Rhodium carboxamides

Having established that pure enantiomer ( S,ZR)-77 was capable of undergoing remarkably regioselective and diastereoselective C-H activation, it followed that highly efficient enantiomeric differentiation of rac-77 could be accomplished.199 Hence, the Rh2(5Y-MEPY)4-catalyzed reaction of rac-77 effectively gave close to a 1 1 mixture of enantioenriched (lY)-78 (91% ee) and ( R)-79 (98% ee) (Equation (68)). Other equally spectacular examples of diastereo- and regiocontrol via chiral rhodium carboxamide catalysts in cyclic and acyclic diazoacetate systems have been reported.152 199 200 203-205... 

Intramolecular cyclopropanation has a noteworthy advantage. Unlike intermolecular asymmetric cyclopropanation, the intramolecular reaction produces only one diastereomer due to geometric constrains on the fused bicyclic products. Doyle has extensively studied the intramolecular enantioselective reactions of a variety of alkenyl diazoacetates catalyzed by chiral rhodium carboxamides 198 and 200 and has achieved excellent results. 

Diazoacetamides are also exceptional substrates for dirhodium carboxamidate-catalyzed reactions, although with these substrates a mixture of /3-lactam and y-lactam products are formed [8]. The rhodium carboxamidate catalyst can have a major effect on the ratio of products formed. A good synthetic example is the Rh2(4S-MPPIM)4)-catalyzed synthesis of (-)-hcliotridanc 11 (Scheme 5) [9]. The key C-H insertion step of 9 generated the indolizidine 10 in 86 % yield and 96 % de, whereas reaction of 9 with achiral catalysts tended to favor the opposite diaster-eomer. 

DuBois and Guthikonda have developed a broadly applicable aziridination of alkenes using a sulfamate ester (e.g., 534), a rhodium carboxamide catalyst, and iodosylbenzene as a terminal oxidant <2002JA13672>. An intriguing electrochemical approach has also been reported using A-aminophthalimide 537 as the nitrogen donor (Scheme 132) <2002JA530>. 

Arenes suffer dearomatization via cyclopropanation upon reaction with a-diazocarbonyl compounds (Btlchner reaction) [76]. Initially formed norcaradiene products are usually present in equilibrium with cycloheptatrienes formed via electrocyclic cyclopropane ring opening. The reaction is dramatically promoted by transition metal catalysts (usually Cu(I) or Rh(II) complexes) that give metal-stabilized carbenoids upon reaction with diazo compounds. Inter- and intramolecular manifolds are known, and asymmetric variants employing substrate control and chiral transition metal catalysts have been developed [77]. Effective chiral catalysts for intramolecular Buchner reactions include Rh Cmandelate), rhodium carboxamidates, and Cu(I)-bis(oxazolines). While enantioselectivities as high as 95% have been reported, more modest levels of asymmetric induction are typically observed. 

Zalatan DN, Du Bois J. A chiral rhodium carboxamidate catalyst for enantioselective... 

It is noteworthy that, in the carboxamidate-ligated dirhodium(II) complexes (86), (87), and (89), the rhodium core is coordinated by four ligands and two N and two O atoms are bound to each rhodium center, constituting a unique coordination sphere (Figure 10).225... 

Activation of a C-H bond requires a metallocarbenoid of suitable reactivity and electrophilicity.105-115 Most of the early literature on metal-catalyzed carbenoid reactions used copper complexes as the catalysts.46,116 Several chiral complexes with Ce-symmetric ligands have been explored for selective C-H insertion in the last decade.117-127 However, only a few isolated cases have been reported of impressive asymmetric induction in copper-catalyzed C-H insertion reactions.118,124 The scope of carbenoid-induced C-H insertion expanded greatly with the introduction of dirhodium complexes as catalysts. Building on initial findings from achiral catalysts, four types of chiral rhodium(n) complexes have been developed for enantioselective catalysis in C-H activation reactions. They are rhodium(n) carboxylates, rhodium(n) carboxamidates, rhodium(n) phosphates, and < // < -metallated arylphosphine rhodium(n) complexes. 

Doyle s rhodium(n) carboxamidate complexes are undisputedly the best catalysts for enantioselective cyclizations of acceptor-substituted carbenoids derived from diazo esters and diazoacetamides, displaying outstanding regio- and stereocontrol.4 These carboxamidate catalysts consist of four classes of complexes pyrrolidinones... 

