Rhodium aromatic acids

Functionalization of hydrocarbons from petroleum sources is mainly concerned with the introduction of oxygen into the hydrocarbon molecule. In general, two ways are open to achieve oxygen functionalization oxidation and carbonylation. Oxidation is commonly encountered in the synthesis of aromatic acids, acrolein, maleic anhydride, ethene oxide, propene oxide, and acetaldehyde. Hydroformylation (CO/H2) (older literature and the technical literature refer to the oxo reaction) is employed for the large-scale preparation of butanol, 2-ethylhexanol, and detergent alcohols. The main use of 2-ethylhexanol is in phthalate esters which are softeners in PVC. The catalysts applied are based on cobalt and rhodium. (For a general review see ref. 3.)... 

The use of rhodium-amino acid complexes in catalytic hydrogenation has been reported by Rajca to be capable of reducing a wide variety of aromatic and heteroaromatic compounds under mild conditions (1 atm, 22 °C, DMF 1 atm = 101 kPa). Thus, the rhodium-anthranilic acid catalyzed hydrogenation of pyrrole under these mild conditions yields a 2 1 mixture of pyrrolidine and 2,5-dihydropyrrole (53% conversion after 8 h)." Recently, Lunn found that the hydrogenation of pyrrole can be carried out with a nickel-aluminum alloy, as generated with aqueous KOH, to give pyrrolidine in 58% yield, albeit relatively slowly (4 d, r.t.)."... 

Wilkinson s catalyst and chlorocarbonylbis(triphenylphosphine)rhodium [or iridium] can catalyze the thermal decarbonylation of aromatic acid halides to aryl halides. An intermediate Rh(III) hydride is involved in the reaction (Suggs, 1978). For aliphatic acid halides, subsequent elimination of HX frequently occurs from the generated alkyl halide (Ohno and Tsuji 1968 Blum et al., 1%7, 1971 Strohmeier and Pfohler, 1976). 

The above generalities apply particularly to palladium. Hydrogenation over platinum or rhodium are far less sensitive to the influence of steric crowding. Reduction of 1-t-butylnaphthalene over platinum, rhodium, and palladium resulted in values of /ci//c2 of 0.42, 0.71, and 0.024, respectively. Also, unlike mononuclear aromatics, palladium reduces substituted naphthalenes at substantially higher rates than does either platinum or rhodium. For example, the rate constants, k x 10 in mol sec" g catalyst", in acetic acid at 50 C and 1 atm, were (for 1,8-diisopropylnaphthalene) Pd (142), Pt(l8.4), and Rh(7.1)(25). 

From a study of the decompositions of several rhodium(II) carboxylates, Kitchen and Bear [1111] conclude that in alkanoates (e.g. acetates) the a-carbon—H bond is weakest and that, on reaction, this proton is transferred to an oxygen atom of another carboxylate group. Reduction of the metal ion is followed by decomposition of the a-lactone to CO and an aldehyde which, in turn, can further reduce metal ions and also protonate two carboxyl groups. Thus reaction yields the metal and an acid as products. In aromatic carboxylates (e.g. benzoates), the bond between the carboxyl group and the aromatic ring is the weakest. The phenyl radical formed on rupture of this linkage is capable of proton abstraction from water so that no acid product is given and the solid product is an oxide. 

The groups of Loupy and Jun have presented a chelation-assisted rhodium(I)-cata-lyzed ortho-alkylation of aromatic imines with alkenes (Scheme 6.57) [119]. The use of 2 mol% of Wilkinson s catalyst, RhCl(PPh3)3, and 5 equivalents of the corresponding alkene under solvent-free conditions proved to be optimal, providing the desired ortho-alkylated ketones in high yields after acidic hydrolysis. Somewhat lower yields were obtained when the imine preparation and the ortho-alkylation were realized in a one-pot procedure. 

Extensive investigations in our laboratories on the deactivation of rhodium and iridium catalysts has shown there to be a number of different mechanisms involved. Both, rhodium and iridium catalysts are generally less stable at higher temperatures, and have more labile ligands than their ruthenium counterparts. All of the catalysts are affected by pH, but the ruthenium catalysts seem to be more readily deactivated by acid. Indeed, these reactions are often quenched with acetic acid, whilst stronger acids are used to quench the rhodium reactions. Each of the catalysts can be deactivated by product inhibition, the ruthenium catalyst with aromatic substrates such as phenylethanol, and the rhodium and iridium ones by bidentate chelating products. 

Noteworthy in this connection is van Bekkum s report (107) that the hydrogenation of 2-butylbenzoic acid over a rhodium catalyst yields ci -2-final stages, after most of the aromatic compound has disappeared, is the trans isomer formed, obviously via the hydrogenation of the tetrahydro derivative. 

Reduction of aromatic nitro group takes preference to the reduction of the aromatic ring. Under certain conditions, however, even the benzene ring was reduced. Hydrogenation of nitrobenzene over platinum oxide or rhodium-platinum oxide in ethanol yielded aniline while in acetic acid cyclohexylamine was produced [55]. Heating of nitrobenzene with formic acid in the presence of copper at 200° gave a 100% yield of aniline, whereas similar treatment in the presence of nickel afforded 67% of cyclohexylamine [71]. 

Friedrichsen and co-workers (133) approached substituted benzotropolones from an aromatic substituted carbonyl ylide with a tethered alkyne as the intramolecular dipolarophUe (Scheme 4.67). Starting from an aromatic anhydride, Friedrichsen was able to make the tethered alkyne via addition of either pentyn-ol or hexyn-ol, then transform the recovered benzoic acid to the a-diazocarbonyl cycloaddition precursor. Addition of rhodium acetate resulted in the tandem formation of cyclic carbonyl ylide followed by cycloaddition of the tethered alkyne producing the tricyclic constrained ether 252. Addition of BF3 OEt2 opened the ether bridge, forming the benzotropylium ion, which subsequently rearranged to form the tricyclic benzotropolone (253). 

Hydroboration of a variety of alkenes and terminal alkynes with catecholborane in the fluorous solvent perfluoromethylcyclohexane was performed using fluorous analogs of the Wilkinson catalyst.135 136 Recycling of a rhodium-based alkene hydrosilylation catalyst was also successful.137 Activated aromatics and naphthalene showed satisfactory reactivity in Friedel-Crafts acylation with acid anhydrides in the presence of Yb tris(perfluoroalkanesulfonyl)methide catalysts.138... 

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