Grignard reagents, bonding structure

Baeyer and Piccard were the first to prepare crystalline monocyclic pyrylium salts without hydroxy or alkoxy substituents, from y-pyrones and Grignard reagents in 1911. They ascribed a correct structure to these salts, although the bonds in the ring and the valency of the oxygen heteroatom remained contested topics for the next 20 years. The discussions around the formula of pyrylium... 

The diastereoselectivity of the reaction may be rationalized by assuming a chelation model, which has been developed in the addition of Grignard reagents to enantiomerically pure a-keto acetals7,8. Cerium metal is fixed by chelation between the N-atom, the methoxy O-atom and one of the acetal O-atoms leading to a rigid structure in the transition state of the reaction (see below). Hence, nucleophilic attack from the Si-face of the C-N double bond is favored4. 

Structural types for organometallic rhodium and iridium porphyrins mostly comprise five- or six-coordinate complexes (Por)M(R) or (Por)M(R)(L), where R is a (T-bonded alkyl, aryl, or other organic fragment, and Lisa neutral donor. Most examples contain rhodium, and the chemistry of the corresponding iridium porphyrins is much more scarce. The classical methods of preparation of these complexes involves either reaction of Rh(III) halides Rh(Por)X with organolithium or Grignard reagents, or reaction of Rh(I) anions [Rh(Por)] with alkyl or aryl halides. In this sense the chemistry parallels that of iron and cobalt porphyrins. 

Structural rearrangements are not encountered with saturated Grignard reagents, but allylic and homoallylic systems can give products resulting from isomerization. NMR studies indicate that allylmagnesium bromide exists as a CT-bonded structure in which there is rapid equilibration of the two terminal carbons.101 Similarly,... 

When secondary Grignard reagents are used, the coupling product sometimes is derived from the corresponding primary alkyl group.169 This transformation can occur by reversible formation of a nickel-alkene complex from the cr-bonded alkyl group. Reformation of the cr-bonded structure will be preferred at the less hindered primary position. 

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