diarylalkenes in very good yields (Scheme 32) (385). The reaction likely proceeds by a Friedel-Crafts mechanism via the alkenyl cation intermediate where the aryl starting material also serves as the solvent. 

As proteins possess a number of nucleophilic groups, it is likely that electrophilic transition metal complexes will prove to be the most useful. 

Figure I.l. Schematic representation of routes for the interactions of arenes and alkanes with electrophilic transition metal complex, M.

The conclusion that a cationic, highly electrophilic transition metal complex such as [Cp TiMe2] can behave as a carbocationic polymerization initiator as well as a Ziegler—Natta catalyst is not surprising,... 

Abstract Methods of synthesis of i -arene complexes of Cr(CO)3, Mo(CO)3, Mn(CO)3, FeCp+, RuCp+ are reviewed. These electrophilic transition metal complex fragments have foimd application in arene transformations. Critical comparison of the routes of access is made and methods of decomplexation and where possible methods of recovery of the activating group are also detailed. Excluded from the overview are methods involving arene transformations in the coordination sphere of the metal. These wiU be contained in subsequent chapters. 

Coordination of an arene to an electrophilic transition metal complex fragment renders the arene susceptible to nucleophilic addition. In the preceding chapter the scope of nucleophiles, questions of regioselectivity and reversibility, and aromatic substitution via this methodology were discussed. In the present chapter we will focus on the transformation of arenes into functionalized alicyclic molecules via the same cyclohexadienyl intermediates. 

Remarkably, mononitrosyl iron(—II) complexes displayed great potential in the activation of diazo compormds and carbene-transfer reactions [102]. Generally, the activation of diazo compound can be realized by electrophilic transition metal complexes. However, according to the concept of Umpoirmg [103], the electron-rich, nucleophilic iron(—II) compound 31 is expected to react with diazo compounds of electron-poor carbenes, such as ethyl diazoacetate (Scheme 42). At first the iron center would add the C=N bond of the diazo compound followed by release of N2 and formation of the electrophilic iron carbene moiety. The nitrosyl group in such transformations is assumed to support as an ancillary ligand the N2 release by pulling electron density to the iron center. 

As part of our investigation of the hydroarylation of alkynes (or alkenylation of arenes) catalyzed by electrophilic transition metal complexes, our group reported the intra- and intermolecular reaction of indoles with alkynes catalyzed by gold (see Ref. [118, 133] in Chap. 1). Thus, alkynyUndole III-l cycUzes readily in the presence of a cationic gold(I) complex to give azepino[4,5-h]indole derivative III-2, whereas the use of AuCls leads to indoloazocine III-3 by a S-endo-dig process, this cyclization mode has not been observed in other hydroarylation of alkynes (Scheme 4.7). Under certain forcing conditions, aUenes and tetracyclic compounds were also obtained (see Refs. [118, 133] in Chap. 1). 

The insertion of metal fragments into hydrocarbon bonds is now a well-established phenomenon. While published research in this field has shown some decrease during the early 1990s, several excellent summaries of the last decade s pioneering studies have now become available. Most notable is Selective Hydrocarbon Activation, which features chapters on activation by electrophilic transition-metal complexes, lanthanide complexes, gas-phase ions, metal atoms, and others. Several other review articles of interest may be found in the introduction to this chapter. 

Neutral transition-metal complexes that are not fully coordinatively saturated possess nucleophile metal centers capable of coordinating to electrophiles. On the other hand, group-IIIB halides serve as typical electron-pair acceptors and are, therefore, able to interact coordinatively with basic metal complexes. 

Electrophilic and nucleophilic phosphinidene complexes have been related to the corresponding carbene complexes of which the Fischer-type is usually considered as a singlet-singlet combination and the Schrock-type as a triplet-triplet combination. However, both the strongly preferred triplet state of R-P and the M=P bond analysis suggest this schematic interpretation to be less appropriate for transition metal complexed phosphinidenes. 

The following chapter concerns another kind of low-valent organophosphorus compounds, namely phosphinidenes. Little is known about free phos-phinidenes in contrast to the corresponding transition metal complexes. Many new reagents have been generated exhibiting either electrophilic or nucleophilic properties. The reactivity of these carbene-like reagents is evaluated (K. hammer tsma). 

