From diazoalkanes

Experirnental Procedure 3.1.3. Preparation of a Ruthenium Carbene Complex from a Diazoalkane DichIoro-bis(tiicyelohexylphosphine)benzylidenemthenium 

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. 

Complexes of the type [Cp(CO)2Fe=CR2] X , which are probably the cyclopro-panating intermediates when using [Cp(CO)2Fe(THF)][BF4] as catalyst for diazodecomposition, have been isolated, characterized spectroscopically, and shown to cyclopropanate olefins. 

The most effective catalysts for diazodecomposition known today are palla-dium(II), copper(I), and rhodium(II) complexes, although stable alkylidene complexes have not yet been isolated from the reaction of these catalysts with diazoalkanes. 

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A Mechanism for Alkylidene Formation. There is no unambiguous example of free-carbene capture by a metal substrate, and the mild reaction conditions used in the generation of these carbene complexes from diazoalkanes suggests that such a mechanism is highly unlikely here. Transition metal diazoalkane complexes, then, are almost certainly implicated as intermediates in these reactions. 

Some examples of carbene dimer formation resulting from diazoalkane decomposition on transition-metal surfaces have been reported. Diazomethane is decomposed to give ethylene and N2 upon passage over a C0O/M0O3 catalyst as well as on Ni, Pd, Fe, Co, Ru and Cu surfaces 367). Similarly, 2-diazopropane is readily decomposed on Raney nickel 368). At room temperature, propene and N2 were the only detectable products, but above 50 °C, the carbene dimer 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene started to appear which reached its maximum yield at 100 °C, where approximately 40 % of the carbene fragments dimerized. It is assumed 367,368), that surface carbenes are formed as intermediates from both diazomethane and 2-diazopropane which either dimerize or desorb by migration of a P-hydrogren, if available (Scheme 40). 

When, however, carbenes are directly generated from diazoalkanes, RIES becomes significant.56 Photolytic generation of carbene 45 from diazoalkane precursors in the presence of >1.5 M pyridine gave values for the derived pyridinium ylides. 

As in experiments with diazirine 1, the maximum yields of the ylides, and hence of the carbenes, increased with increasing strength of the alkyl group s a-CH bond.56 For example, the relative yields of carbene 45 from diazoalkane photolysis were 100% for R=cyc/o-C3H5, 96% for R=t-C4H9, and 72% for R=CH3 the relative carbene yields decreased to 14% with R=C2Hs and to only 7% with R=i-C3H7. 

RIES from diazoalkanes is also sensitive to the dihedral angle between the migrating a-H and the C-N bond of the diazo moiety.57 For example, the A values for the pyridine capture of the photolytically generated carbenes from 46 and 47 are in the ratio of 1.7 1. Similarly, the carbene from 46 is more efficiently generated and trapped in methanol, whereas the photolysis of 47 in methanol affords twice as much olefin (by 1,2-H RIES) compared to the photolysis of 46. These phenomena are attributed to conformational factors that favor RIES during the photolysis of 47, with the proximal excited state represented as a pyramidalized 1,3-C-N=N diradical.57... 

It has been known for a long time that the decomposition of diazoalkanes can be catalyzed by transition metal complexes [493-496]. Carbene complexes were proposed as possible intermediates by Yates in 1952 [497]. However, because reactions of diazoalkanes with metal complexes tend to be difficult to control, it was not until 1975 [498] that stable carbene complexes could be directly obtained from diazoalkanes (Figure 3.19). 

Fig. 3.20. Examples of the preparation of non-heteroatom-substituted carbene complexes from diazoalkanes [60,504-506].

Electrophilic carbene complexes generated from diazoalkanes and rhodium or copper salts can undergo 0-H insertion reactions and S-alkylations. These highly electrophilic carbene complexes can, moreover, also undergo intramolecular rearrangements. These reactions are characteristic of acceptor-substituted carbene complexes and will be treated in Section 4.2. 

The main drawback to this reaction is the toxicity of diazomethane and some of its precursors. One possible alternative is the use of alkyltriazenes as reactive alkylating agents.52 Alkyltriazenes are readily prepared from primary amines and aryldiazonium salts.53 The triazenes, on being protonated by the carboxylic acid, generate a reactive alkylating agent that is equivalent, if not identical, to the alkyldiazonium ions generated from diazoalkanes. 

Walling297 suggested that the electronic structure of the carbenes, the photolysis products from diazoalkanes, is somewhat analogous to carbon monoxide, and most of their subsequent reactions, e.g., addition to aromatic58 59 or rearrangements98 are those of electron-deficient electrophilic entities rather than radicals.51 However, radical photoaddition of diazomethane to carbon tetrachloride289 290 should not be overlooked. 

Stanovnik B, Jelen B, Turk C, Zlicar M, Svete J (1998) 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of diazoalkanes to pyridazines. Asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine imines derived from diazoalkane-pyridazine cycloadducts. J Heterocycl Chem 35 1187-1204... 

The four-coordinate sqnare planar iron(n) porphyrins discussed above are not only of great valne in heme protein model chemistry, but also in chemical applications, since they undergo a wealth of ligand addition reactions. For example it has been shown that TPPFe complexes are active catalysts for important carbon transfer reactions in organic chemistry and are found to catalyze the stereoselective cyclopropanation of aUcenes, olefin formation from diazoalkanes, and the efficient and selective olefination of aldehydes and other carbonyl compounds. The active species in these carbon transfer reactions are presumably iron porphyrin carbene complexes. " It was also found that ferrous hemin anchored to Ti02 thin films reduce organic halides, which can pose serious health problems and are of considerable environmental concern because of their prevalence in groundwater. ... 

Many more carbenes can be made safely from diazoalkanes if the diazoalkane is just an intermediate in the reaction and not the starting material. Good starting materials for these reactions are tosylhydrazones, which produce transient diazo compoimds by base-catalysed elimination of toluenesulfinate. The diazo compound is not normally isolated, and decomposes to the carbene on heating. 

In contrast to the wealth of chemistry reported for catalyzed reactions of diazocarbonyl compounds, there are fewer applications of diazomethane as a carbenoid precursor. Catalytic decomposition of diazomethane, CH2N2, has been reported as a general method for the methylenation of chemical compounds [12]. The efficacy of rhodium catalysts for mediating carbene transfer from diazoalkanes is poor. The preparative use of diazomethane in the synthesis of cyclopropane derivatives from olefins is mostly associated with the employment of palladium cat-... 

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