Iridium-catalyzed hydrogenation ketones

Scheme 15 Iridium-catalyzed hydrogen-mediated coupling of alkyl-substituted alkynes to activated ketones and aldehydes. Conditions a ligand = BIPHEP, solvent = toluene, T = 80 °C b ligand = DPPF, solvent = toluene, T = 60 °C c ligand = BIPHEP, solvent = DCE,...

The mechanism for the iridium-catalyzed hydrogen transfer reaction between alcohols and ketones has been investigated, and there are three main reaction pathways that have been proposed (Scheme 4). Pathway (a) involves a direct hydrogen transfer where hydride transfer takes place between the alkoxide and ketone, which is simultaneously coordinated to the iridium center. Computational studies have given support to this mechanism for some iridium catalysts [18]. 

In this review, the main contributions of computational chemistry to the understanding of the mechanisms of rhodium-, ruthenium-, and iridium-catalyzed hydrogenation reactions of aUcenes, enamides, acrylamides, and ketones are summarized. These studies provided atomistic-level detail into the rate- and stereoselectivity-determining steps for a class of reactions that is widely used in organic synthesis at both the laboratory and the industrial scale. 

Other indole syntheses of this type include the iridium-catalyzed hydrogen transfer of amine-substituted benzylic alcohols (130L3876), the intramolecular dehydrative coupling of tertiary amines with ketones (13OL6018), and the sequential alkylation/cyclization/isomerization of 3-(o-tri luoroacetamidoaryl)-l-propargylic esters (13T9494). 

In this chapter, we will focus on the rhodium-catalyzed hydrogenation of functionalized ketones and the development of chiral phosphorous ligands for this process. Although there are other chiral phosphorous ligands which are effective for ruthenium-, iridium-, platinum-, titanium-, zirconium-, and palladium-catalyzed hydrogenation, they will not be discussed here. For details of these chemistries, the reader should refer to other chapters of this book. 

Iridium-Catalyzed Asymmetric Hydrogenation of Olefins with Chiral N,P and C,N Ligands 53 Table 2 Enantioselective hydrogenations of linear a,(3-unsaturated ketones... 

There have been many reports of the use of iridium-catalyzed transfer hydrogenation of carbonyl compounds, and this section focuses on more recent examples where the control of enantioselectivity is not considered. In particular, recent interest has been in the use of iridium A -heterocyclic carbene complexes as active catalysts for transfer hydrogenation. However, alternative iridium complexes are effective catalysts [1, 2] and the air-stable complex 1 has been shown to be exceptionally active for the transfer hydrogenation of ketones [3]. For example, acetophenone 2 was converted into the corresponding alcohol 3 using only 0.001 mol% of this... 

The activation of alcohols by iridium-catalyzed borrowing hydrogen reactions has also been applied to the formation of C-C bonds [113]. Reactions proceed by temporary removal of hydrogen from an alcohol to give an aldehyde (or ketone), which is transformed into an alkene with subsequent return of the hydrogen to provide a new C-C bond. Ishii and coworkers have used [lr(cod)Cl]2 with... 

L = P(CH3)3 or CO, oxidatively add arene and alkane carbon—hydrogen bonds (181,182). Catalytic dehydrogenation of alkanes (183) and carbonylation of benzene (184) has also been observed. Iridium compounds have also been shown to catalyze hydrogenation (185) and isomerization of unsaturated alkanes (186), hydrogen-transfer reactions, and enantioselective hydrogenation of ketones (187) and imines (188). 

Hydrogen transfer reactions are catalyzed by several iridium complexes, including the dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) complexes cis- and trans-[Ir(Cl)4(DMSO)2]", [Ir(Cl)3(DMSO)3] and [lr(H)-(Cl)2(DMSO)3], as well as the cyclooctadiene (cod) complexes [Ir(Cl)(cod)]2 and [Ir(3,4,7,8-Me4phen)(cod)], and tra 5-[Ir(Cl)(CO)(PPh3)2]. Vaska s complex catalyzes the conversion of p-methoxybenzoyl chloride to the corresponding aldehyde. The dimethyl sulfoxide iridium(III) complexes catalyze hydrogen transfer from propan-2-ol to unhindered cyclohexanones to yield cyclohexanols, while the cod complexes serve as catalysts in the transfer of hydrogen from propan-2-ol to alkenes, ketones and a,/3-unsaturated ketones. ... 

Transition-metal catalysts are, in general, more active than the MPVO catalysts in the reduction of ketones via hydrogen transfer. Especially, upon the introduction of a small amount of base into the reaction mixture, TOFs of transition-metal catalysts are typically five- to 10-fold higher than those of MPVO catalysts (see Table 20.7, MPVO catalysts entries 1-20, transition-metal catalysts entries 21-53). The transition-metal catalysts are less sensitive to moisture than MPVO catalysts. Transition metal-catalyzed reactions are frequently carried out in 2-propanol/water mixtures. Successful transition-metal catalysts for transfer hydrogenations are based not only on iridium, rhodium or ruthenium ions but also on nickel [93], rhenium [94] and osmium [95]. It has been reported that... 

A series of chiral N,S-chelates was synthesized as ligands for the iridium(l)-catalyzed reduction of ketones using either HCOOH/NEtj or isopropanol as hydrogen sources. The ligands were obtained by sulfoxidation of an (R)-cysteine-based aminosulfide, providing a diastereomeric ligand family containing a chiral sulfur... 

I 5 Catalytic Activity of Cp Iridium Complexes in Hydrogen Transfer Reactions Table 5.3 Transfer hydrogenation of ketones and imines catalyzed by ll. "... 

A possible mechanism for the P-alkylation of secondary alcohols with primary alcohols catalyzed by a 1/base system is illustrated in Scheme 5.28. The first step of the reaction involves oxidation of the primary and secondary alcohols to aldehydes and ketones, accompanied by the transitory generation of a hydrido iridium species. A base-mediated cross-aldol condensation then occurs to give an a,P-unsaturated ketone. Finally, successive transfer hydrogenation of the C=C and C=0 double bonds of the a,P-unsaturated ketone by the hydrido iridium species occurs to give the product. 

The dimerization of functional alkenes such as acrylates and acrylonitrile represents an attractive route to obtain bifunctional compounds such as dicarboxylates and diamine, respectively. The head-to-tail dimerizahon of acrylates and vinyl ketones was catalyzed by an iridium hydride complex generated in situ from [IrCl(cod)]2 and alcohols in the presence of P(OMe)3 and Na2C03 [26]. The reaction of butyl acrylate 51 in the presence of [IrCl(cod)]2 in 1-butanol led to a head-to-tail dimer, 2-methyl-2-pentenedioic acid dibutyl ester (53%), along with butyl propionate (35%) which is formed by hydrogen transfer from 1-butanol. In order to avoid... 

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