Olefin complexes with nucleophiles

The electrophilic activation of a C—C multiple bond as a result of coordination to an electron-deficient metal ion is fundamental to much of organometallic chemistry, both conceptually and in synthetic applications (11). The Wacker process, a classic example of an efficient catalytic oxidation, is an important industrial reaction, used for the conversion of ethylene into acetaldehyde. The catalytic reaction begins with the coordination of ethylene to a Pd(ll) center, leading to activation of the ethylene moiety. The key step is the reaction of the metal-olefin complex with a nucleophile to give substituted metal-alkyl species (12). The integration of this reaction into a productive catalytic cycle requires the eventual cleavage of the newly generated M—C bond. 

Wacker-type oxidative reactions of olefins with nucleophiles, reactions of zr-allyl-palladium complexes with nucleophiles, reactions based on chelation, and trans-metallation of organomercury compounds. 

Some of the classic studies of nucleophilic, attack on coordinated olefins were conducted with iron(II) species. Rosenblum reported the reactions of (ti -cyclopentadienyl) iron-olefin complexes with a wide range of carbanion and enamine nucleophiles. These reactions produce stable o-alkyliron complexes (Equation 11.22). The stereochemistry is cleanly trans. However, the regioselectivity of reactions of complexes of imsymmetrical olefins depended on the nucleophile. 

Transition metal alkyne complexes also react with nucleophiles, in this case to generate CT-vinyl complexes. There are fewer stable alkyne complexes of higher oxidation state or cationic metals than olefin complexes. Because these types of alkyne complexes are most susceptible to nucleophilic attack, less information is available on tfiis reaction than on nucleophilic attack on coordinated alkenes. Nevertheless, reactions of several cationic alkyne complexes with nucleophiles have been reported, and a few examples are presented here. 

In copper and silver olefin compounds, alkenes readily undergo exchange. Gold compounds are more stable, and their olefins react with nucleophiles. The compound Au2Cl2(cw-2-butene) reacts with D2O to give 2-butanone. The following d and d electron complexes readily react with nucleophiles Pd(II), Pt(II), Fe(II), etc. 

Facile reaction of a carbon nucleophile with an olefinic bond of COD is the first example of carbon-carbon bond formation by means of Pd. COD forms a stable complex with PdCl2. When this complex 192 is treated with malonate or acetoacetate in ether under heterogeneous conditions at room temperature in the presence of Na2C03, a facile carbopalladation takes place to give the new complex 193, formed by the introduction of malonate to COD. The complex has TT-olefin and cr-Pd bonds. By the treatment of the new complex 193 with a base, the malonate carbanion attacks the cr-Pd—C bond, affording the bicy-clo[6.1,0]-nonane 194. The complex also reacts with another molecule of malonate which attacks the rr-olefin bond to give the bicyclo[3.3.0]octane 195 by a transannulation reaction[l2.191]. The formation of 194 involves the novel cyclopropanation reaction of alkenes by nucleophilic attack of two carbanions. 

The proposed reaction mechanism involves intermolecular nucleophilic addition of the amido ligand to the olefin to produce a zwitterionic intermediate, followed by proton transfer to form a new copper amido complex. Reaction with additional amine (presnmably via coordination to Cn) yields the hydroamination prodnct and regenerates the original copper catalyst (Scheme 2.15). In addition to the NHC complexes 94 and 95, copper amido complexes with the chelating diphosphine l,2-bis-(di-tert-bntylphosphino)-ethane also catalyse the reaction [81, 82]. 

The cationic methylene complexes [(t71 5-C5H5)(CO)3M=CH2]+ (M = Mo, W) react rapidly with nucleophiles (e.g., olefins) but are unreactive toward electrophiles (26). 

Cationic Fp (olefin) complexes [Fp = f/5-C5H5Fe(CO)2] undergo regio-specific addition of heteroatomic nucleophiles.32 Subsequent ligand transfer (carbonyl insertion) occurs with retention of configuration at the migrating center (R—Fe—CO -> RCOFe).33 A combination of these processes has provided a novel stereospecific azetidinone synthesis which can also be applied to condensed systems.34... 

