Photochemical alkyne insertion into

The thermal benzannulation of Group 6 carbene complexes with alkynes (the Dotz reaction) is highly developed and has been used extensively in synthesis [90,91]. It is thought to proceed through a chromium vinylketene intermediate generated by sequential insertion of the alkyne followed by carbon monoxide into the chromium-carbene-carbon double bond [92]. The realization that photodriven CO insertion into Z-dienylcarbene complexes should generate the same vinylketene intermediate led to the development of a photochemical variant of the Dotz reaction (Table 14). 

Photochemical irradiation of (i-Pr3Si)3SiH (14) with light of 254 nm in either 2,2,4-trimethylpentane or pentane leads to the elimination of f-Pr3SiH and the generation of bis(triisopropylsilyl)silylene (/-Pr3Si)2Si (15). Silylene 15 can also be generated by the thermolysis of the same precursor 14 at 225 °C in 2,2,4-trimethyl-pentane (Scheme 14.11). Reactions of 15 include the precedented insertion into an Si H bond, and additions to the ti bonds of olefins, alkynes, and dienes. 

Reaction of CpM(CO)3R (R = Me, CH2Ph) with 2-butyne produces an alkenyl ketone metallacycle, thermally for Mo, photochemically for W (202). Addition of CNBu or PPh3 drives CO insertion into the metal position of the metallacycle, and lactone products form [Eq. (59)]. With trifluoromethyl as the original metal alkyl group multiple alkyne and CO insertions lead to an eight-membered oxymetallacycle ring [Eq. (60)]. 

In contrast to the carbene and carbenoid chemistry of simple diazoacetic esters, that of a-silyl-a-diazoacetic esters has not yet been developed systematically [1]. Irradiation of ethyl diazo(trimethylsilyl)acetate in an alcohol affords products derived from 0-H insertion of the carbene intermediate, Wolff rearrangement, and carbene- silene rearrangement [2]. In contrast, photolysis of ethyl diazo(pentamethyldisilanyl)acetate in an inert solvent yields exclusively a ketene derived from a carbene->silene->ketene rearrangement [3], Photochemically generated ethoxycarbonyltrimethyl-silylcarbene cyclopropanates alkenes and undergoes insertion into aliphatic C-H bonds [4]. Copper-catalyzed and photochemically induced cyclopropenation of an alkyne with methyl diazo(trimethylsilyl)acetate has also been reported [5]. 

Alkynes react readily with a variety of transition metal complexes under thermal or photochemical conditions to form the corresponding 7t-complexes. With terminal alkynes the corresponding 7t-complexes can undergo thermal or chemically-induced isomerization to vinylidene complexes [128,130,132,133,547,556-569]. With mononuclear rj -alkyne complexes two possible mechanisms for the isomerization to carbene complexes have been considered, namely (a) oxidative insertion of the metal into the terminal C-Fl bond to yield a hydrido alkynyl eomplex, followed by 1,3-hydrogen shift from the metal to Cn [570,571], or (b) eoneerted formation of the M-C bond and 1,2-shift of H to Cp [572]. 

There has been a growing interest in the utilization of CO2 as a potential Cl source for chemicals and fuels to cope with the predictable oil shortage in the near future. Insertion reactions of CO2 into M-H, M-0, M-N, and M-C bonds are well documented, where these reactions are explained in terms of the electrophilicity of CO2 il, 2). Catalytic syntheses of lactones (3-9) and pyrones (10-16) are also established by incorporation of CO2 into dienes and alkynes activated on low-valent metal complexes. Carbon dioxide shows only an electrophilicity under usual reaction conditions, but it exhibits a nucleophilicity upon coordination to low-valent metals because of the intramolecular charge transfer from metals to CO2. Metal-C02 formation may be the key species in electro- and photochemical CO2 reductions. Since the first characterization of [Ni(PCy3)2(T) (C,0)-C02)] (17), a variety of metal... 

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