Tantalum complexes alkenes

The chemistry of alkylidene and alkylidyne complexes of early transition metals was developed by Schrock and co-workers and these complexes turned out to be of crucial importance to alkene and alkyne metathesis. Initially their research focused on tantalum complexes of the type CpTaCEIE, which after a-elimination (Figure 16.6) led to alkylidene complexes Cp(R)Cl2Ta=CHR [11]. 

Mono(cyclopentadienyl) complexes alkenes and tantalum, 5, 157 alkyne and niobium, 5, 80 calcium, strontium, barium, 2, 133... 

Alkylidene complexes are of two types. The ones in which the metal is in a low oxidation state, like the chromium complex shown in Fig. 2.4, are often referred to as Fischer carbenes. The other type of alkylidene complexes has the metal ion in a high oxidation state. The tantalum complex is one such example. For both the types of alkylidene complexes direct experimental evidence of the presence of double bonds between the metal and the carbon atom comes from X-ray measurements. Alkylidene complexes are also formed by a-hydride elimination. An interaction between the metal and the a-hydrogen atom of the alkyl group that only weakens the C-H bond but does not break it completely is called an agostic interaction (see Fig. 2.5). An important reaction of alkylidene complexes with alkenes is the formation of a metallocycle. 

Alkyl ligands in niobium and tantalum complexes are susceptible to attack by electrophiles see Electrophilic Reaction). Hydrogenation see Hydrogenation) of niobium or tantalum M-R bonds to provide the metal hydrides is an important reaction of synthetic utility. Insertion reactions of unsaturated reagents into Nb- or Ta-C bonds are common. The unsaturated reagents include alkenes, alkynes, CO, NO, RN=C=NR, CNR, and others. 

Bis(cyclooctene)—iridium(I) complexes, preparation, 7, 316 Bis(cyclopentadienyl) alkenes, with tantalum, 5, 157 Bis(cyclopentadienyl) alkyne niobium complexes, characteristics, 5, 81... 

Despite dramatically different ancillary ligand sets, two distinct niobium and tantalum alkylidene systems provide isolable metallacyclobutanes upon reaction with ethylene. In one case, the tantalum aryldiamine pincer complex 148 reacts with ethylene to provide the cr-trimethylsilyltantalacyclobutane complex 149 (Equation 66) <19940M3259>. In a more comprehensive study, alkadiene-supported half-sandwich alkylidene complexes of both tantalum and niobium (the former isolable, the latter generated in situ) undergo [2+2] cycloaddition with a range of acyclic and cyclic alkenes, albeit in modest isolated yield (Equation 67). 

Alkoxide ligands play an important spectator role in the chemistry of metal-carbon multiple bonds. Schrock and coworkers have shown that niobium and tantalum alkylidene complexes are active toward the alkene metathesis reaction. One of the terminating steps involves a j8-hydrogen abstraction from either the intermediate metallacycle or the alkylidene ligand. In each case the -hydrogen elimination is followed by reductive elimination. The net effect is a [1,2] H-atom shift, as shown in equations (73) and (74), and a breakdown in the catalytic cycle. Replacing Cl by OR ligands suppresses these side reactions and improves the efficiency of the alkylidene catalysts. ... 

In a series of papers, Bercaw et al. recently described a very elegant tantalum/ iridium tandem aUcane/alkene coupling ([150] and references therein). Especially exemplified with 1-hexene and heptane, this process involves the dimerization of two different aUtenes (here 1-hexene and 1-heptene) catalyzed by the hemitantallocene 108, while an iridium pincer complex 109 dehydrogenates the... 

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