Insertion reactions into carbon-hydrogen bonds

A second process that has a central position in the analysis of the chemical properties of carbenes is their reaction with hydrocarbons. As is the case for alcohols, singlet and triplet carbenes react with hydrocarbons in distinctive ways. It has long been held that very electrophilic singlet carbenes can insert directly into carbon-hydrogen bonds (11) (Kirmse, 1971). On the other hand, triplet carbenes are believed to abstract hydrogen atoms to generate radicals that go on to combine and disproportionate in subsequent steps (12)... 

Insertion Reactions into Element-Hydrogen Bonds 11.2.4. Insertion Reactions of Carbon Dioxide and Carbon Disulfide... 

Insertion Reactions into Eiement-Hydrogen Bonds 11.2.8. 1,1-Insertions of Carbon Monoxide and Isonitriies... 

Like carbene insertions into carbon-hydrogen bonds, metal nitrene insertions occur in both intermolecular and intramolecular reactions.For intermole-cular reactions, a manganese(III) meio-tetrakis(pentafluorophenyl)porphyrm complex gives high product yields and turnovers up to 2600 amidations could be effected directly with amides using PhI(OAc)2 (Eq. 51). The most exciting development in intramolecular C—H reactions thus far has been the oxidative cychzation of sulfamate esters (e.g., Eq. 52), as well as carbamates (to oxazolidin-2-ones), ° and one can expect further developments that are of synthetic... 

A widely exploited procedure for bringing about carbenoid reactions of organic mono- and fifem-dihalides is by use of lithium alkyls. Examples are given in equations (11) and (12). Dimeric olefin formation, stereospecific cyclopropane formation from olefins, and insertion into carbon-hydrogen bonds have all been observed in suitable cases, together with further reactions of these products with excess of the lithium alkyl. 

P450s are found in almost all organisms and primarily catalyze insertion of oxygen into carbon-hydrogen bonds. The general reaction equation can be written ... 

Heterocumulenes undergo insertion reactions with numerous substrates. In general, carbodiimides react faster than isocyanates and isothiocyanates, in that order. Insertions of carbodiimides into metal-hydrogen, metal-halogen, metal-mitrogen, metal-oxygen and metal-sulfur bonds are reported. Also insertions of carbodiimides into carbon-hydrogen bonds are known. 

Methylcarbomethoxycarbene. Alkylcarbenes are generally useless as cyclopropane precursors since their singlet states rapidly undergo hydride shifts the prevailing reaction is insertion into carbon hydrogen bonds. For example, direct... 

Although the first catalysts were copper-based, the insertion of metal-associated carbenes into carbon-hydrogen bonds has undergone a renaissance with the advent of rhodium(II) carboxylate catalysts [56]. Metal-catalyzed enan-tioselective C-H insertions of carbenes have not been studied in great detail. Most of the efficient enantioselective versions of this reaction involve chiral rhodium complexes and until recently, the use of chiral catalysts derived from metals other than copper and rhodium for the asymmetric C-H insertion of metal-associated carbenes are still unexplored. 

Isocyanide insertion reactions into heteroatom—hydrogen, carbon-halogen, carbon—hydrogen bonds, and metal carbenes 13CSR5257. Last advances in synthesis of added value compounds and materials by laccase-mediated biocatalysis 12COC2508. 

Examples of such reactions are well known. Sloan, Breslow, and Renfrow found that both alkane and arenesulphonyl azides insert into the carbon-hydrogen bonds of saturated hydrocarbons 12>. Thus, 1-pentane,- 2-propane- and -toluene-sulphonyl nitrene inserted into cyclohexane to give 54, 60, and 58% yields of the corresponding IV-cyclohexylamide derivatives 8>. Similarly, 2-phenoxybenzene-, diphenyl sulphide-2-, and... 

Reaction of rhenium atoms with alkyl-substituted arenes forms dirhenium- l-arylidene compounds (2 2) (Figure 3). The products require insertion, presumably sequential, into two carbon-hydrogen bonds of the alkyl substituent. These reactions seem highly specific and require only the presence of an alkyl-substituted benzene that possesses a CH2 or CH3 substituent. Thus, co-condensation of rhenium atoms with ethylbenzene gives two isomers (see Figure 3) in which the products arise from insertion into the carbon-hydrogen bonds of the methylene or the methyl group. The product distribution in this reaction is in accord with statistical attack at all available sp3 C-H bonds. 

The co-condensation reactions described above have led to the formation of interesting new compounds and sometimes very unexpected products. The nature of the products formed for example in the osmium atom experiments indicate high degrees of specificity can be achieved. However, the detailed mechanisms of the co-condensation reactions are not known. It seems most likely that in all cases the initial products formed at the co-condensation temperature are simple ligand-addition products and that the insertion of the metal into the carbon-hydrogen bond occurs at some point during the warming up process. In support of this hypothesis we note the virtual absence of any... 

Among typical carbon-carbon bond (C-C) formation reactions with carbenes, the cyclopropanation reaction with olefins has been well studied including its application to industrial processes. The second typical reaction of carbenes is the insertion reaction into the carbon-hydrogen bond (C-H) which seems to be a direct and efficient C-C bond forming reaction. However, its use for synthetic purpose has often been limited due to low selectivity of the reactions.3... 

---