Metathesis, alkene olefin with dienes

In addition to the metathesis of olefins, metathesis between an olefin and an aUcyne and metathesis between two alkynes are known and can be synthetically valuable. The metathesis between an olefin and an alkyne is called en)me metathesis, and enyne methathesis is the final class of reaction involving an alkene shown in Scheme 21.1. This process combines an olefin with an alkyne to generate a diene. The thermodynamic driving force for this process is created by tire generation of a new carbon-carbon single bond from the cleavage of one of the ir-bonds in an alkyne. 

Only recently a selective crossed metathesis between terminal alkenes and terminal alkynes has been described using the same catalyst.6 Allyltrimethylsilane proved to be a suitable alkene component for this reaction. Therefore, the concept of immobilizing terminal olefins onto polymer-supported allylsilane was extended to the binding of terminal alkynes. A series of structurally diverse terminal alkynes was reacted with 1 in the presence of catalytic amounts of Ru.7 The resulting polymer-bound dienes 3 are subject to protodesilylation (1.5% TFA) via a conjugate mechanism resulting in the formation of products of type 6 (Table 13.3). Mixtures of E- and Z-isomers (E/Z = 8 1 -1 1) are formed. The identity of the dominating E-isomer was established by NOE analysis. 

Since the alkene formed in this reaction can further react with other alkenes, many products should be formed in the cross-metathesis (CM). Therefore, in the early days, only ring-closing metathesis (RCM) of diene was investigated. It is known that the reaction is catalyzed by a transition metal. Pioneering work on olefin metathesis was undertaken by Villemin and Tsuji, who reported the synthesis of lactones using alkene metathesis ... 

Until recently, intermolecular enyne metathesis received scant attention. Competing CM homodimerisation of the alkene, alkyne metathesis and polymerisation were issues of concern which hampered the development of the enyne CM reaction. The first report of a selective ruthenium-catalysed enyne CM reaction came from our laboratories [106]. Reaction of various terminal alkynes 61 with terminal olefins 62 gave 1,3-substituted diene products 63 in good-to-excellent yields (Scheme 18). It is interesting that in these and all enyne CM reactions subsequently reported, terminal alkynes are more reactive than internal analogues, and 1,2-substituted diene products are never formed thus, in terms of reactivity and selectivity enyne CM is the antithesis of enyne RCM. The mechanism of enyne CM is not well understood. It would appear that initial attack is at the alkyne however, one report has demonstrated initial attack at the alkene (substrate-dependent) is also possible, see Ref. [107]. 

Opening of a strained ring system and the subsequent coupling with an acyclic alkene results in the formation of diene products. Because of many metathesis pathways available in the systems containing a cyclic and a linear olefin, the... 

Metathesis is a versatile reaction applicable to almost any olefinic substrate internal, terminal or cyclic alkenes, as well as dienes or polyenes. (Alkyne metathesis is a growing area, but will not be dealt with here.) The reaction is also known as olefin disproportionation or olefin transmutation, and involves the exchange of fragments between two double bonds. Cross metathesis (CM, Figure 1) is defined as the reaction of two discrete alkene molecules to form two new alkenes. Where the two starting alkene molecules are the same it is called self-metathesis. Ethenolysis is a specific type of cross metathesis where ethylene... 

In the course of time it appeared that many olefinic substrates could undergo this reaction in the presence of a transition metal compound, such as substituted alkenes, dienes, polyenes, and cyclic alkenes, and even alkynes. Calderon et al. were the first to realize that the ring-opening polymerization of cycloalkenes, which they observed with their tungsten-based catalyst system [4], and the disproportionation of acyclic olefins are, in fact, the same type of reaction. They introduced the more general name metathesis [2], The metathesis reaction has now become a common tool for the conversion of unsaturated compounds. In view of the limited space this intriguing reaction is reviewed only briefly more information can be found in a detailed and extensive monograph [5]. 

In the two separate, initial reports on the reactivity of Fischer carbenes with enynes, one study found cyclobutanone and furan products [59], while the other found products due to olefin metathesis [60]. These products have turned out to be the exceptions rather than the rule, as enynes have since been found to react with Fischer carbenes to produce bicyclic cyclopropanes quite generally. The proposed mechanistic pathway is included as part of Bq. (28), in which vinylcarbene 10, produced by insertion of the alkyne into the metal carbene, may then cyclize with the pendant olefin to metallacyclobutane 11, leading to product. The first reported version of this reaction suffered from extreme sensitivity to olefin substitution [Eq. (28) compare R=H, Me] often producing side-products due to metathesis (through 11 to yield dienes) and CO insertion (into 10 to yield cyclobutanones and furans) [61]. Since then, several important modifications have been developed which improve yield, provide greater tolerance for alkene substitution, and increase chemoselectivity for the bicyclic cyclopropane... 

Using a disubstituted aUcyne with appropriately placed alkenes at either side, the domino dienyne metathesis also enables the formation of bicyclic 1,3-dienes where two cyclic olefins are connected by a C-C single bond [20]. Scheme 2.41 depicts such a scenario for the double cyclization of diether 112 to give a virtually quantitative yield of the bisdihydrofuran 113 with Grabbs catalyst 1 [20a,cj. 

Olefin metathesis is a reaction that is over fifty years old and has been developed over this time period from a process nm at high temperatures with ill-defined catalysts by unknown mechanisms to a process that can be conducted imder nuld conditions with designed catalysts by mechanisms that occur by established steps. Olefin metathesis, and the related alk3me metathesis, fully cleaves carbon-carbon double and triple bonds and reforms these bonds to generate new alkenes and alkynes. The reaction is often under equilibrium control, but certain classes of reactions can be conducted in a selective fashion that is controlled by relative rates or thermod)mamic preferences. This reaction can open strained rings to form polymers or small dienes. It can close small rings and macrocycles by a reaction that is driven by the expulsion of ethylene that makes the reaction favored entropically or by running in an open system under non-equilibrium conditions. It can also be run as a "cross metathesis" to form imsymmetrical alkenes when the steric or electronic properties of the two alkenes properly match. 

In both cases, the mechanism of the reactions can be described like an ene-yne metathesis catalyzed by the Ru-NHC complex [82], followed by a Diels-Alder reaction. The mechanism of these reactions (exemplified for the synthesis of 81) is depicted in Scheme 5.59. Initial [2+2] cycloaddition between the alkyne and the olefin stemming from the metallic carbene achieves metallacyclobutene 158. Subsequently, cycloelimination and [2+2] cycloaddition with the alkene reagent give 159. A second cycloelimination generates a diene (by-product) and the active catalytic species 160, which initiates the catalytic cycle following successive cycloadditions and cycloeliminations up to afford diene 82. Finally, a Diels-Alder reaction between diene 82 and a,p-nnsatnrated carbonyls (dienophile) produces exclusively the syn-(endo-)ptod ict 81. 

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