Carbene rhodium

Scheme 15 Formation of 4-alkenyl(phenyl)-substituted 5-dialkylamino-2-ethoxycyclopen-tadienes 75 via transmetallated alkyne-inserted rhodium-carbene complexes 74 [73]. For further details see Table 2...

Herrmann et al. reported for the first time in 1996 the use of chiral NHC complexes in asymmetric hydrosilylation [12]. An achiral version of this reaction with diaminocarbene rhodium complexes was previously reported by Lappert et al. in 1984 [40]. The Rh(I) complexes 53a-b were obtained in 71-79% yield by reaction of the free chiral carbene with 0.5 equiv of [Rh(cod)Cl]2 in THF (Scheme 30). The carbene was not isolated but generated in solution by deprotonation of the corresponding imidazolium salt by sodium hydride in liquid ammonia and THF at - 33 °C. The rhodium complexes 53 are stable in air both as a solid and in solution, and their thermal stability is also remarkable. The hydrosilylation of acetophenone in the presence of 1% mol of catalyst 53b gave almost quantitative conversions and optical inductions up to 32%. These complexes are active in hydrosilylation without an induction period even at low temperatures (- 34 °C). The optical induction is clearly temperature-dependent it decreases at higher temperatures. No significant solvent dependence could be observed. In spite of moderate ee values, this first report on asymmetric hydrosilylation demonstrated the advantage of such rhodium carbene complexes in terms of stability. No dissociation of the ligand was observed in the course of the reaction. 

Products of a so-called vinylogous Wolff rearrangement (see Sect. 9) rather than products of intramolecular cyclopropanation are generally obtained from P,y-unsaturated diazoketones I93), the formation of tricyclo[2,1.0.02 5]pentan-3-ones from 2-diazo-l-(cyclopropene-3-yl)-l-ethanones being a notable exception (see Table 10 and reference 12)). The use of Cu(OTf), does not change this situation for diazoketone 185 in the presence of an alcoholl93). With Cu(OTf)2 in nitromethane, on the other hand, A3-hydrinden-2-one 186 is formed 160). As 186 also results from the BF3 Et20-catalyzed reaction in similar yield, proton catalysis in the Cu(OTf)2-catalyzed reaction cannot be excluded, but electrophilic attack of the metal carbene on the double bond (Scheme 26) is also possible. That Rh2(OAc)4 is less efficient for the production of 186, would support the latter explanation, as the rhodium carbenes rank as less electrophilic than copper carbenes. 

Similar to the intramolecular insertion into an unactivated C—H bond, the intermolecular version of this reaction meets with greatly improved yields when rhodium carbenes are involved. For the insertion of an alkoxycarbonylcarbene fragment into C—H bonds of acyclic alkanes and cycloalkanes, rhodium(II) perfluorocarb-oxylates 286), rhodium(II) pivalate or some other carboxylates 287,288 and rhodium-(III) porphyrins 287 > proved to be well suited (Tables 19 and 20). In the era of copper catalysts, this reaction type ranked as a quite uncommon process 14), mainly because the yields were low, even in the absence of other functional groups in the substrate which would be more susceptible to carbenoid attack. For example, CuS04(CuCl)-catalyzed decomposition of ethyl diazoacetate in a large excess of cyclohexane was reported to give 24% (15%) of C/H insertion, but 40% (61 %) of the two carbene dimers 289). 

Inhibition of diazoester decomposition by a large excess of olefin speaks in favor of intermediarily liberated W(CO)5 as direct metal precursor of425. Stereoselectivities in the cyclopropanation reaction are very similar to those observed in the Rh2(OAc)4 catalyzed version, which underlines once more the close relationship of tungsten and rhodium carbene complexes. 

Two type la syntheses of (3-hydroxypyrroles have appeared. An aza-Nazarov cyclization of l-azapenta-l,4-dien-3-ones produced (3-hydroxypyrroles including 2,2 -bipyrroles <06EJO5339>. A second approach to a (3-hydroxypyrrole involved an intramolecular N-H insertion into a rhodium carbene derived from the decomposition of a diazoketone <06JOC5560>. On the other hand, the photochemical decomposition of the diazoketone led to pyrrolidin-2-ones. 

Recently, various rhodium carbene complexes were investigated as catalysts for hydrosilation of olefins, acetylenes, and dienes to see whether carbene ligands modify catalytic activity. All reactions were... 

Vinyl Fischer carbenes can be used as three-carbon components in Ni(0)-mediated and Rh(l)-catalyzed [3 + 2 + 21-reactions with alkynes (Schemes 48 and 49)142 and with allenes (Schemes 50 and 51).143 All three of the proposed mechanisms for the [3 + 2 + 2]-cycloadditions involve an initial carbene transfer from chromium to nickel or rhodium (Schemes 49, 52, and 53). As is seen from the products of the two [3 + 2 + 2]-reactions with 1,1-dimethylallene, although the nickel and rhodium carbenes 147G and 147K appear similar, the initial insertion of the allene occurs with opposite regioselectivity. 

