Rhodium, selectivity substituted aromatics

The synthetic potential of reductions by formate has been extended considerably by the use of ammonium formate with transition metal catalysts like palladium and rhodium. This forms a safe alternative to use of hydrogen. In this fashion it is possible to reduce hydrazones to hydrazines, azides and nitro groups to amines, to dehalogenate chloro-substituted aromatics, and to carry out various reductive removals of functional groups. For example, phenol triflates are selectively deoxygenated to the aromatic derivatives using triethylammonium formate as reductant and a palladium catalyst. - These recent af li-cations have been reviewed. 

In the above examples, the nucleophilic role of the metal complex only comes after the formation of a suitable complex as a consequence of the electron-withdrawing effect of the metal. Perhaps the most impressive series of examples of nucleophilic behaviour of complexes is demonstrated by the p-diketone metal complexes. Such complexes undergo many reactions typical of the electrophilic substitution reactions of aromatic compounds. As a result of the lability of these complexes towards acids, care is required when selecting reaction conditions. Despite this restriction, a wide variety of reactions has been shown to occur with numerous p-diketone complexes, especially of chromium(III), cobalt(III) and rhodium(III), but also in certain cases with complexes of beryllium(II), copper(II), iron(III), aluminum(III) and europium(III). Most work has been carried out by Collman and his coworkers and the results have been reviewed.4-29 A brief summary of results is relevant here and the essential reaction is shown in equation (13). It has been clearly demonstrated that reaction does not involve any dissociation, by bromination of the chromium(III) complex in the presence of radioactive acetylacetone. Furthermore, reactions of optically active... 

Selective reduction to hydroxylamine can be achieved in a variety of ways the most widely applicable systems utilize zinc and ammonium chloride in an aqueous or alcoholic medium. The overreduction to amines can be prevented by using a two-phase solvent system. Hydroxylamines have also been obtained from nitro compounds using molecular hydrogen and iridium catalysts. A rapid metal-catalyzed transfer reduction of aromatic nitroarenes to N-substituted hydroxylamines has also been developed the method employs palladium and rhodium on charcoal as catalyst and a variety of hydrogen donors such as cyclohexene, hydrazine, formic acid and phosphinic acid. The reduction of nitroarenes to arylhydroxyl-amines can also be achieved using hydrazine in the presence of Raney nickel or iron(III) oxide. ... 

Future trends in reduction of substituted nitrobenzenes will probably be based on novel catalysts. Homogenous transition metal (ruthenium and rhodium) catalysts offer routes to chemospecific reduction of aromatic nitro groups16. Novel catalytic methods involving combinatorial chemistry may offer pathways to new industrial hydrogenation processes, where selective reduction is desired. A number of solution- and solid-phase C /Mo0 redox couple reductions of substituted nitroarenes to the corresponding anilines have been proposed17. 

The hydrosilylation of methylenecyclopropanes is proposed to proceed via oxidative addition to the olefin, followed by rhodium migration across the strained cyclopropane ring, and eventual reductive elimination to give the silyl-substituted olefins. The process is compatible with aromatic and aliphatic substitution on the olefin and often requires heating. Additionally, cyclopropyl-substituted methylenecyclopropanes may be selectively silylated to give alkenes containing one, two, or three /3-silylated olefin chains. 

The formation of substituted cycloheptatrienes by cycloaddition of carbenes to aromatic substrates has been widely studied, but yields are generally poor because of low selectivity. A Belgian group has now shown that catalytic quantities of rhodium salts of strong carboxylic acids are highly efficient in promoting the addition of carbenes to aromatic hydrocarbons, permitting ready... 

---