Metallacyclopentadienes benzene synthesis

Benzene and cyclooctatetraene (COT) derivatives are formed by [2+2+2] and [2+2+2+2] cycloadditions of alkynes. At first the metallacyclopropene 107 and metallacyclopentadiene 108 are formed. Benzene and COT (106) are formed by reductive elimination of the metallacycloheptatriene 109 and the metallacyclononate-traene 110. Formation of benzene by the [2+2+2] cycloaddition of acetylene is catalysed by several transition metals. Synthesis of benzene derivatives from... 

Metallacyclopentadienes are often postulated as intermediates in the alkyne-based synthesis of various organic compounds like cyclotrimerization of alkynes to yield derivatives of benzene or in the synthesis of quinines and tropones <1994MI211, 1995ICA(230)215, 1995COMC-II(12)741, 1996JOM(511)263, 1999JOM(573)139,... 

Likewise when two alkyne molecules coordinate to a transition metal such as Co(I) with subsequent coupling of the C-C bond, oxidative cyclization takes place to give a metallacyclopentadiene. Further reaction of another alkyne molecule with the metallacyclopentadiene followed by reductive elimination liberates benzene derivatives. Thus cyclotrimerization of three alkyne molecules catalyzed by a cobalt complex [40,41] can be performed. If a nitrile is used as the second component, pyridine derivatives are obtained catalytically as shown in Scheme 1.13 [42]. The catalytic cyclotrimerization and cyclodimerization of alkynes and conjugated enynes have found extensive applications in synthesis of complex cyclic compounds such as steroid derivatives [43]. 

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