Rhodium carbene reactions Subject

It is worthy of note that this reaction is still the subject of solid and productive interest, as shown by the following recent examples. Chiu has exploited a rhodium carbene-promoted intramolecular formation of a carbonyl ylid - cycloaddition cascade as the key reaction in the synthesis of the nucleus of the cytotoxic diterpenoids pseudolaric acids A and B [54]. Although the diastereoselectivity was preferential for the undesired isomer 64, use of Hashimoto s chiral rhodium catalyst Rh2(SBPTV)4 reversed the selectivity in favor of 65 (64 65, 1 1.4) [55] (Scheme 29). 

As already mentioned for rhodium carbene complexes, proof of the existence of electrophilic metal carbenoids relies on indirect evidence, and insight into the nature of intermediates is obtained mostly through reactivity-selectivity relationships and/or comparison with stable Fischer-type metal carbene complexes. A particularly puzzling point is the relevance of metallacyclobutanes as intermediates in cyclopropane formation. The subject is still a matter of debate in the literature. Even if some metallacyclobutanes have been shown to yield cyclopropanes by reductive elimination [15], the intermediacy of metallacyclobutanes in carbene transfer reactions is in most cases borne out neither by direct observation nor by clear-cut mechanistic studies and such a reaction pathway is probably not a general one. Formation of a metallacyclobu-tane requires coordination both of the olefin and of the carbene to the metal center. In many cases, all available evidence points to direct reaction of the metal carbenes with alkenes without prior olefin coordination. Further, it has been proposed that, at least in the context of rhodium carbenoid insertions into C-H bonds, partial release of free carbenes from metal carbene complexes occurs [16]. Of course this does not exclude the possibility that metallacyclobutanes play a pivotal role in some catalyst systems, especially in copper-and palladium-catalyzed reactions. 

There has been no comprehensive monograph on carbenes since the books of Kirmse, Jones, and Maas were published in the early 1970 s. Does this development indicate a decrease in interest in carbene chemistry Not at all One might even say that it seems that the enormous increase in the number of investigations on carbene reactions, particularly with the help of complex rhodium and related metal catalysts, makes it difficult to write a book on all aspects of carbene chemistry. The catalytic procedures for metal-carbene transformations from aliphatic diazo compounds are now the most important tool for cyclopropanations and related processes in organic synthesis. We shall mention reviews on that subject in Sections 8.7 and 8.8. 

As with any modern review of the chemical Hterature, the subject discussed in this chapter touches upon topics that are the focus of related books and articles. For example, there is a well recognized tome on the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction that is an excellent introduction to the many varieties of this transformation [1]. More specific reviews involving the use of rhodium(II) in carbonyl ylide cycloadditions [2] and intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions have also appeared [3, 4]. The use of rhodium for the creation and reaction of carbenes as electrophilic species [5, 6], their use in intramolecular carbenoid reactions [7], and the formation of ylides via the reaction with heteroatoms have also been described [8]. Reviews of rhodium(II) ligand-based chemoselectivity [9], rhodium(11)-mediated macrocyclizations [10], and asymmetric rho-dium(II)-carbene transformations [11, 12] detail the multiple aspects of control and applications that make this such a powerful chemical transformation. In addition to these reviews, several books have appeared since around 1998 describing the catalytic reactions of diazo compounds [13], cycloaddition reactions in organic synthesis [14], and synthetic applications of the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition [15]. 

The reaction system (6-37) includes the thermal azo-extrusion of a cyclic azo compound to a cyclopropane derivative and the direct formation of cyclopropanes, catalyzed by metal complexes. Synthetic routes to cyclopropane derivatives became an important subject in the last two decades, and one frequently used method is the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of a diazoalkane to an alkene followed by thermal or photolytic azo-extrusion of the 4,5-dihydro-3//-pyrazole formed to the cyclopropane derivative (6-37 A). This route can be followed in many cases without isolation, or even without direct observation, of the 4,5-dihydro-3//-pyrazole. Therefore, it is formally very similar to cyclopropane formation from alkenes with diazoalkanes, in which a carbene is first formed by azo-extrusion of the diazoalkane (see Sect. 8.3). As shown in pathway (6-37 B), this step can be catalyzed by copper, palladium, or rhodium complexes (see Sects. 8.2, 8.7, and 8.8). There are cases where it is not clearly known whether route A or B is followed. Scheme 6-37 also includes... 

Synthesis of the chiral catalysts to introduce enantioselectivity in carbene transfer reactions is a subject of great interest. Often copper and rhodium chiral catalysts are of choice for the carbene transfer reactions. In some reports, immobilized chiral dirhodium (II) catalyst were employed successfully in asymmetric cyclopropanation reactions. Ubeda and coworkers reported the immobilization of chiral Rh2(02CR)2(PC)2 (PC = ort/io-metalated phosphine) compounds on cross-linked polystyrene (PS) resin by an... 

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