Methyl rhodium complex, formation

Formation of the methyl-rhodium complex is analogous to the formation of CH3-C(C0)4 from CH30H2 arid Co(C0K as proposed by Wender. The difference here is that the nature of the active rhodium species is not known. Under the present conditions,homologation does not occur because CO is not present however, addition of the methyl-rhodium species to benzaldehyde must occur as shown in (19), metal adds to the oxygen. The product in (19) is then subject to acid catalyzed etherification to obtain the methyl ether. 

The rate-determining step in this process is the oxidative addition of methyl iodide to 1. Within the operating window of the process the reaction rate is independent of the carbon monoxide pressure and independent of the concentration of methanol. The methyl species 2 formed in reaction (2) cannot be observed under the reaction conditions. The methyl iodide intermediate enables the formation of a methyl rhodium complex methanol is not sufficiently electrophilic to carry out this reaction. As for other nucleophiles, the reaction is much slower with methyl bromide or methyl chloride as the catalyst component. 

Numerous studies have been directed toward expanding the chemistry of the donor/ac-ceptor-substituted carbenoids to reactions that form new carbon-heteroatom bonds. It is well established that traditional carbenoids will react with heteroatoms to form ylide intermediates [5]. Similar reactions are possible in the rhodium-catalyzed reactions of methyl phenyldiazoacetate (Scheme 14.20). Several examples of O-H insertions to form ethers 158 [109, 110] and S-H insertions to form thioethers 159 [111] have been reported, while reactions with aldehydes and imines lead to the stereoselective formation of epoxides 160 [112, 113] and aziridines 161 [113]. The use of chiral catalysts and pantolactone as a chiral auxiliary has been explored in many of these reactions but overall the results have been rather moderate. Presumably after ylide formation, the rhodium complex disengages before product formation, causing degradation of any initial asymmetric induction. 

Rhodium(II) acetate catalyzes C—H insertion, olefin addition, heteroatom-H insertion, and ylide formation of a-diazocarbonyls via a rhodium carbenoid species (144—147). Intramolecular cyclopentane formation via C—H insertion occurs with retention of stereochemistry (143). Chiral rhodium (TT) carboxamides catalyze enantioselective cyclopropanation and intramolecular C—N insertions of CC-diazoketones (148). Other reactions catalyzed by rhodium complexes include double-bond migration (140), hydrogenation of aromatic aldehydes and ketones to hydrocarbons (150), homologation of esters (151), carbonylation of formaldehyde (152) and amines (140), reductive carbonylation of dimethyl ether or methyl acetate to 1,1-diacetoxy ethane (153), decarbonylation of aldehydes (140), water gas shift reaction (69,154), C—C skeletal rearrangements (132,140), oxidation of olefins to ketones (155) and aldehydes (156), and oxidation of substituted anthracenes to anthraquinones (157). Rhodium-catalyzed hydrosilation of olefins, alkynes, carbonyls, alcohols, and imines is facile and may also be accomplished enantioselectively (140). Rhodium complexes are moderately active alkene and alkyne polymerization catalysts (140). In some cases polymer-supported versions of homogeneous rhodium catalysts have improved activity, compared to their homogenous counterparts. This is the case for the conversion of alkenes direcdy to alcohols under oxo conditions by rhodium—amine polymer catalysts... 

Decarbonylation of aldoses.2 Although this rhodium complex has been known since 1968 to effect decarbonylation of aldehydes, it has been used for decarbonylation of sugars only recently, probably for lack of a compatible solvent. Actually, this reaction when carried out in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone (NMP) at 110-130° is extremely useful in the case of simple aldoses, which are converted to the lower alditol with formation of carbonylchlorobis(triphenylphosphine)rhodium(I). The yields are 75-95%. This method of degradation has the further advantage that protecting groups are not necessary. Deoxyaldoses, particularly 2-deoxyaldoses, are decar-bonylated in 75-99% yield. A disadvantage of this reaction is that a full equivalent of the complex is required. 

Step (1) involves the formation of methyl iodide, which then reacts with the rhodium complex Rh(I)L by oxidative addition in a rate-determining step (2) to form a methylrhodium(III) complex. Carbon monoxide is incorporated into the coordination sphere in step (3) and via an insertion reaction a rhodium acyl complex is formed in step (4). The final step involves hydrolysis of the acyl complex to form acetic acid and regeneration of the original rhodium complex Rh(I)L and HI. Typical rhodium compounds which are active precursors for this reaction include RhCl3, Rh203, RhCl(CO)(PPh3)2, and Rh(CO)2Cl2. 

A side reaction related directly to the carbonylation of methyl acetate is the formation of acetone and carbon dioxide via methylation of the acetyl rhodium complex intermediate [63] through addition of a second molecule of methyl iodide (eqs. (18)-(21)) ... 

N,N,N-Tri((6-methyl-2-pyridyl)methyl)amine and N-methyl-N,N-bis ((6-methyl-2-pyridyl)methyl)amine with [(r/ -C2H4)Ir(Cl)] and potassium hexafluorophosphate in methanol give the bis(ethene) iridium(I) 151 and 152, respectively. Both readily dissociate one ethene molecule. In the case of 151, the mono-ethene 139 (M = Ir, R = Me) slowly transforms to the cyclometalated 153 in acetonitrile. The rhodium complex reacts with molecular oxygen with displacement of ethene and formation of a per-oxo-species. Both iridium mono-ethene species, in contrast, bind... 

A comparison between experimental and MO data on regioselectivity concerning the hydroformylation of several vinyl substrates (propene, 2-methylpropene, 1-hexene, 3,3-dimethylbutene, fluoroethene, 3,3,3-trifluoropropene, vinyl methyl ether, allyl methyl ether, styrene) with unmodified rhodium catalysts was reported. The activation energies for the alkyl rhodium intermediate formation, computed at either level along the pathways to branched or linear aldehydes, allowed one to predict the regioselectivity ratios. Steric effects may be less important for the unmodified carbonyl complexes and electronic factors dominate, assuming that alkene insertion in Rh-H is irreversible. 

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