Metal-mediated carbene transfer

Transition-metal mediated carbene transfer from 205 to benzaldehyde generates carbonyl ylides 211 which are transformed into oxiranes 216 by 1,3-cyclization, into tetrahydrofurans 212, 213 or dihydrofurans 214 by [3 + 2] cycloaddition with electron-deficient alkenes or alkynes, and 1,3-dioxolanes 215 by [3 + 2] cycloaddition with excess carbonyl compound120 (equation 67). Related carbonyl ylide reactions have been performed with crotonaldehyde, acetone and cyclohexanone (equation 68). However, the ylide generated from cyclohexanone could not be trapped with dimethyl fumarate. Rather, the enol ether 217, probably formed by 1,4-proton shift in the ylide intermediate, was isolated in low yield120. In this respect, the carbene transfer reaction with 205 is not different from that with ethyl diazoacetate121, whereas a close analogy to diazomalonates is observed for the other carbonyl ylide reactions. 

Other reactions of sulphonium ylides include o /9 -elimination,metal-mediated carbene-transfer to olefins, insertion into aromatic C—H bonds or other carbenoid-type processes, formation of Pd" complexes, addition to enones (forming cyclopropyl ketones or heterocycles ), reaction with isoquinoline 2-oxide, and [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangements " [as in the case of (12) 1 or... 

Catalysis via Transition Metal-Mediated Carbene Transfer to Sulfides... 

In catalytic epoxidation reactions an alternative to the ylide generation method via alkylation/deprotonation is the transition metal-mediated carbene transfer from diazo compounds to sulfide catalysts. In 1994, Aggarwal and coworkers employed this method in the enantioselective catalytic epoxidation of aldehydes [25]. Using 20mol% of non-racemic sulfide 17 and lmol% of Rh2(OAc)4 together with the slow addition of PhCHN2, a 58% yield and 11% ee were obtained in the epoxidation of benzaldehyde (Scheme 20.10). The enantioselectivity was similar to the results obtained by Breau and Durst using preformed sulfonium salts [26]. 

Scheme 20.11 Catalytic epoxidation cycle via the metal-mediated carbene transfer route.

A second route was devised using chiral /3-keto ester 14, which was identified as our precursor for 2 [7]. This idea was in analogy with the carbapenem chemistry [8], as depicted in Scheme 2.4, where Masamune reaction [9] for carbon elongation, diazo-transfer, and transition metal-mediated carbene insertion reaction [10] were employed as key steps sequentially. 

Similar studies involving metal-mediated carbene polymerization using diazocarbonyl monomers were reported in 2006 by de Brain. These showed that rhodium-based catalysts could be used for the stereoselective polymerization of carbenes generated from alkyl diazoacetates (Figure 31.5) [26]. Indeed, such catalysts were the first to produce high-molecular-weight, functionalized polymethylene 3, and demonstrated the first use of a mononuclear Rh(I) species (4 and 5) for carbene transfer reactions. The resulting poly(alkyl 2-ylideneacetate)s displayed... 

Transition metal-catalyzed carbenoid transfer reactions, such as alkene cyclopro-panation, C-H insertion, X-H insertion (X = heteroatom), ylide formation, and cycloaddition, are powerful methods for the construction of C-C and C-heteroatom bonds [1-6]. In contrast to a free carbene, metallocarbene-mediated reactions often proceed stereo- and regioselectively under mild conditions with tolerance to a wide range of functionalities. The reactivity and selectivity of metallocarbenes can be... 

Alkene metathesis catalysis involves intermediates in which a transition metal is multiply bonded to carbon. These species are often referred to as nucleophilic carbenes when the carbon atom is negatively polarized. A more functional description is to name these compounds as alkylidene complexes, since they react to transfer an alkylidene moiety from a transition meUd to a substrate carbon atom. Previous sections of this chapter have focused on a common example of this chemistry the process of metathesis that involves transition metal mediated interaction of carbon-carbon multiple bonds. 

The factors that direct a metallacyclobutane intermediate along one of these pathways are only partially understood. For example, in the case shown in Fig. 4.10, both metathesis and cyclopropanation are mediated by the same tungsten-carbene complex when the reaction is performed in a non-coordinating solvent [31]. These conditions are consistent with reaction via a metallacyclobutane because they allow the olefin to coordinate to the metal center, a prerequisite for [2 -I- 2] cycloaddition. In contrast, only cyclopropanation occurs when the reaction is performed in a coordinating solvent, presumably because formation of a metal-solvent adduct prevents olefin coordination and leaves only a direct carbene transfer mechanism available. 

Silver can mediate oxidation reactions and has shown unique reactivity. In a few cases, namely, nitrene-, carbene-, and silylene-transfer reactions, novel reactivity was found with homogeneous silver catalysts. Some of these reactions are uniquely facilitated by silver, never having been reported with other metals. While ligand-supported silver catalysts were extensively utilized in enantioselective syntheses as Lewis acids, disappointingly few cases were reported with oxidation reactions. Silver-catalyzed oxidation reactions are still underrepresented. Silver-based catalysts are cheaper and less toxic versus other precious metal catalysts. With the input of additional effort, this field will undoubtedly give more promising results. 

Rh -mediated hetero-H insertion may proceed by initial coordination of the intermediate metal-car-bene complex with the nonbonding electrons of the heteroatom. Proton transfer would then give the observed product. This can be an efficient process both for forming C—N bonds, as in the cyclization of (152 equation 62), and for C—O bonds, as illustrated by the construction of ether (155 equation 63). ° Si—H insertion of (156) was shown to proceed with retention of absolute configuration, as would be expected for a concerted transition metal carbene mediated process (equation 64). ... 

Many rhodium(II) complexes are excellent catalysts for metal-carbenoid-mediated enantioselective C-H insertion reactions [101]. In 2002, computational studies by Nakamura and co-workers suggested the dirhodium tetracarboxylate catalyzed diazo compounds insertion reaction to alkanes C-H bonds proceed through a three-centered hydride-transfer-like transition state (Fig. 25) [102]. Only one rhodium atom of the catalyst is involved in the formation of rhodium carbene intermediate, while the other rhodium atom served as a mobile ligand, which enhanced the electrophilicity of the first one and facilitate the cleavage of rhodium-carbon bond. In this case, the metal-metal bond constitutes a special example of Lewis acid activation of Lewis acidic transition-metal catalyst. 

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