Ruthenium complexes carbenes

Imidazole is characterized mainly by the T) (N) coordination mode, where N is the nitrogen atom of the pyridine type. The rare coordination modes are T) - (jt-) realized in the ruthenium complexes, I-ti (C,N)- in organoruthenium and organoosmium chemistry. Imidazolium salts and stable 1,3-disubsti-tuted imidazol-2-ylidenes give a vast group of mono-, bis-, and tris-carbene complexes characterized by stability and prominent catalytic activity. Benzimidazole follows the same trends. Biimidazoles and bibenzimidazoles are ligands as the neutral molecules, mono- and dianions. A variety of the coordination situations is, therefore, broad, but there are practically no deviations from the expected classical trends for the mono-, di-, and polynuclear A -complexes. 

Keywords Metathesis Alkenes Catalysis Ruthenium Metal carbene complexes... 

The ruthenium complexes were prepared in 50-80% yield by treatment of the imidazolium salts with potassium hexafluoro-t-butoxide, and then by (PCy3)2Cl2Ru = CHPh. A single phosphine is displaced by the carbene affording the desired complexes as air-stable solids that were purified by silica gel... 

Further improvements in activity of the ruthenium carbene complexes were achieved by incorporation of methyl groups in 3,4-position of imidazol-2-ylidene moiety. Introduction of sulfur in the trara-position to the N-heterocyclic carbene leads to increased stability of the resulting ruthenium complexes. The synthesis and the first applications of these new rathenium complexes are described herein. 

Intermolecular enyne metathesis has recently been developed using ethylene gas as the alkene [20]. The plan is shown in Scheme 10. In this reaction,benzyli-dene carbene complex 52b, which is commercially available [16b], reacts with ethylene to give ruthenacyclobutane 73. This then converts into methylene ruthenium complex 57, which is the real catalyst in this reaction. It reacts with the alkyne intermolecularly to produce ruthenacyclobutene 74, which is converted into vinyl ruthenium carbene complex 75. It must react with ethylene, not with the alkyne, to produce ruthenacyclobutane 76 via [2+2] cycloaddition. Then it gives diene 72, and methylene ruthenium complex 57 would be regenerated. If the methylene ruthenium complex 57 reacts with ethylene, ruthenacyclobutane 77 would be formed. However, this process is a so-called non-productive process, and it returns to ethylene and 57. The reaction was carried out in CH2Cl2 un-... 

Enantioselective cyclopropanations using enantiomerically pure tungsten [54], iron [458,483,630], and ruthenium [581] carbene complexes have also been at-... 

Inter- and intramolecular (cyclometallation) reactions of this type have been ob-.served, for instance, with titanium [408,505,683-685], hafnium [411], tantalum [426,686,687], tungsten [418,542], and ruthenium complexes [688], Not only carbene complexes but also imido complexes L M=NR of, e.g., zirconium [689,690], vanadium [691], tantalum [692], or tungsten [693] undergo C-H insertion with unactivated alkanes and arenes. Some illustrative examples are sketched in Figure 3.37. No applications in organic synthesis have yet been found for these mechanistically interesting processes. 

Ruthenium complexes B are stable in the presence of alcohols, amines, or water, even at 60 °C. Olefin metathesis can be realized even in water as solvent, either using ruthenium carbene complexes with water-soluble phosphine ligands [815], or in emulsions. These complexes are also stable in air [584]. No olefination of aldehydes, ketones, or derivatives of carboxylic acids has been observed [582]. During catalysis of olefin metathesis replacement of one phosphine ligand by an olefin can occur [598,809]. 

The preparation of cyclopropanes by intermolecular cyclopropanation with acceptor-substituted carbene complexes is one of the most important C-C-bond-forming reactions. Several reviews [995,1072-1074,1076,1077,1081] and monographs have appeared. In recent decades chemists have focused on stereoselective intermolecular cyclopropanations, and several useful catalyst have been developed for this purpose. Complexes which catalyze intermolecular cyclopropanations with high enantiose-lectivity include copper complexes [1025,1026,1028,1029,1031,1373,1398-1400], cobalt complexes [1033-1035], ruthenium porphyrin complexes [1041,1042,1230], C2-symmetric ruthenium complexes [948,1044,1045], and different types of rhodium complexes [955,998,999,1002-1004,1010,1062,1353,1401-1405], Particularly efficient catalysts for intermolecular cyclopropanation are C2-symmetric cop-per(I) complexes, as those shown in Figure 4.20. These complexes enable the formation of enantiomerically enriched cyclopropanes with enantiomeric excesses greater than 99%. Illustrative examples of intermolecular cyclopropanations are listed in Table 4.24. 

Synthesis and Metathesis Reactions of a Phosphine-Free Dihydroimidazole Carbene Ruthenium Complex, S. Gessler,... 

Later Grubbs discovered ruthenium carbene complex and used it for a metathesis reaction to synthesize cyclic compounds 5a-d [Eqs. (6.4) and (6.5)]. In 1995, Grubbs found that ruthenium benzylidene carbene complex Ic," which is now commercially available, has the same reactivity as that of lb. Many researchers have therefore used this complex for olefin metathesis, and this reaction has been useful for the synthesis of carbo- and heterocyclic compounds and fused bicyclic compounds [Eq. [6.6)] °... 

The stoichiometric reaction of propyl propargylic ether with the similar ruthenium precursor XVIIIb (X OTf) led to the formation of the same isolable carbene-ruthenium complex XXb and propanal (Scheme 8.14). 

Ruthenium and osmium carbene complexes possess metal centers that are formally in the +2 oxidation state, have an electron count of 16 and are penta-coordinated. Ruthenium complexes exhibit a higher catalytic activity when an imidazole carbene ligand is coordinated to the ruthenium metal center (21). 

Since the discovery of ruthenium and molybdenum carbene complexes that efficiently catalyze olefin metathesis under mild reaction conditions and that are compatible with a broad range of functional groups, olefin metathesis has increasingly been used for the preparation of alkenes on insoluble supports. In particular, the ruthenium complexes Cl2(PCy3)2Ru=CHR, developed by Grubbs, show sufficient catalytic activity even in the presence of air and water [781] and are well suited for solid-phase synthesis. 

Carbene and silylene complexes - Carbene complexes of ruthenium [312] and osmium [313] porphyrins were formed from the neutral dimers [M(P)]2 with diazoalkanes (Eq. 26). 

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