Rhodium catalysts lead compounds

In the presence of metal catalysts such as rhodium compounds, aldehydes can add directly to alkenes to form ketones. The reaction of co-alkenyl aldehydes with rhodium catalyst leads to cyclic ketones, with high enantioselectivity if chiral ligands are employed. Aldehydes also add to vinyl esters in the presence of hyponitrites and thioglycolates. ° ... 

With Unsaturated Compounds. The reaction of unsaturated organic compounds with carbon monoxide and molecules containing an active hydrogen atom leads to a variety of interesting organic products. The hydroformylation reaction is the most important member of this class of reactions. When the hydroformylation reaction of ethylene takes place in an aqueous medium, diethyl ketone [96-22-0] is obtained as the principal product instead of propionaldehyde [123-38-6] (59). Ethylene, carbon monoxide, and water also yield propionic acid [79-09-4] under mild conditions (448—468 K and 3—7 MPa or 30—70 atm) using cobalt or rhodium catalysts containing bromide or iodide (60,61). 

Secondary amines can be added to certain nonactivated alkenes if palladium(II) complexes are used as catalysts The complexation lowers the electron density of the double bond, facilitating nucleophilic attack. Markovnikov orientation is observed and the addition is anti An intramolecular addition to an alkyne unit in the presence of a palladium compound, generated a tetrahydropyridine, and a related addition to an allene is known.Amines add to allenes in the presence of a catalytic amount of CuBr " or palladium compounds.Molybdenum complexes have also been used in the addition of aniline to alkenes. Reduction of nitro compounds in the presence of rhodium catalysts, in the presence of alkenes, CO and H2, leads to an amine unit adding to the alkene moiety. An intramolecular addition of an amine unit to an alkene to form a pyrrolidine was reported using a lanthanide reagent. 

Intermolecular [4+2]-cycloaddition of vinylallenes with alkynes is efficiently mediated by means of an electronically tuned rhodium catalyst (Scheme 16.81) [91]. A five-membered rhodacycle is formed from the vinylallene. Coordination followed by insertion of an alkyne to the rhodacycle generates a seven-membered rhodacycle, from which rhodium(I) is eliminated reductively to produce a cyclohexatriene, leading to the aromatic compound. 

The use of chiral additives with a rhodium complex also leads to cyclopropanes enantioselectively. An important chiral rhodium species is Rh2(5-DOSP)4, which leads to cyclopropanes with excellent enantioselectivity in carbene cyclopro-panation reactions. Asymmetric, intramolecular cyclopropanation reactions have been reported. The copper catalyzed diazoester cyclopropanation was reported in an ionic liquid. ° It is noted that the reaction of a diazoester with a chiral dirhodium catalyst leads to p-lactones with modest enantioselectivity Phosphonate esters have been incorporated into the diazo compound... 

Selective hydrogenation of one phenyl ring in polyphenyl compounds is hardly possible using Rh catalysts, however, the reduction of l-methyl-4-(2,2-diphenyl-2-hydroxyethyOpiperazine 1 as the dihydrochloride salt leads to selectively reduced 2. Rhodium catalysts are less sensitive to poisoning by nitrogen compounds than other metal catalysts when carried out on rhodium-on-alumina ... 

Historically, tetraethyllead(iv) (Pb(C2H5)4) has been used as a gasoline additive to improve the anti-knock properties of gasoline (known as leaded fuel). Leaded gasoline is now being phased out for antipollution reasons and also because it poisons the platinum/rhodium catalyst in a catalytic converter. Catalytic converters change pollutants, such as carbon monoxide, unburnt hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides, into more environmentally friendly compounds. Leaded petrol should therefore not be used in a car that contains a catalytic converter. 

The diazo function in compound 4 can be regarded as a latent carbene. Transition metal catalyzed decomposition of a diazo keto ester, such as 4, could conceivably lead to the formation of an electron-deficient carbene (see intermediate 3) which could then insert into the proximal N-H bond. If successful, this attractive transition metal induced ring closure would accomplish the formation of the targeted carbapenem bicyclic nucleus. Support for this idea came from a model study12 in which the Merck group found that rhodi-um(n) acetate is particularly well suited as a catalyst for the carbe-noid-mediated cyclization of a diazo azetidinone closely related to 4. Indeed, when a solution of intermediate 4 in either benzene or toluene is heated to 80 °C in the presence of a catalytic amount of rhodium(n) acetate (substrate catalyst, ca. 1000 1), the processes... 

Unbumt gasoline and cracked hydrocarbons such as ethylene and propylene are also substantial constituents of exhaust. Gasoline contains additives such as benzene, toluene and branched hydrocarbons to achieve the necessary octane numbers. The direct emission of these volatile compounds, e.g. at gas stations, is a significant source of air pollution. Leaded fuels, containing antiknock additions such as tetra-ethyl-lead, have been abandoned because lead poisons both human beings and the three-way exhaust catalyst, especially for the removal of NO by rhodium. 

Three-way automotive catalysts based on palladium, rather than the more expensive metals platinum and rhodium, have long been desired. However, Pd is more sensitive than R to poisoning by lead (Pb) compounds [1-4], Consequently, widespread commercial use of Pd-based automotive three-way catalysts (TWC) was delayed in the U.S. until the early 1990s, by which time residual Pb concentrations in unleaded gasoline had decreased to negligible levels. The past five years have witnessed... 

The catalytic cyclopropanation of 1,3-dienes leads exclusively or nearly so to mono-cyclopropanation products, as long as no excess of diazocarbonyl compound is applied. The regioselectivity has been tested for representative rhodium, copper and palladium catalysts 59 7 ,72), and the results are displayed in Table 9. 

The rhodium-catalyzed cyclization/hydrosilylation of internal diyne proceeds efficiently with high stereoselectivity (Scheme 106). However, terminal diynes show low reactivity to rhodium cationic complexes. Tolerance of functionalities seems to be equivalent between the rhodium and platinum catalysts. The bulkiness of the hydrosilane used is very important for the regioselectivity of the rhodium-catalyzed cyclization/hydrosilylation. For example, less-hindered dimethylethylsilane gives disilylated diene without cyclization (resulting in the double hydrosilylation of the two alkynes), and /-butyldimethylsilane leads to the formation of cyclotrimerization compound. 

The enantioselective hydrogenation of prochirai heteroaromatics is of major relevance for the synthesis of biologically active compounds, some of which are difficult to access via stereoselective organic synthesis [4], This is the case for substituted N-heterocycles such as piperazines, pyridines, indoles, and quinoxa-lines. The hydrogenation of these substrates by supported metal particles generally leads to diastereoselective products [4], while molecular catalysts turn out to be more efficient in enantioselective processes. Rhodium and chiral chelating diphosphines constitute the ingredients of the vast majority of the known molecular catalysts. 

In general, carbonylation proceeds via activation of a C-H or a C-X bond in the olefins and halides or alcohols, respectively, followed by CO-insertion into the metal-carbon bond. In order to form the final product there is a need for a nucleophile, Nu". Reaction of an R-X compound leads to production of equivalent amounts of X", the accumulation of which can be a serious problem in case of halides. In many cases the catalyst is based on palladium but cobalt, nickel, rhodium and mthenium complexes are also widely used. 

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