Metathesis, carbene synthesis

Storm, C., and Madsen, R. 2003. Enyne metathesis catalyzed by ruthenium carbene complexes (review of alkyne metathesis reactions). Synthesis 1—19. 

Quemener D, Heroguez V, Gnanou Y (2006) Design of PEO-based ruthenium carbene for aqueous metathesis polymerization. Synthesis by the macromonomer method and application in the miniemulsion metathesis polymerization of norbornene. J Polym Sci Part A Polym Chem 44 2784-2793... 

Olefin metathesis (carbene) polymerization is also known as ring closure metathesis. It was introduced by Grabbs and his co-workers in the 1970s and became an important organic synthesis tool. It included the stable ruthenium-based catalyst [40]. Later, it was subjected to much advancement and became more versatile tool to make new polymers versatile [41]. 

RCM was the first application of metathesis in synthesis. The reaction is driven to completion not only by loss of ethene from the reaction mixture, but also by entropy as one molecule is converted into two. The mechanism follows that outlined by Chauvin (Scheme 8.61 compare Scheme 8.52). The Grubbs catalyst must first dissociate one of the two phosphine ligands to generate a 14-electron monophosphine carbene. The mechanism then follows the steps laid down by Chauvin through metallacyclobutanes 8.217 and 8.219 and the carbene 8.218. It should be noted that the Grubbs catalyst is the benzylidene complex (R = Ph). This is purely for stability as the methylene complexes are unstable. In the catalytic cycle, R = Ph can only work for the first round, thereafter, it is the methylene species with R = H. 

Abstract For many years after its discovery, olefin metathesis was hardly used as a synthetic tool. This situation changed when well-defined and stable carbene complexes of molybdenum and ruthenium were discovered as efficient precatalysts in the early 1990s. In particular, the high activity and selectivity in ring-closure reactions stimulated further research in this area and led to numerous applications in organic synthesis. Today, olefin metathesis is one of the... 

Although olefin metathesis had soon after its discovery attracted considerable interest in industrial chemistry, polymer chemistry and, due to the fact that transition metal carbene species are involved, organometallic chemistry, the reaction was hardly used in organic synthesis for many years. This situation changed when the first structurally defined and stable carbene complexes with high activity in olefin metathesis reactions were described in the late 1980s and early 1990s. A selection of precatalysts discovered in this period and representative applications are summarized in Table 1. 

The importance of transition metal carbene complexes (compounds with formal M=C bonds) and of transition metal carbyne complexes (compounds with formal M=C bonds) is now well appreciated. Carbene complexes are involved in olefin metathesis (7) and have many applications in organic synthesis (2), while carbyne complexes have similar relevance to... 

Keywords Ruthenium-carbenes, Ruthenium-allenylidenes, Ring closing metathesis, Natural product synthesis, Fine chemicals. 

The well balanced electronic and coordinative unsaturation of their Ru(II) center accounts for the high performance and the excellent tolerance of these complexes toward an array of polar functional groups. This discovery has triggered extensive follow up work and carbenes 1 now belong to the most popular metathesis catalysts which set the standards in this field [3]. Many elegant applications to the synthesis of complex target molecules and structurally diverse natural products highlight their truely remarkable scope. 

The ruthenium carbene complexes 1 discussed in the previous chapter have set the standards in the field of olefin metathesis and are widely appreciated tools for advanced organic synthesis [3]. A serious drawback, however, relates to the preparation of these compounds requiring either 3,3-diphenylcyclopropene or diazoalkanes, i.e. reagents which are rather difficult to make and/or fairly hazardous if used on a large scale [60]. Therefore, a need for metathesis catalysts persists that exhibit essentially the same activity and application profile as 1 but are significantly easier to make. 

Enyne metathesis is unique and interesting in synthetic organic chemistry. Since it is difficult to control intermolecular enyne metathesis, this reaction is used as intramolecular enyne metathesis. There are two types of enyne metathesis one is caused by [2+2] cycloaddition of a multiple bond and transition metal carbene complex, and the other is an oxidative cyclization reaction caused by low-valent transition metals. In these cases, the alkyli-dene part migrates from alkene to alkyne carbon. Thus, this reaction is called an alkylidene migration reaction or a skeletal reorganization reaction. Many cyclized products having a diene moiety were obtained using intramolecular enyne metathesis. Very recently, intermolecular enyne metathesis has been developed between alkyne and ethylene as novel diene synthesis. 

Initial reports of cross-metathesis reactions using well-defined catalysts were limited to simple isolated examples the metathesis of ethyl or methyl oleate with dec-5-ene catalysed by tungsten alkylidenes [13,14] and the cross-metathesis of unsaturated ethers catalysed by a chromium carbene complex [15]. With the discovery of the well-defined molybdenum and ruthenium alkylidene catalysts 3 and 4,by Schrock [16] and Grubbs [17],respectively, the development of alkene metathesis as a tool for organic synthesis began in earnest. 

Polymers Catalytic reactions involving C=C bonds are widely used for the conversion of unsaturated fatty compounds to prepare useful monomers for polymer synthesis. Catalytic C-C coupling reactions of unsaturated fatty compounds have been reviewed by Biermann and Metzger [51]. Metathesis reactions involving unsaturated fatty compounds to prepare co-unsaturated fatty acid esters have been applied by Warwel et al. [52], Ethenolysis of methyl oleate catalyzed by ruthenium carbenes developed by Grubb yields 1-decene and methyl 9-decenoate (Scheme 3.6), which can be very useful to prepare monomers for polyolefins, polyesters, polyethers and polyamide such as Nylon 11. 

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