Osborn and Green s elegant results are instructive, but their relevance to metathesis must be qualified. Until actual catalytic activity with the respective complexes is demonstrated, it remains uncertain whether this chemistry indeed relates to olefin metathesis. With this qualification in mind, their work in concert is pioneering as it provides the initial experimental backing for a basic reaction wherein an olefin and a metal exclusively may produce the initiating carbene-metal complex by a simple sequence of 7r-complexation followed by a hydride shift, thus forming a 77-allyl-metal hydride entity which then rearranges into a metallocyclobutane via a nucleophilic attack of the hydride on the central atom of the 7r-allyl species ... 

Pampus and co-workers (65) established the relative reactivity of a series of olefins to be 1-butene > 2-butene > isobutylene. This order of reactivity has been confirmed by others, and exactly parallels the reported order of stability of transition metal (Rh) complexes with these olefins (66), thus clearly implicating precomplexation of the olefin with the transition metal prior to metathesis. On a limited scale, Schrock observed a similar order of reactivity for olefins in reactions with (175-C5H5 )TaCl2[=CH(CH3 )3 ], which is known to possess a nucleophilic car-bene carbon (64). This complex also provides the requisite empty coordination site needed for precomplexation. In that study, cyclopropanes or metathesis olefins were not observed as products. 

The fact that Schrock s proposed metallocyclobutanes decomposed to propylene derivatives rather than cyclopropanes was fortunate in that further information resulted regarding the stereochemistry of the olefin reaction with the carbene carbon, as now the /3-carbon from the metal-locycle precursor retained its identity. The reaction course was consistent with nucleophilic attack of the carbene carbon on the complexed olefin, despite potential steric hindrance from the bulky carbene. Decomposition via pathways f-h in Eq. (26) was clearly confirmed in studies utilizing deuterated olefins (67). 

In most palladium-catalyzed oxidations of unsaturated hydrocarbons the reaction begins with a coordination of the double bond to palladium(II). In such palladium(II) olefin complexes (1), which are square planar d8 complexes, the double bond is activated towards further reactions, in particular towards nucleophilic attack. A fairly strong interaction between a vacant orbital on palladium and the filled --orbital on the alkene, together with only a weak interaction between a filled metal d-orbital and the olefin ji -orbital (back donation), leads to an electrophilic activation of the alkene9. 

Density functional calculations reveal that epoxidation of olefins by peroxo complexes with TM d° electronic configuration preferentially proceeds as direct attack of the nucleophilic olefin on an electrophilic peroxo oxygen center via a TS of spiro structure (Sharpless mechanism). For the insertion mechanism much higher activation barriers have been calculated. Moreover, decomposition of the five-membered metallacycle intermediate occurring in the insertion mechanism leads rather to an aldehyde than to an epoxide [63]. 

Isonitrile complexes, having a similar electronic structure to carbonyl complexes, can also react with nucleophiles. Amino-substituted carbene complexes can be prepared in this way (Figure 2.6) [109-112]. Complexes of acceptor-substituted isonitriles can undergo 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions with aldehydes, electron-poor olefins [113], isocyanates [114,115], carbon disulfide [115], etc., to yield heterocycloalkylidene complexes (Figure 2.6). 

Table 3.11. Carbonyl olefinations with nucleophilic carbene complexes.

The reactivity of peroxo metal complexes as nucleophilic oxidants is a known process ". To visualize this type of reactivity one has to refer to peroxo metal complexes as a 1,3-dipolar reagent M+-0-0 interacting in a bimolecular fashion with electrophilic dipo-larophiles such as electron-poor olefins " (equation 15), to form peroxymetallacycle intermediates. 

An interesting alternative shows that the conversion of 3 into the secondary adducts 7 can be effected by treatment with additional equivalents of the cuprates In such a conversion both alkyl groups of J are exploited in functionalization of the olefinic system. The nucleophilic properties of the new complexes appear to be remarkable. Although 7 are reactive towards water and alkyl halides giving and 5 respectively, no reactions under standard conditions were observed with aldehydes and ketones. 

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