Rhodium(n) carboxamidates are clearly superior to all other types of catalysts in effecting highly chemo-, regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselective intramolecular C-H activation reactions of carbenoids derived from diazoacetates. Specifically, Rh2(4Y-MPPIM)4 is the catalyst of choice for C-H activation reactions of simple primary and secondary alkyl diazoacetates. Likewise, Rh2(4Y-MACIM)4 thus far has been the most successful catalyst with tertiary alkyl diazoacetates, whereas for primary acceptor-substituted diazoacetates with a pendant olefin side chain, Rh2(4A-MEOX)4 has proved to be highly selective. 

Before turning to specific results we will have a look at the properties of rhodium(II) acetates/carboxamidates as catalysts for reactions with diazocompounds as the substrates via carbenoid intermediates. Rhodium(II) has a d7 electron configuration, forming the lantern type dimers with bridging carboxylates. The single electrons in the respective dz2 orbitals form an electron... 

Hydration of nitriles providing carboxamides is usually carried out m strongly basic or acidic aqueous media - these reactions require rather bars conditions and suffer from incomplete selectivity to the desired amide product. A few papers in the literature deal with the possibihty of transition metal catalysis of this reaction [28-30]. According to a recent report [30], acetonitrile can be hydrated into acetamide with water-soluble rhodium(I) complexes (such as the one obtained from [ RhCl(COD) 2] and TPPTS) under reasonably mild conditions with unprecedently high rate... 

We selected a series of rhodium(II) carboxylates, rhodium(II) carboxamidate [5d] (Doyle catalysts 42h, 42i, 42j), and the bridged rhodium(II) carboxylate (Lahuerta catalyst) 42g, as representatives of the various rhodium(II) catalysts generally utilized. Most of the carboxylate and Doyle catalysts were commercially available and were purified by silica gel chromatography prior to use. The Lahuerta catalyst was prepared according to the literature procedure [23]. 

The observed first-order rate constants, Kobs (s ) for the reaction of the rhodium] 11) complexes with diazo ester 34 varied over a range of > 10, in which the pivalate catalyst (entry 3) was almost two orders of magnitude faster than any of the other catalysts studied. The carboxamidate catalysts (entries 8-10) were slower than all the carboxy-lates, while the bridged phosphine catalyst (entry 7) behaved like most of the other car-boxy late s. 

In the carboxylate series, the TPA catalyst (entry 4) was the most selective for methine over methylene insertion. Should this remarkable chemoselectivity prove to be general, this complex may add a possibility for high chemoselectivity not previously observed with rhodium(ll) catalysts. The other carboxylate catalysts show less preference for CH over CH2 insertion. We expect that the CH/CH2 ratios would be more pronounced with a less carefully balanced substrate. In the carboxamidate class, MPPIM catalyst (entry 9) was more selective than the corresponding MeOX catalyst (entry 10), with the MEPY catalyst (entry 8) being the least discriminating for CH over CH2 insertion. 

Asymmetric C-H insertion using chiral rhodium catalysts has proven rather elusive (Scheme 17.30). Dimeric complexes derived from functionalized amino acids 90 and 91 efficiently promote oxidative cychzation of suifamate 88, but the resulting asymmetric induction is modest at best ( 50% ee with 90). Reactions conducted using Doyle s asymmetric carboxamide systems 92 and 93 give disappointing product yields ( 5-10%) and negligible enantiomeric excesses. In general, the electron-rich carboxamide rhodium dimers are poor catalysts for C-H amination. Low turnover numbers with these systems are ascribed to catalyst oxidation under the reaction conditions. 

Rhodium(II) carboxylate dimers and their carboxamide counterparts have been demonstrated to be exceptionally useful catalysts for carbene transfer processes involving diazocarbonyl substrates [1]. Doyle s seminal work identified Rh2(OAc)4 as the catalyst of choice for a variety of cyclopropanation, C-H insertion, and ylide rearrangement transformations using diazoketones or diazoesters [2]. Important contributions by Taber [3], Padwa [4], and Davies [5] further established the superior catalytic activity of dirho-dium catalysts and the excellent selectivity of rhodium-[Pg.417]

Rhodium(II) forms a dimeric complex with a lantern structure composed of four bridging hgands and two axial binding sites. Traditionally rhodium catalysts faU into three main categories the carboxylates, the perfluorinated carboxylates, and the carboxamides. Of these, the two main bridging frameworks are the carboxylate 10 and carboxamide 11 structures. Despite the similarity in the bridging moiety, the reactivity of the perfluorinated carboxylates is demonstrably different from that of the alkyl or even aryl carboxylates. Sohd-phase crystal structures usually have the axial positions of the catalyst occupied by an electron donor, such as an alcohol, ether, amine, or sulfoxide. By far the most widely used rhodium] 11) catalyst is rhodium(II) acetate [Rh2(OAc)4], but almost every variety of rhodium] 11) catalyst is commercially available. 

