Lewis acids metal catalyst role

Perhaps the most extensively studied catalytic reaction in acpreous solutions is the metal-ion catalysed hydrolysis of carboxylate esters, phosphate esters , phosphate diesters, amides and nittiles". Inspired by hydrolytic metalloenzymes, a multitude of different metal-ion complexes have been prepared and analysed with respect to their hydrolytic activity. Unfortunately, the exact mechanism by which these complexes operate is not completely clarified. The most important role of the catalyst is coordination of a hydroxide ion that is acting as a nucleophile. The extent of activation of tire substrate througji coordination to the Lewis-acidic metal centre is still unclear and probably varies from one substrate to another. For monodentate substrates this interaction is not very efficient. Only a few quantitative studies have been published. Chan et al. reported an equilibrium constant for coordination of the amide carbonyl group of... 

Having generated suitable (partially) cationic, Lewis acidic metal centers, several factors need to be considered to understand the progress of the alkene polymerisation reaction the coordination of the monomer, and the role (if any) of the counteranion on catalyst activity and, possibly, on the stereoselectivity of monomer enchainment. Since in d° metal systems there is no back-bonding, the formation of alkene complexes relies entirely on the rather weak donor properties of these ligands. In catalytic systems complexes of the type [L2M(R) (alkene)] cannot be detected and constitute structures more closely related to the transition state rather than intermediates or resting states. Information about metal-alkene interactions, bond distances and energetics comes from model studies and a combination of spectroscopic and kinetic techniques. 

Lewis acids play key roles in a large number of reactions, and their use in organic synthesis continues to see rapid development, particularly in the field of asymmetric catalysis [1], Late transition metal Lewis acid catalysts have emerged as a new class of compounds within this area. They offer neutral and mild conditions that are of interest for the needs of modern chemistry and its focus on economically and ecologically friendly methods. 

Advances in the development of metal-catalyzed Mukaiyama aldol addition reactions have primarily relied on a mechanistic construct in which the role of the Lewis acidic metal complex is to activate the electrophilic partner towards addition by the enol silane. Alternate mechanisms that rely on metallation of enol silane to generate reactive enolates also serve as an important construct for the design of new catalytic aldol addition processes. In pioneering studies, Bergman and Heathcock documented that transition-metal enolates add to aldehydes and that the resulting metallated adducts undergo silylation by the enol silane leading to catalyst turnover. 

Montmorillonites are more frequently used as Bronsted acid catalysts even if Lewis acidity plays a role in their catalytic activity. The origin of Bronsted acidity in metal-exchanged montmorillonites is ascribed to the polarizing influence of the cation on the water molecules in spatially restricted interlayers. The exchangeable cations are either protons or polarizing cations [e.g., aluminum, chromium(III), or iron(III)]. 

In 1995, Shibasaki s group disclosed the first example of multifunctional heterobimetallic complex-catalyzed Michael reaction of malonate to enone. The chiral catalyst, lanthanum-sodium-BINOL complex (/ )-LSB, was prepared from La(Of-Pr)3, (/ )-BINOL, and NaOt-Bu. Two different metals indeed play their unique roles to enhance the reactivity of both substrate partners by locating them in designated positions. The Lewis acidic metal (lanthanides or group 13 elements) has been found capable to activate the acceptor, whereas the second metal center (alkali metals bound to a Brpnsted base) assists the coordination of enolate. The proposed catalytic cycle is shown in Scheme 9.5. 

Lewis acids are defined as molecules that act as electron-pair acceptors. The proton is an important special case, but many other species can play an important role in the catalysis of organic reactions. The most important in organic reactions are metal cations and covalent compounds of metals. Metal cations that play prominent roles as catalysts include the alkali-metal monocations Li+, Na+, K+, Cs+, and Rb+, divalent ions such as Mg +, Ca +, and Zn, marry of the transition-metal cations, and certain lanthanides. The most commonly employed of the covalent compounds include boron trifluoride, aluminum chloride, titanium tetrachloride, and tin tetrachloride. Various other derivatives of boron, aluminum, and titanium also are employed as Lewis acid catalysts. 

