Nickel complexes 3-amino imines

Metal template syntheses of complexes incorporating the p-amino imine fragment have been introduced by Curtis as a result of his discovery that tris(l,2-diaminoethane)nickel(II) perchlorate reacted slowly with acetone to yield the macrocyclic complexes (40) and (41) (equation 8).81-83 In this macrocyclic structure the bridging group is diacetone amine imine, arising from the aldol condensation of two acetone molecules. This reaction is widely general, in the same way that the aldol reaction is, and can be applied to many types of amine complexes. The subject has been reviewed in detail with respect to macrocyclic complexes by Curtis.84... 

Diastereoselective preparation of a-alkyl-a-amino acids is also possible using chiral Schiff base nickel(II) complexes of a-amino acids as Michael donors. The synthetic route to glutamic acid derivatives consists of the addition of the nickel(II) complex of the imine derived from (.S )-,V-[2-(phenylcarbonyl)phenyl]-l-benzyl-2-pyrrolidinecarboxamide and glycine to various activated olefins, i.e., 2-propenal, 3-phenyl-2-propenal and a,(f-unsaturated esters93- A... 

One of the most spectacular and useful template reactions is the Curtis reaction , in which a new chelate ring is formed as the result of an aldol condensation between a methylene ketone or inline and an imine salt. The initial example of this reaction was the formation of a macrocyclic nickel(II) complex from tris(l,2-diaminoethane)nickel(II) perchlorate and acetone (equation 53).182 The reaction has been developed by Curtis and numerous other workers and has been reviewed.183 In mechanistic terms there is some circumstantial evidence to suggest that the nucleophile is an uncoordinated aoetonyl carbanion which adds to a coordinated imine to yield a coordinated amino ketone (equation 54). If such a mechanism operates then the template effect is largely, if not wholly, thermodynamic in nature, as described for imine formation. Such a view is supported by the fact that the free macrocycle salts can be produced by acid catalysis alone. However, this fact does not... 

S)-2-(,V -Benzylpropylamino)ben7ophenone (8) is a useful auxiliary which forms imines with, for example, amino acids. Thus, a chiral glycine equivalent is obtained which permits, as the nickel(II) complex, enantioselective additions to azaenolates (Section D.l. 5.2.4.). The synthesis of this auxiliary from (S)-proline via N-benzylproline6 has been described in detail7. 

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