Secocorrinoid complexes

The secocorrin nickel complex (101) can also be induced to undergo an electrochemical cyclization to corrin (100) but only in low yield. The experimental conditions involve a one-electron oxidation, followed by a one-electron reduction.269 The same secocorrin complex (101) is the starting material for two cyclization sequences leading to a didehydrocorrin complex (107) with a chromophore of seven double bonds (Scheme 67).269,270 The most interesting feature of these sequences is the remarkably easy acid-catalyzed ring closure of the secocorrinoid complex (106) to corrin (107). 

The direct connection of rings A and D at C l cannot be achieved by enamine or sul> fide couplings. This reaction has been carried out in almost quantitative yield by electrocyclic reactions of A/D Secocorrinoid metal complexes and constitutes a magnificent application of the Woodward-Hoffmann rules. First an antarafacial hydrogen shift from C-19 to C-1 is induced by light (sigmatropic 18-electron rearrangement), and second, a conrotatory thermally allowed cyclization of the mesoionic 16 rc-electron intermediate occurs. Only the A -trans-isomer is formed (A. Eschenmoser, 1974 A. Pfaltz, 1977). 

A second synthesis of cobyric acid (14) involves photochemical ring closure of an A—D secocorrinoid. Thus, the Diels-Alder reaction between butadiene and /n j -3-methyl-4-oxopentenoic acid was used as starting point for all four ring A—D synthons (15—18). These were combined in the order B + C — BC + D — BCD + A — ABCD. The resultant cadmium complex (19) was photocyclized in buffered acetic acid to give the metal-free corrinoid (20). A number of steps were involved in converting this material to cobyric acid (14). 

The cadmium secocorrinoid carboxylic acid (102 M = Cd) also undergoes photocyclization to the acid (103 M = Cd), which on transmetallation to the nickel(II) complex (103 M = Ni) and treatment with triethylamine and acetic acid yields the parent corrin complex (100 M = Ni).268 The decarboxylation process is extremely facile. A related base-catalyzed cyclization of the secocorrinoid aldehyde (104) gives the corrin complex (105), which can be decarbonylated to the parent complex (100 M = Ni) by treatment with potassium hydroxide (Scheme 66).268... 

An impressive example of the possibilities of metal complex photochemistry is the substantiation of the critical step in corrin synthesis reported by Eschenmoser 145> Ring closure is brought about by antara-facial cycloisomerization of a secocorrinoidic palladium complex by photochemical 1.16-hydrogen shift. 

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