Ruthenium complexes oxidation catalysts

This book is concerned with the application of ruthenium complexes as catalysts for useful organic oxidations. 

Inspection of equations (41)-(51) reveals some interesting correlations concerning the relative reactivity of several ligands in the coordination sphere of various metals. For instance, one might conclude from equations (43), (49) and (51) that the order of reactivity of ligands toward O2 in ruthenium complexes is SO2 > NO, CO > CNR, Ph3P. Coordinated phosphines, however, do react with oxygen under the proper conditions and, in fact several ruthenium complexes are catalysts for phosphine oxidation. In most instances when coordinated phosphines are oxidized they are readily expelled from the coordination sphere of the metal, however, in the case of Co(Il), the phosphine oxide is retained, equation (52). 

Ruthenium catalysts have also been applied as effective catalysts. The selective oxidation of 12 could be achieved by using terpyridine-derived ruthenium complexes, with catalyst loadings below 1 mol% and the addition of a phase transfer catalyst (PTC an ammonium, phosphonium, or sulfonium salt) in biphasic aqueous systems, but also in methanol without PTC, and without the need for adding... 

High-valent ruthenium oxides (e. g., Ru04) are powerful oxidants and react readily with olefins, mostly resulting in cleavage of the double bond [132]. If reactions are performed with very short reaction times (0.5 min.) at 0 °C it is possible to control the reactivity better and thereby to obtain ds-diols. On the other hand, the use of less reactive, low-valent ruthenium complexes in combination with various terminal oxidants for the preparation of epoxides from simple olefins has been described [133]. In the more successful earlier cases, ruthenium porphyrins were used as catalysts, especially in combination with N-oxides as terminal oxidants [134, 135, 136]. Two examples are shown in Scheme 6.20, terminal olefins being oxidized in the presence of catalytic amounts of Ru-porphyrins 25 and 26 with the sterically hindered 2,6-dichloropyridine N-oxide (2,6-DCPNO) as oxidant. The use... 

Asymmetric epoxidation of olefins with ruthenium catalysts based either on chiral porphyrins or on pyridine-2,6-bisoxazoline (pybox) ligands has been reported (Scheme 6.21). Berkessel et al. reported that catalysts 27 and 28 were efficient catalysts for the enantioselective epoxidation of aryl-substituted olefins (Table 6.10) [139]. Enantioselectivities of up to 83% were obtained in the epoxidation of 1,2-dihydronaphthalene with catalyst 28 and 2,6-DCPNO. Simple olefins such as oct-l-ene reacted poorly and gave epoxides with low enantioselectivity. The use of pybox ligands in ruthenium-catalyzed asymmetric epoxidations was first reported by Nishiyama et al., who used catalyst 30 in combination with iodosyl benzene, bisacetoxyiodo benzene [PhI(OAc)2], or TBHP for the oxidation of trons-stilbene [140], In their best result, with PhI(OAc)2 as oxidant, they obtained trons-stilbene oxide in 80% yield and with 63% ee. More recently, Beller and coworkers have reexamined this catalytic system, finding that asymmetric epoxidations could be perfonned with ruthenium catalysts 29 and 30 and 30% aqueous hydrogen peroxide (Table 6.11) [141]. Development of the pybox ligand provided ruthenium complex 31, which turned out to be the most efficient catalyst for asymmetric... 

Besides ruthenium porphyrins (vide supra), several other ruthenium complexes were used as catalysts for asymmetric epoxidation and showed unique features 114,115 though enantioselectivity is moderate, some reactions are stereospecific and treats-olefins are better substrates for the epoxidation than are m-olcfins (Scheme 20).115 Epoxidation of conjugated olefins with the Ru (salen) (37) as catalyst was also found to proceed stereospecifically, with high enantioselectivity under photo-irradiation, irrespective of the olefmic substitution pattern (Scheme 21).116-118 Complex (37) itself is coordinatively saturated and catalytically inactive, but photo-irradiation promotes the dissociation of the apical nitrosyl ligand and makes the complex catalytically active. The wide scope of this epoxidation has been attributed to the unique structure of (37). Its salen ligand adopts a deeply folded and distorted conformation that allows the approach of an olefin of any substitution pattern to the intermediary oxo-Ru species.118 2,6-Dichloropyridine IV-oxide (DCPO) and tetramethylpyrazine /V. V -dioxide68 (TMPO) are oxidants of choice for this epoxidation. 

In contrast the oxo-ruthenium complex c ,c -[ (bpy)2Runl(0H2) 2(//-0)]4+ and some of its derivatives are known to be active catalysts for the chemical or electrochemical oxidation of water to dioxygen.464-472 Many studies have been reported473 181 on the redox and structural chemistry of this complex for understanding the mechanism of water oxidation. Based on the results of pH-dependent electrochemical measurements, the basic structural unit is retained in the successive oxidation states from Rum-0 Ru111 to Ruv O Ruv.466... 

A number of mechanistic pathways have been identified for the oxidation, such as O-atom transfer to sulfides, electrophilic attack on phenols, hydride transfer from alcohols, and proton-coupled electron transfer from hydroquinone. Some kinetic studies indicate that the rate-determining step involves preassociation of the substrate with the catalyst.507,508 The electrocatalytic properties of polypyridyl oxo-ruthenium complexes have been also applied with success to DNA cleavage509,5 and sugar oxidation.511... 

Cationic ruthenium complexes of the type [Cp Ru(MeCN)3]PF6 have been shown to provide unique selectivities for inter- and intramolecular reactions that are difficult to reconcile with previously proposed mechanistic routes.29-31 These observations led to a computational study and a new mechanistic proposal based on concerted oxidative addition and alkyne insertion to a stable ruthenacyclopropene intermediate.32 This proposal seems to best explain the unique selectivities. A similar mechanism in the context of C-H activation has recently been proposed from a computational study of a related ruthenium(ll) catalyst.33... 

This chapter is essentially a review of those ruthenium complexes which have been used as oxidation catalysts for organic substrates, emphasis being placed on such species which have been chemically well-defined and are effective catalysts. Of all the ruthenium oxidants dealt with here those which have the greatest diversity of use are RuO, [RuO ] , [RuO ], the tetramesityl porphyrinato (TMP) complex fran.y-Ru(0)2(TMP), RuCl3(PPh3)3, and cw-RuCl3(dmso). Many other catalysts are covered, and the uses of two principal starting materials, RuO. nH O and RuClj. nH O as precursors for a number of catalysts, discussed. 

Table 19.1 Calculated values of k, rd and for various ammine ruthenium complexes as a water oxidation catalyst incorporated into Nation membrane...

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