Lewis Monodentate

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... 

In summary, the groups of Espenson and Loh observe catalysis of Diels-Alder reactions involving monodentate reactants by Lewis acids in water. If their observations reflect Lewis-acid catalysis, involvirg coordination and concomitant activation of the dienophile, we would conclude that Lewis-acid catalysis in water need not suffer from a limitation to chelating reactants. This conclusion contradicts our observations which have invariably stressed the importance of a chelating potential of the dienophile. Hence it was decided to investigate the effect of indium trichloride and methylrhenium trioxide under homogeneous conditions. 

In a second attempt to extend the scope of Lewis-acid catalysis of Diels-Alder reactions in water, we have used the Mannich reaction to convert a ketone-activated monodentate dienophile into a potentially chelating p-amino ketone. The Mannich reaction seemed ideally suited for the purpose of introducing a second coordination site on a temporary basis. This reaction adds a strongly Lewis-basic amino functionality on a position p to the ketone. Moreover, the Mannich reaction is usually a reversible process, which should allow removal of the auxiliary after the reaction. Furthermore, the reaction is compatible with the use of an aqueous medium. Some Mannich reactions have even been reported to benefit from the use of water ". Finally, Lewis-acid catalysis of Mannich-type reactions in mixtures of organic solvents and water has been reported ". Hence, if both addition of the auxiliary and the subsequent Diels-Alder reaction benefit from Lewis-acid catalysis, the possibility arises of merging these steps into a one-pot procedure. 

Chapter 5 also demonstrates that a combination of Lewis-acid catalysis and micellar catalysis can lead to accelerations of enzyme-like magnitudes. Most likely, these accelerations are a consequence of an efficient interaction between the Lewis-acid catalyst and the dienophile, both of which have a high affinity for the Stem region of the micelle. Hence, hydrophobic interactions and Lewis-acid catalysis act cooperatively. Unfortunately, the strength of the hydrophobic interaction, as offered by the Cu(DS)2 micellar system, was not sufficient for extension of Lewis-acid catalysis to monodentate dienophiles. 

Turning the argument around reactions that do not involve proton transfer steps will only experience a significant effect of the Lewis acids if a direct interaction exists between catalyst and reactant. The conventional Diels-Alder reaction is a representative of this class of reactions. As long as monodentate reactants are used, the effects of Lewis acids on this reaction do not exceed the magnitude expected for simple salt effects, i.e. there are no indications for a direct interaction between Lewis-acid and substrate. 

Finally, if there could be a way in which in water selective ri Jt-coordination to the carbonyl group of an a,P-imsatLirated ketone can be achieved, this would be a breakthrough, since it would subject monodentate reactants to catalysis by hard Lewis acids ". ... 

The enantioselective inverse electron-demand 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of nitrones with alkenes described so far were catalyzed by metal complexes that favor a monodentate coordination of the nitrone, such as boron and aluminum complexes. However, the glyoxylate-derived nitrone 36 favors a bidentate coordination to the catalyst. This nitrone is a very interesting substrate, since the products that are obtained from the reaction with alkenes are masked a-amino acids. One of the characteristics of nitrones such as 36, having an ester moiety in the a position, is the swift E/Z equilibrium at room temperature (Scheme 6.28). In the crystalline form nitrone 36 exists as the pure Z isomer, however, in solution nitrone 36 have been shown to exists as a mixture of the E and Z isomers. This equilibrium could however be shifted to the Z isomer in the presence of a Lewis acid [74]. 

One of the problems related to the Lewis acid activation of a,/ -unsaturated carbonyl compounds for the reaction with a nitrone is the competitive coordination of the nitrone and the a,/ -unsaturated carbonyl compound to the Lewis acid [30]. Calculations have shown that coordination of the nitrone to the Lewis acid can be more feasible than a monodentate coordination of a carbonyl compound. However, this problem could be circumvented by the application of alkenes which allow a bidentate coordination to the Lewis acid which is favored over the monodentate coordination. 

The diketonates can form Lewis base adducts such as 5-coordinate Pd[P(o-tolyl)3](CF3COCHCOCF3)2 (Figure 3.25), though with acetylacetone square planar adducts of the type M(acac)2(PR3)2 are usually obtained, where the diketone is monodentate O-bonded [63]. 

They form adducts with Lewis bases in which the phenanthroline is monodentate, PtX2(dimphen)L (L = Me2S, Me2SO, PhNO) [87], c/s-Pt(bipy)Cl2 exists in yellow and red forms, the difference in colour results from different stacking modes in the solid state, with respective Pt-Pt distances of 4.435 and 3.45 A [88]. 

They form adducts with Lewis bases in which the phenanthroline is monodentate, PtX2(dimphen)L (L = Me2S, Me2SO, PhNO) [87],... 

Motorina and Grierson (224) examined the use of bis(oxazoline)-Cu(II) complexes as chiral Lewis acids in the intramolecular heterocycloaddition of azadienes, Eq. 184. Very low selectivities are observed in the cycloaddition of 326. The authors speculate that monodentate coordination of the substrate to copper is responsible for the low selectivity. 

Carbohydrates have found widespread use as chiral auxiliaries in asymmetric Diels-Al-der reactions156. A recent example is a study conducted by Ferreira and colleagues157 who used carbohydrate based chiral auxiliaries in the Lewis acid catalyzed Diels-Alder reactions of their acrylate esters 235 with cyclopentadiene (equation 66). Some representative results of their findings, including the ratios of products 236 and 237, have been summarized in Table 9. The formation of 236 as the main product when diethylaluminum chloride was used in dichloromethane (entry 3) was considered to be the result of an equilibrium between a bidentate and monodentate catalyst-dienophile complex. The bidentate complex would, upon attack by the diene, lead to 236, whereas the monodentate complex would afford 236 and 237 in approximately equal amounts. The reversal of selectivity on changing the solvent from dichloromethane to toluene (entry 2 vs 3) remained unexplained by the authors. 

The divalent carbon(O) atom in L C L has two lone electron pairs which makes CL2 a particular class of ligands which may bind as a bidentate Lewis base to one and to two monodentate Lewis acids. The nature of the ligand L determines whether a divalent carbon atom behaves as a carbone or as a carbene. The newly gained insight into the electronic structure of carbones opens a large field for theoretical and experimental research. 

Non-racemic a-substituted allylic silanes, in particular crotylsilanes, are very attractive reagents despite their rather tedious preparation. They were found to provide very high transfer of chirality in their additions to achiral aldehydes under Lewis acid catalysis (Eq. 114). These reagents have been tested several times in the context of natural product synthesis. Their diastereoselectivity (syn/anti) depends on several factors, including the natme of the aldehyde substrate, the reagent, and the natme of the Lewis acid employed. For example, the syn product can be obtained predominantly in the reaction of Eq. 114 by switching to the use of a monodentate Lewis acid such as BF3. 

In this case the ferric iron site seems to activate the substrate. Our generalization of this model is shown in Fig. 7. The iron binds the substrate and could serve, as a Lewis acid, to facilitate ketolization of either the bidentate or monodentate substrate. The hydroxide (water) ligand may be more significant than simply a placeholder ligand to be displaced by substrate. Since both substrate hydroxyls must lose their... 

Lewis acids are frequently employed in catalyzing the Diels-Alder reaction. Particularly fascinating is the observation of the different regiochemistry arising from monodentate and bidentate chelation of 2-methoxy-5-methyl-l,4-benzoquinone with boron trifluoride and stannic chloride, respectively [177],... 

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