Carbene complexes Schrock-type

The surprising stability of N-heterocyclic carbenes was of interest to organometallic chemists who started to explore the metal complexes of these new ligands. The first examples of this class had been synthesized as early as 1968 by Wanzlick [9] and Ofele [10], only 4 years after the first Fischer-type carbene complex was synthesized [2,3] and 6 years before the first report of a Schrock-type carbene complex [11]. Once the N-heterocyclic ligands are attached to a metal they show a completely different reaction pattern compared to the electrophilic Fischer- and nucleophilic Schrock-type carbene complexes. 

Schrock-type carbenes are nucleophilic alkylidene complexes formed by coordination of strong donor ligands such as alkyl or cyclopentadienyl with no 7T-acceptor ligand to metals in high oxidation states. The nucleophilic carbene complexes show Wittig s ylide-type reactivity and it has been discussed whether the structures may be considered as ylides. A tantalum Schrock-type carbene complex was synthesized by deprotonation of a metal alkyl group [38] (Scheme 7). 

Scheme 7 Synthesis of the first Schrock-type carbene complex...

Fig. 1 A,B Dominant orbital interactions in Fischer-type carbene complexes (A) and Schrock-type carbene complexes (B)...

A decade after Fischer s synthesis of [(CO)5W=C(CH3)(OCH3)] the first example of another class of transition metal carbene complexes was introduced by Schrock, which subsequently have been named after him. His synthesis of [((CH3)3CCH2)3Ta=CHC(CH3)3] [11] was described above and unlike the Fischer-type carbenes it did not have a stabilizing substituent at the carbene ligand, which leads to a completely different behaviour of these complexes compared to the Fischer-type complexes. While the reactions of Fischer-type carbenes can be described as electrophilic, Schrock-type carbene complexes (or transition metal alkylidenes) show nucleophilicity. Also the oxidation state of the metal is generally different, as Schrock-type carbene complexes usually consist of a transition metal in a high oxidation state. 

When the development of carbene-complex chemistry began in the mid seventies, two different patterns of reactivity emerged and led to a, maybe overemphasized, division of these compounds into (electrophilic) Fischer-type and (nucleophilic) Schrock-type carbene complexes (Figure 1.1). 

Fischer-Type and Schrock-Type Carbene Complexes Theoretical Treatment 3... 

Transition metal carbene complexes have broadly been classified into Fischer-type and Schrock-type carbene complexes. The former, typically low-valent, 18-electron complexes with strong 7t-acceptors at the metal, are electrophilic at the carbene carbon atom (C ). On the other hand, Schrock-type carbene complexes are usually high-valent complexes with fewer than 18 valence electrons, and without n-accepting ligands. Schrock-type carbene complexes generally behave as carbon nucleophiles (Figure 1.4). 

Fig. 1.4. Typical Fischer-type and Schrock-type carbene complexes.

Fischer-type and Schrock-type carbene complexes not only differ in their electrophilicity at C but also have strikingly different reactivity towards alkenes (Figure 1.6). 

Fig, 1.6. Different reactivities of Fischer-type and Schrock-type carbene complexes [22-24]. ROH (Cp3)2(CH3)COH ArNH2 2,6-diisopropylaniline complex 1 is formed in situ from the corresponding 2-methyl-2-phenyl-l-propylidene complex and styrene. 

Schrock type carbene complexes are usually high-valent, electron-deficient complexes without 7t-accepting ligands. These complexes often behave as C-nucleophiles and typical reactions include carbonyl olefination and olefin metathesis. 

Some Schrock-type carbene complexes, i.e. high-valent, electron-deficient, nucleophilic complexes of early transition metals, can undergo C-H insertion reactions with simple alkanes or arenes. This reaction corresponds to the reversal of the formation of these carbene complexes by elimination of an alkane (Figure 3.36). 

As discussed in previous sections, high-valent carbene complexes of early transition metals have ylide-like, nucleophilic character. Some Schrock-type carbene complexes react with carbonyl compounds in the same manner as do phosphorus ylides, namely by converting the carbonyl group into an alkene. 