An understanding of the mechanism [10] for rhodium-mediated intramolecular C-H insertion begins with the recognition that these a-diazo carbonyl derivatives can also be seen as stabilized ylides, such as 15 (Scheme 16.4). The catalytic rhodium(II) car-boxylate 16 is Lewis acidic, with vacant coordination sites at the apical positions, as shown. The first step in the mechanism, carbene transfer from the diazo ester to the rhodium, begins with complexation of the electron density at the diazo carbon with an open rhodium coordination site, to give 17. Back-donation of electron density from the proximal rhodium to the carbene carbon, with concomitant loss of N2, then gives the intermediate rhodium carbene complex 18. 

The mechanism by which this intermediate rhodium carbene complex 18 reacts can be more easily understood if it is written as the inverted ylide 19, as this species would clearly be electrophilic at carbon. We hypothesized that for bond formation to proceed, a transition state 20 in which the C-Rh bond is aligned with the target C-H bond... 

On the basis of these parameters we determined two possible transition states, 22 and 23. In transition state 22, the rhodium carbene is pointed away from the flip of the incipient cyclopentane ring (a chair-like transition state, counting the five carbons and the rhodium in the six-membered ring), whereas in 23 the rhodium carbene is pointed toward the flip of the incipient cyclopentane ring (a boat-hke transition state). As 10 (see Scheme 16.3) cyclizes to 12, in which the methyl and the phenyl are on the same face of the cyclopentane, we concluded that at the point of commitment to product formation, the transition state leading to cyclization must be chair-like 22 rather than boat-like 23. 

The syn and the anti conformations leading to (R,R)-29, and illustrated in Tab. 16.3, are calculated (Mechanics) to be the two lowest energy transition states for the cyclization of 27. Of the two, the anti conformation (rhodium carbene and carbonyl co-planar, but pointing in opposite directions) is the more stable by 3.37 kcal moh. If steric factors alone governed the outcome of these cyclizations, we would expect that the anti transition state leading to R,R)-29 would compete with the syn transition state leading to (S,S)-29, with the former being favored by 4.35 kcalmor. We have found that if the... 

For related analyses of transition states for rhodium carbene insertions,... 

In 1981 it was shown that rhodium(II) carboxylates smoothly catalyze the addition of ethyl diazoacetate to a variety of alkanes11. While some differentiation between possible sites of insertion was observed, selectivity is not as high for this carbenoid process as it is for the free radical process above. Rhodium-catalyzed intermolecular C-H insertion is thought to proceed via electrophilic addition of an intermediate rhodium carbene into the alkane C—IT bond. 

Figure 5.18. Preparation of cycloalkenes from rhodium carbene complexes [165,168],...

The product of reaction (30) is thought to coordinate a further molecule of ethyldiazoacetate trans to the iodoalkyl group which looses dinitrogen, yielding a hexacoordinate rhodium carbene complex according to Eq. (31) which transfers its carbene moiety to an attacking alkene molecule. 

Pyridone is O-alkylated more readily than normal amides, because the resulting products are aromatic. With soft electrophiles, however, clean N-alkylations can be performed (Scheme 1.7). The Mitsunobu reaction, on the other hand, leads either to mixtures of N- and O-alkylated products or to O-alkylation exclusively, probably because of the hard, carbocation-like character of the intermediate alkoxyphosphonium cations. Electrophilic rhodium carbene complexes also preferentially alkylate the oxygen atom of 2-pyridone or other lactams [20] (Scheme 1.7). 

Rearrangement of N-nitrosoamides. N-Nitrosamides (1), prepared by acetylation of primary amines followed by nitrosation, are known to decompose in nonpolar solvents at 80-100° to form alkyl acetates with elimination of nitrogen.9 The presumed diazoalkane intermediate (a) can be trapped as a rhodium carbene (b), which undergoes rearrangement to an alkene (equation I). The overall result is a mild, nonbasic version of the classical Hofmann degradation of amines. 

Catalytic Functionalization of N-Heterocycles via their Rhodium-Carbene Complexes... 

Selective O-alkylation of 2-pyridones is effected by reaction with diazoacetic esters in the presence of 2 mol% Rh2(OCOCF3)4 <20000L1641>. The reaction proceeds by selective transfer of the carbene from rhodium-carbene... 

A C(C02Me)2 unit can add to C=C double bonds by means of another carbenoid, namely a rhodium-carbene complex A (B is aresonace form, Figure 3.17). Again, these additions are... 

Fig. 3.17. Two reactions that demonstrate the stereospecificity of Rh-catalyzed cis-cyclo-propanations of electron-rich alkenes. — The zwitterionic resonance form A turns out to be a better presentation of the electrophilic character of rhodium-carbene complexes than the (formally) charge-free resonance form B or the zwit-ter-ionic resonance form (not shown here) with the opposite charge distribution ( adjacent to the C02Me groups, on Rh) rhodium-carbene complexes preferentially react with electron-rich alkenes.

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