One of the most significant additions to the modern rhodium] ) catalyst ligand family was the development of the hybrid catalysts that combined the carboxamide bridging ligands with the enhanced reactivity of perfluoroalkyl substituents. In this series, rhodium] ) trifluoroacetamidate [Rh2]tfa)4] was the first described [30]. n addi-... 

Rhodium(II) acetate catalyzes C—H insertion, olefin addition, heteroatom-H insertion, and ylide formation of a-diazocarbonyls via a rhodium carbenoid species (144—147). Intramolecular cyclopentane formation via C—H insertion occurs with retention of stereochemistry (143). Chiral rhodium (TT) carboxamides catalyze enantioselective cyclopropanation and intramolecular C—N insertions of CC-diazoketones (148). Other reactions catalyzed by rhodium complexes include double-bond migration (140), hydrogenation of aromatic aldehydes and ketones to hydrocarbons (150), homologation of esters (151), carbonylation of formaldehyde (152) and amines (140), reductive carbonylation of dimethyl ether or methyl acetate to 1,1-diacetoxy ethane (153), decarbonylation of aldehydes (140), water gas shift reaction (69,154), C—C skeletal rearrangements (132,140), oxidation of olefins to ketones (155) and aldehydes (156), and oxidation of substituted anthracenes to anthraquinones (157). Rhodium-catalyzed hydrosilation of olefins, alkynes, carbonyls, alcohols, and imines is facile and may also be accomplished enantioselectively (140). Rhodium complexes are moderately active alkene and alkyne polymerization catalysts (140). In some cases polymer-supported versions of homogeneous rhodium catalysts have improved activity, compared to their homogenous counterparts. This is the case for the conversion of alkenes direcdy to alcohols under oxo conditions by rhodium—amine polymer catalysts... 

Thus changing the ligands on dirhodium(II) can provide a switch which, in some cases, can turn competitive transformations on or ofT146. Other examples include the use of dirhodium(II) carboxamides to promote cyclopropanation and suppress aromatic cycloaddition146. For example, catalytic decomposition of diazoketone 105 with dirhodium(II) caprolactamate [Rh2(cap)4] provides only cyclopropanation product 106. In contrast, dirhodium(II) perfluorobutyrate [Rh2(pfb)4] or dirhodium(II)triphenylacetate [Rh2(tpa)4] gave the aromatic cycloaddition product 107 exclusively (equation 100)l46 148. Although we have already seen that rhodium(II) acetate catalysed decomposition of diazoketone 59, which bears both aromatic and olefinic functionalities, afforded stable norcaradiene 60 (equation 70)105, the rhodium(II) acetate catalysed carbenoid transformation within an acyclic system (108) showed no chemoselectivity (equation 101). However, when dirhodi-um(II) carboxamides were employed as catalysts for this type of transformation, only cyclopropanation product 109 was obtained (equation 101). ... 

Dirhodium(II) tetrakis(carboxamides), constructed with chiral 2-pyrroli-done-5-carboxylate esters so that the two nitrogen donor atoms on each rhodium are in a cis arrangement, represent a new class of chiral catalysts with broad applicability to enantioselective metal carbene transformations. Enantiomeric excesses greater than 90% have been achieved in intramolecular cyclopropanation reactions of allyl diazoacetates. In intermolecular cyclopropanation reactions with monosubsti-tuted olefins, the cis-disubstituted cyclopropane is formed with a higher enantiomeric excess than the trans isomer, and for cyclopropenation of 1-alkynes extraordinary selectivity has been achieved. Carbon-hydro-gen insertion reactions of diazoacetate esters that result in substituted y-butyrolactones occur in high yield and with enantiomeric excess as high as 90% with the use of these catalysts. Their design affords stabilization of the intermediate metal carbene and orientation of the carbene substituents for selectivity enhancement. 

The approach that we have taken for the design of chiral rhodium(II) catalysts is based on the selectivity obtained in the preparation of geometric isomers with a limited number of rhodium(II) carboxamides. Although four different orientations of amide... 

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