Apart from the tandem metathesis/carbonyl o[efination reaction mediated by the Tebbe reagent (Section 3.2.4.2), few examples of the use of stoichiometric amounts of Schrock-type carbene complexes have been reported. A stoichiometric variant of cross metathesis has been described by Takeda in 1998 [634]. Titanium carbene complexes, generated in situ from dithioacetals, Cp2TiCl2, magnesium, and triethylphosphite (see Experimental Procedures 3.2.2 and 3.2.6), were found to undergo stoichiometric cross-metathesis reactions with allylsilanes [634]. The scope of this reaction remains to be explored. 

The first carbene compound to be well characterized was prepared in 1966 and was one of many Fischer-Type Carbene Complexes to be reported (see equation 7). Fischer carbenes are characterized by heteroatom substituents at the carbene carbon, stabilization by a low-valent metal center, and a partial positive charge at the carbene carbon. In contrast, Schrock-Type Carbene Complexes, or alkylidenes," that have alkyl substituents, are found on metal centers in higher oxidation states, and are nucleophihc at carbon. Many Fischer carbenes are known for chromium, whereas chromium alkylidenes are much less common. Monohalocarbenes of chromium, for example, (OC)5Cr=C(F)NEt2, have also been extensively investigated." Two carbene reactions of note for their application to organic synthesis are the cycloaddition of alkenes with carbene complexes and the reaction of aromatic carbenes with aUcynes to yield complexed naphthols (the Dotz reaction ). ... 

The synthesis of d° Alkylidene complexes by Schrock demonstrated that carbene complexes could be isolated that were electronically similar to those postulated to be involved in the alkene metathesis reaction see Schrock-type Carbene Complexes). Eventually, this pioneering work led to the synthesis of a class of compounds that are among the most active catalysts known for metathesis chemistry. The first observation that a d° carbene complex was involved in metathesis chemistry was when Tebbe showed that the Ti complex (2) would catalyze the degenerate metathesis of... 

Metal aUcylidene complexes (see Schrock-type Carbene Complexes) have been proposed as intermediates in many catalytic reactions, including alkene metathesis (see Organic Synthesis Using Metal-mediated Metathesis Reactions), alkene and aUcyne polymerization, methylenation of carbonyl compounds, and cyclopropanation of alkenes. ... 

Thermolysis of ()) -cyclopentadienyl)bis(neopentyl)(tri-methylphosphine)vanadium(I) (82) in the presence of 1,2-bis(dimethylphosphuio)ethane leads to the formation of the Schrock-type see Schrock-type Carbene Complexes) alkylidene vanadium complex (83), which is supported by X-ray crystallographic analysis (Scheme 45). " The imido vanadium complex (84) is converted to the corresponding alkylidene complex (86) on treatment with ben-zylidene(triphenyl)phosphorane (85) via substitution of the phosphine ligand (Scheme 46). ... 

The lability of the C-Ag bond results from the nature of the metal-carbon interaction in the NHC-metal complexes, which differs from those found in both the Fischer and Schrock type carbene complexes. Both the Fischer and Schrock type carbenes have a double bond between the metal and the carbon (Fig. 4) comprising of both o and n components. This orbital overlap differs in the NHC-metal complexes. The p orbital on the carbeneic carbon, which was used to n bond in the Fischer and Schrock carbenes, receives electron density from the p orbital of the neighboring N atoms, thus the carbeneic p orbital is unavailable to form a significant rr bond with the orbitals... 

Fig. 13.14. Schematic representation of the dominant orbital interactions in (a) Fischer-type carbene complexes (b) Schrock-type carbene complexes (c) Fischer-type carbyne complexes using charged closed-shell fragments (d) Fischer-type carbyne complexes using neutral open shell (doublet) fragments (e) Schrock-type carbyne complexes using neutral open-shell (quartet) fragments.

In contrast, Schrock-type carbenes are made by reactions such as 23.39, contain an early J-block metal in a high oxidation state, and show nucleophilic character (i.e. susceptible to attack by electrophiles, e.g. reaction 23.90). Resonance pair 23.52 describes a Schrock-type carbene complex. 

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