As the ladder frameworks are highly strained, the Si-Si bonds are easily cleaved by thermolysis, photolysis, and the action of electrophiles and transition metal complexes. 

To replace the aforementioned acyl-main group and acyl-transition metal complexes, the natural course of events was to search for a stable and easy-to-handle acyl-metal complex that reacts as an unmasked acyl anion donor. Thus, the salient features of acylzirconocene chlorides as unmasked acyl anion donors remained to be explored. In the following, mostly carbon—carbon bond-forming reactions with carbon electrophiles using acylzirconocene chlorides as acyl group donors are described. 

Terminal alkynes readily react with coordinatively unsaturated transition metal complexes to yield vinylidene complexes. If the vinylidene complex is sufficiently electrophilic, nucleophiles such as amides, alcohols or water can add to the a-carbon atom to yield heteroatom-substituted carbene complexes (Figure 2.10) [129 -135]. If the nucleophile is bound to the alkyne, intramolecular addition to the intermediate vinylidene will lead to the formation of heterocyclic carbene complexes [136-141]. Vinylidene complexes can further undergo [2 -i- 2] cycloadditions with imines, forming azetidin-2-ylidene complexes [142,143]. Cycloaddition to azines leads to the formation of pyrazolidin-3-ylidene complexes [143] (Table 2.7). 

Transition metal complexes which react with diazoalkanes to yield carbene complexes can be catalysts for diazodecomposition (see Section 4.1). In addition to the requirements mentioned above (free coordination site, electrophi-licity), transition metal complexes can catalyze the decomposition of diazoalkanes if the corresponding carbene complexes are capable of transferring the carbene fragment to a substrate with simultaneous regeneration of the original complex. Metal carbonyls of chromium, iron, cobalt, nickel, molybdenum, and tungsten all catalyze the decomposition of diazomethane [493]. Other related catalysts are (CO)5W=C(OMe)Ph [509], [Cp(CO)2Fe(THF)][BF4] [510,511], and (CO)5Cr(COD) [52,512]. These compounds are sufficiently electrophilic to catalyze the decomposition of weakly nucleophilic, acceptor-substituted diazoalkanes. 

In addition to catalytically active transition metal complexes, several stable, electrophilic carbene complexes have been prepared, which can be used to cyclopropanate alkenes (Figure 3.32). These complexes have to be used in stoichiometric quantities to achieve complete conversion of the substrate. Not surprisingly, this type of carbene complex has not attained such broad acceptance by organic chemists as have catalytic cyclopropanations. However, for certain applications the use of stoichiometric amounts of a transition metal carbene complex offers practical advantages such as mild reaction conditions or safer handling. 

Some transition metal complexes readily react with ylides to yield electrophilic carbene complexes. If these complexes can transfer the carbene to a given substrate in such a way that the original transition metal complex is regenerated then this complex can be used as a catalyst for the transformation of the ylide (carbene precursor) into carbene-derived products (Figure 3.35). 

However, with substrates prone to form carbocations, complete hydride abstraction from the alkane, followed by electrophilic attack of the carbocation on the metal-bound, newly formed alkyl ligand might be a more realistic picture of this process (Figure 3.38). The regioselectivity of C-H insertion reactions of electrophilic transition metal carbene complexes also supports the idea of a carbocation-like transition state or intermediate. 

The most important synthetic access to acceptor-substituted carbene complexes is the reaction of ylides with electrophilic, coordinatively unsaturated transition metal complexes (Figure 4.1 see also Section 3.1.3). 

The activation of alkynes to metal-vinylidenes with transition metal complexes of Groups 6-9, essentially, provides reactive intermediates with an electrophilic... 

A variety of transition metal-carbene complexes have been prepared and characterized. None of these are known to efficiently effect intermolecular C-H insertion. An electrophilic iron carbcne complex can, however, participate in intramolecular C-H insertions (Section I.2.2.3.2.I.). More commonly, transition metal complexes are used to catalyze intramolecular C-H insertion starting with a diazo precursor. In these cases, the intermediate metal carbene complexes are not isolated. 

---