3-Hexyne, trimerization

The fact that 111 (a Dewar benzene) was also isolated lends support to this scheme. Three equivalents of 3-hexyne trimerized to hexaethylbenzene at 200°C in the presence of Sl2Cl6. " ... 

Aromatic compounds can be prepared by cyclotrimerization of alkynes or triynes. Cyclotrimerization is possible by heating to 450-600°C with no catalyst. The spontaneous (no catalyst) trimeiization of t-BuC=CF gave 1,2,3-tri-tert-butyl, 5,6-trifluorobenzene (220), the first time three adjacent tert-butyl groups had been put onto a benzene ring. The fact that this is a head-to-head joining allows formation of 220 from two alkynes. The fact that 219 (a Dewar benzene) was also isolated lends support to this scheme. Three equivalents of 3-hexyne trimerized to hexaethylbenzene at 200°C in the presence of Si2Cl6. ... 

In contrast to the work of Peterson (38) with 3-hexyne in trifluoroacetic acid (vide supra), no trimeric adducts were observed in the hydrogen halide additions to propyne (48). 

Whereas cyclotrimerization of phenylacetylene with uncomplexed PdCl2 provides only low yields of the unsymmetrical trimer, and polymers, on treatment of 3-hexyne with Pd/C and Me3SiCl 14 hexaethylbenzene 2165 is obtained in quantitative yield [78] (Scheme 13.23). 

The product distribution from simple alkynes (Scheme 1) is consistent with the hypothesis that a discrete vinyl cation is involved. In particular, the formation of both cis and trans adducts, under kinetic control, is significant since it indicates that a free linear vinyl cation is the actual intermediate. The formation of hexaethylbenzene is another point of interest. Its yield increases with increasing concentrations of 3-hexyne, thus supporting the hypothesis that the trimerization process involves in its early stages interaction between the vinyl cation and the alkyne. Other examples of polymeric products formed via vinyl cations, probably through a concerted electrocyclic process, have been reported (see infra) although generally dimers are the ultimate products. 

Chemoselective cocycloaddition of two molecules of a terminal alkyne together with one molecule of an internal alkyne into a benzene product is possible due to the relative unreactivity of phosphine nickel carbonyls towards simple trimerization of the internal alkyne itself (equation 28). ° " Careful control of reaction conditions has also permitted selective intermolecular cocycloaddition in the presence of cobalt catalysts as well for example, diphenylacetylene and 3-hexyne give rise to a 57% yield of 1,2,3,4-tetra-pheny 1-5,6-diethylbenzene. ... 

The products of the radiolysis of butyne-2, propyne, pentyne-2, hexyne-3, and butyne-1, have been determined by Rondeau et Dimers, trimers and tetra-mers, in decreasing importance, are the most significant but many minor products including aromatic compounds, are observed. A free-radical mechanism is suggested. 

Alkyne cyclotrimerization occurs at various homogeneous and heterogeneous transition metal and Ziegler-type catalysts [7], Substituted benzenes have been prepared in the presence of iron, cobalt, and nickel carbonyls [8] as well as trialkyl- and triarylchromium compounds [9]. Bis(acrylonitrile)nickel [10] and bis(benzonitrile)palladium chloride [11] catalyze the cyclotrimerization of tolane to hexaphenylbenzene. NiCl2 reduced by NaBH4 has been utilized for the trimer-ization of 3-hexyne to hexaethylbenzene [12]. Ta2Cl6(tetrahydrothiophene)3 and Nb2Cl6(tetrahydrothiophene)3 as well as 7 -Ind-, and 77 -Ru-rhodium... 

Trimerization of alkynes to derivatives of benzene is promoted by [Co(pyridine)6]+ BPh4. In the presence of hydrogen the catalyst induces the formation of a mixture of the dienes 565-567 and the tributylbenzenes 568 and 569 from 1 -hexyne the composition of the mixture depends on the hydrogen pressure. ... 

The action of the complex 570 on various alkynes gives diverse products ethyl propiolate affords a mixture of all three possible triethyl benzenetricarboxylates, phenylacetylene yields mainly the trans-QnyviQ 571 3-hexyne behaves similarly, but 1-octyne isomerizes to 2-octyne . The palladacyclopentadiene 572 catalyses the co-trimerization of hex-3-yne... 

Cobalt metal catalyses the co-trimerization of one molecule of acetonitrile with two of 1 -pentyne or 1 -hexyne to yield mixtures of the pyridines 610 and 611 (R = Pr or Bu). The regioselctivity of the reaction of nitriles with terminal acetylenes has been investigated. It was found that, in general, mixtures of 2,4,6- and 2,3,6-trisubstituted pyridines are produced. The selectivity depends on the size of the substituents attached to the triple bond and the cyanide group. If either of these is large, only 2,4,6-substituted pyridines are obtained. Ethyl propiolate and aliphatic or aromatic nitriles (RCN) yield, in addition to the usual type of product, i.e. 612 and 613, the 2,3,5-isomer 614. Pyridines 617 result from the action of alkynes RC=CH (R = Ac, PrCO or C02Me) on the electron-rich... 

Similar studies of the regioselectivity in the HDA reaction between 2-substituted norbomadienes and unactivated terminal acetylenes catalyzed by a cobalt catalyst were also undertaken. Unfortunately, 2-sub-stituted norbomadienes are much less reactive with unactivated acetylenes in the cobalt-catalyzed HDA reaction than with electron-deficient olefins in the Ni-catalyzed HDA cycloadditions. When an electron-withdrawing group (Y = COOMe) or an electron-donating group (Y = OMe) is attached to the 2-position of the NBD, no desired [2 + 2 + 2] cycloadduct is observed with 1-hexyne, even in refluxing toluene for three days under the usual cobalt-catalyzed conditions (Scheme 12). Instead, some NBD dimers and acetylene trimers are detected. With a... 

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