It has been found that certain 2 + 2 cycloadditions that do not occur thermally can be made to take place without photochemical initiation by the use of certain catalysts, usually transition metal compounds. Among the catalysts used are Lewis acids and phosphine-nickel complexes.Certain of the reverse cyclobutane ring openings can also be catalytically induced (18-38). The role of the catalyst is not certain and may be different in each case. One possibility is that the presence of the catalyst causes a forbidden reaction to become allowed, through coordination of the catalyst to the n or s bonds of the substrate. In such a case, the... 

S / V CONTENTS Preface, Robert W. Hay. Structure and Function of Manganese-Containing Biomolecules, David C. Weather-bum. Repertories of Metal Ions as Lewis Acid Catalysts in Organic Reactions, Junghan Suh. The Multicopper-Enzyme Ascorbate Oxidase, Albrecht Messerschmidt. The Bioinorganic Chemistry of Aluminum, Tomas Kiss and Etelka Farkas. The Role of Nitric Oxide in Animal Physiology, Anthony R. Butler, Frederick Flitney and Peter Rhodes. Index. 

In this chapter, we have discussed the application of metal oxides as catalysts. Metal oxides display a wide range of properties, from metallic to semiconductor to insulator. Because of the compositional variability and more localized electronic structures than metals, the presence of defects (such as comers, kinks, steps, and coordinatively unsaturated sites) play a very important role in oxide surface chemistry and hence in catalysis. As described, the catalytic reactions also depend on the surface crystallographic structure. The catalytic properties of the oxide surfaces can be explained in terms of Lewis acidity and basicity. The electronegative oxygen atoms accumulate electrons and act as Lewis bases while the metal cations act as Lewis acids. The important applications of metal oxides as catalysts are in processes such as selective oxidation, hydrogenation, oxidative dehydrogenation, and dehydrochlorination and destructive adsorption of chlorocarbons. 

Roles that are normally associated with metals as Lewis acids and as redox agents [4,5], can be emulated by organic compounds. This review will introduce the reader to the research field of Lewis acid organocatalysts. This field, compared to other types of organocatalysts, which are highlighted in the other chapters of this volume, is still limited. The number of asymmetric catalyzed examples is small, and the obtained enantiomeric excess is sometimes low. Therefore, this review will also cover a number of reactions promoted by achiral catalysts. Nevertheless, due to the broad variety of possible reactions, which are catalyzed by Lewis acids, this research field possesses a large potential. 

The same Pt species that epoxidize double bonds are active in Baeyer-ViUiger oxidation of ketones. Strukul has shown that this synthetically interesting process can be carried out also enantioselectively, in the presence of appropriate diphosphine ligands For this reaction a mechanism has been proposed that involves again a quasi-peroxo metallacycle intermediate, even though in this reaction the metal catalyst plays primarily the role of a Lewis acid while the real oxidant is H2O2 itself (Scheme 9). 

CO2 molecule, or Mg + and CO2 play the role of oxide acceptor to form water, carbonate, and MgC03, respectively [38]. The reactions of the iron carboxylate with these Lewis acids are thought to be fast and not rate determining. For the cobalt and nickel macrocyclic catalysts, CO2 is the ultimate oxide acceptor with formation of bicarbonate salts in addition to CO, but it is not clear what the precise pathway is for decomposition of the carboxylate to CO [33]. The influence of alkali metal ions on CO2 binding for these complexes was discussed earlier [15]. It appears the interactions between bound CO2 and these ions are fast and reversible, and one would presume that reactions between protons and bound CO2 are rapid as well. 

There is evidence of a promoting action of chromium on nickel catalysts for the reaction of hydrogenation of valeronitrile in our conditions. Introduction of chromium increased the initial specific activity and the selectivity. The promoting effect of chromium on activity could be correlated to the increase of the metallic surface. Another explanation could be that the Cr+ segregated at the surface of the catalyst may play the role of a Lewis acid center and may be responsible for a better chemisorption of valeronitrile on the catalysts, through nitrogen lone pair electrons or the n orbital of the CN bond. However, further examination of the results obtained (see Fig. 3)... 

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