Oxidation of Alkenes, Arenes and Alkynes

Abstract This chapter covers one of the most important areas of Ru-catalysed oxidative chemistry. First, alkene oxidations are covered in which the double bond is not cleaved (3.1) epoxidation, cis-dihydroxylation, ketohydroxylation and miscellaneous non-cleavage reactions follow. The second section (3.2) concerns reactions in which C=C bond cleavage does occur (oxidation of alkenes to aldehydes, ketones or carboxylic acids), followed by a short survey of other alkene cleavage oxidations. Section 3.3 covers arene oxidations, and finally, in section 3.4, the corresponding topics for aUcyne oxidations are considered, most being cleavage reactions. 

Ruthenium complexes catalyse the two main oxidative reactions for alkenes those in which oxygen atoms or hydroxyl groups span the erstwhile double bond without C=C rupture (e.g. epoxidation, ctT-dihydroxylation, ketohydroxylation), and cleavage reactions in which the C=C bond is broken. Although RuO has recently been shown to be effective for c/x-dihydroxylation and ketohdroxylation, epoxidations are in general effected by Ru complexes of lower oxidation states, while RuO excels at cleavage reactions. 

Oxidations of alkenes and alkynes have been reviewed, including mechanistic information in some cases. They include treatment of epoxidations [1-9], ketohydroxylations [7-9] and alkene cleavage [4, 6,10-14]. Oxidations of alkynes have been reviewed in [4, 12, 14, 15]. 

In the ensuing discussion we consider first of all those oxidations which do not involve cleavage of the C=C bond (epoxidation, Section 3.1, c/x-dihydroxylation 3.1.2 and ketohydroxylation 3.1.3, other non-cleavage oxidations 3.1.3.4). Cleavage reactions follow in 3.2 with formation of aldehydes or ketones (3.2.1) and acids (3.2.2). 

Griffith, Ruthenium Oxidation Complexes, Catalysis by Metal Complexes 34, DOl 10.1007/978-l-4020-9378-4 3, Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011 

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The remainder of this section will focus on true SBMs, which have been the subject of vigorous research. Despite the electron deficiency of early transition metal, lanthanide, and actinide complexes, several groups reported that some of these d f" complexes do react with the H-H bond from dihydrogen and C-H bonds from alkanes, alkenes, arenes, and alkynes in a type of exchange reaction shown in equation 11.32. So many examples of SBM involving early, middle, and late transition metal complexes have appeared in the chemical literature over the past 20 years that chemists now consider this reaction to be another fundamental type of organometallic transformation along with oxidative addition, reductive elimination, and others that we have already discussed. 

One-electron oxidation of alkenes, alkynes, and arenes produces species known as j[-radical cations, formed by removal of an electron from a it molecular orbital (Figure 2.20). 

Alkynes as well as alkenes are also recognized as readily available building blocks for constructing alkenylarenes. The reactions of (hetero)arenes with alkynes can be performed without any oxidant through C-H bond cleavage and alkyne insertion steps. Early examples of such hydroarylation of alkynes were reported by Hong and coworkers [74]. Benzene and furans react with diphenylacetylene in the presence of Rh4(CO)i2 catalyst at 220°C under CO (25kgcm ) to produce trisubstituted ethenes (Scheme 18.74). 

Domino or cascade reactions provide valuable approaches, especially to various carbo- and heterocyclic systems with three, four, or even more annelated rings. The Heck reaction has successfully been employed in various inter-inter-, intra-inter-, inter-intra-, as well as all-intramolecular reaction cascades, hi this section, the termination of these processes by alkenes, arenes, and related ir-bond systems such as alkynes and allenes will be described. A cascade Heck reaction is considered to consist of an oxidative addition of a heteroatom-carbon bond to palladium (starter), carbopalladation of a nonaromatic carbon-carbon double or triple bond without immediate dehydropalladation (relay), one, two, or more fimher car-bopalladation(s) of a carbon-carbon double or triple bond, and eventually ensuing dehydropalladation. Crucial for a cascade reaction of this kind to occur is the blockage or retardation of a dehydropalladation at one of the intermediate stages by using 1,1-disubsti-tuted alkenes and appropriately substimted cycloalkenes, bicycloalkenes, or alkynes as relays since they give kinetically stable alkyl- or alkenylpalladium intermediates, respectively. 

A. H. Haines, Methods for the Oxidation of Organic Compounds Alkanes, Alkenes, Alkynes and Arenes, Academic Press, Orlando, Florida, 1985. 

Haines AH (1985) Methods for the oxidation of organic compounds - alkanes, alkenes, alkynes and arenes. Academic Press, London... 

The first chapter concerns the chemistry of the oxidation catalysts, some 250 of these, arranged in decreasing order of the metal oxidation state (VIII) to (0). Preparations, structural and spectroscopic characteristics are briefly described, followed by a summary of their catalytic oxidation properties for organic substrates, with a brief appendix on practical matters with four important oxidants. The subsequent four chapters concentrate on oxidations of specific organic groups, first for alcohols, then alkenes, arenes, alkynes, alkanes, amines and other substrates with hetero atoms. Frequent cross-references between the five chapters are provided. 

Unsaturated organic molecules such as alkenes, alkynes, dienes, polyenes and arenes can also stabilize low oxidation states in metal complexes, being both o donors (filled bonding jt orbitals) and jt acceptors (empty antibonding jt orbitals). In these so-called Jt complexes, only jt orbitals are involved in the metal-to-ligand bonds. This latter type of complex is beyond the scope of this chapter and only a few examples will be given. 

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