The Palladium Cycle

The palladium cycle b ins with a Pd(0) catalyst, which undergoes oxidative addition of the aryl or alkenyl halide that is to be coupled to the alkyne. This is the slow, rate-limiting step of the reaction. 

In the second step, the palladium cycle and the copper cycle intersect, and a transmetallation reaction occurs. 

The final step of the cycle is reductive ehmination of the coupled product. The Pd(0) catalyst is regenerated in this step. 

The Sonosaghira reaction couples aryl and alkenyl halides with terminal al-kenes. A Pd(0) catalyst, a copper(I) catalyst, and an amine base, which is the solvent, are required for the reaction. 

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The next series of steps then continues as part of the palladium cycle described above. 

The Sonogashira reaction is believed to take place through two independent cycles the palladium cycle and the copper cycle, as depicted in Scheme 3.13 [58,59]. The Sonogashira reaction commences with the oxidative addition of the vinyl or aryl halide (R-X) to the Pd" species, followed by... 

In terms of cost, the effectiveness of the catalytic cycle in the ring closure makes this process economical in palladium. The first three steps in the reaction sequence -- ring opening of an epoxide by a Grignard reagent, converison of an alcohol to an amine with inversion, and sulfonamide formation from the amine — are all standard synthetic processes. 

The commercial viability of the reaetion depends on the formation of a eatalytic cycle by reoxidizing the palladium metal in situ. This is achieved by the introduction of CUCI2 ... 

A catalytic amount of a reactive palladium(0)-complex 3 (i.e. PdLa in the catalytic cycle scheme shown below) is likely to be formed when the palladium(ll) acetate 2 oxidizes a small amount of the alkene ... 

The original Sonogashira reaction uses copper(l) iodide as a co-catalyst, which converts the alkyne in situ into a copper acetylide. In a subsequent transmeta-lation reaction, the copper is replaced by the palladium complex. The reaction mechanism, with respect to the catalytic cycle, largely corresponds to the Heck reaction.Besides the usual aryl and vinyl halides, i.e. bromides and iodides, trifluoromethanesulfonates (triflates) may be employed. The Sonogashira reaction is well-suited for the synthesis of unsymmetrical bis-2xy ethynes, e.g. 23, which can be prepared as outlined in the following scheme, in a one-pot reaction by applying the so-called sila-Sonogashira reaction ... 

The palladium-catalyzed hnear telomerization of 1,3-bntklienes provides a useful method for thepreparation of functionalized alkenes. A proposed catalytic cycle for the paliadinm-catalyzed... 

From intermediate C, the next step in the catalytic cycle involves a simple bond rotation to give D. This event is essential because it establishes the necessary syn relationship between a -hydrogen and the palladium atom. With a / -hydrogcn and the transition metal... 

Carbon-carbon bond formation reactions and the CH activation of methane are another example where NHC complexes have been used successfully in catalytic applications. Palladium-catalysed reactions include Heck-type reactions, especially the Mizoroki-Heck reaction itself [171-175], and various cross-coupling reactions [176-182]. They have also been found useful for related reactions like the Sonogashira coupling [183-185] or the Buchwald-Hartwig amination [186-189]. The reactions are similar concerning the first step of the catalytic cycle, the oxidative addition of aryl halides to palladium(O) species. This is facilitated by electron-donating substituents and therefore the development of highly active catalysts has focussed on NHC complexes. 

Scheme 78) [89]. Aryl chlorides with activating as well as deactivating substituents could also be coupled under the same conditions in high yields, ranging from 60% to 95%, within 30-60 min of microwave irradiation. The process does not require an inert atmosphere. The increased conversion observed with the addition of the ionic liquid reveals that it might have an additional function besides simply acting as a molecular irradiator . It cannot be excluded for instance that carbene palladium complexes are formed in situ and implicated in the catalytic cycle. 

The free HCl and Cl generated in the catalytic cycle produce environmentally harmful chlorinated by-products to the extent that more than 3 kg of HCl need to be added to the reactor per tonne of acetaldehyde produced to keep the catalytic cycle going. Modified catalysts such as ones based on palladium/ phosphomolybdovanadates have been suggested as a way of reducing byproduct formation to less than 1% of that of the conventional Wacker process. These catalysts have yet to make an impact on commercial acetic production, however. 

Various other transition metal complexes are also useful, including rhodium,195 palladium,196 and molybdenum197 compounds. The catalytic cycle can generally be represented as shown below.198... 

Many palladium-catalyzed reactions are initiated by the reaction of a palladium(O) complex with an acidic derivative.367 The catalytic cycle is considered to be induced by a hydridopalladium complex. When the acidic derivatives are strong acids (e.g., HBF4, HC1, CF3C02H, HOTs), the hydridopalladium formation may be regarded as the protonation of basic Pd° to afford complexes HPdL3 +368-374 or IIPdL2.S +,375 in which S = solvent (see Equation (1)) ... 

Gomez-Sainero et al. (11) reported X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results on their Pd/C catalysts prepared by an incipient wetness method. XPS showed that Pd° (metallic) and Pdn+ (electron-deficient) species are present on the catalyst surface and the properties depend on the reduction temperature and nature of the palladium precursor. With this understanding of the dual sites nature of Pd, it is believed that organic species S and A are chemisorbed on to Pdn+ (SI) and H2 is chemisorbed dissociatively on to Pd°(S2) in a noncompetitive manner. In the catalytic cycle, quasi-equilibrium ( ) was assumed for adsorption of reactants, SM and hydrogen in liquid phase and the product A (12). Applying Horiuti s concept of rate determining step (13,14), the surface reaction between the adsorbed SM on site SI and adsorbed hydrogen on S2 is the key step in the rate equation. 

Scheme 5.5. Catalytic cycle in the palladium-catalyzed telomerization of 1,3-butadiene...

A similar involvement of palladium hydride, palladium alkyl, and palladium acyl complexes as intermediates in the catalytic cycle of the Pd-catalyzed hydroxycarbonylation of alkenes was reported for the aqueous-phase analogs. The cationic hydride PdH(TPPTS)3]+ was formed via the reduction of the Pd11 complex with CO and H20 to [Pd(TPPTS)3] and subsequent protonation in the acidic medium. The reaction of the hydride complex with ethene produced two new compounds, [Pd(Et)(TPPTS)3]+ and Pd(Et)(solvent)(TPPTS)2]+. The sample containing the mixture of palladium alkyl complexes reacted readily with CO to afford trans-[Pd(C(Q)Et)(TPPTS)2]+.665... 

The mechanisms of the hydroxycarbonylation and methoxycarbonylation reactions are closely related and both mechanisms can be discussed in parallel (see Section 9.3.6).631 This last reaction has been extensively studied. Two possibilities have been proposed. The first starts the cycle with a hydrido-metal complex.670 In this cycle, an alkene inserts into a Pd—H bond, and then migratory insertion of CO into an alkyl-metal bond produces an acyl-metal complex. Alcoholysis of the acyl-metal species reproduces the palladium hydride and yields the ester. In the second mechanism the crucial intermediate is a carbalkoxymetal complex. Here, the insertion of the alkene into a Pd—C bond of the carbalkoxymetal species is followed by alcoholysis to produce the ester and the alkoxymetal complex. The insertion of CO into the alkoxymetal species reproduces the carbalkoxymetal complex.630 Both proposed cycles have been depicted in Scheme 11. 

Similar Suzuki couplings have been performed by Hu and coworkers utilizing a poly(dicyclohexylcarbodiimide)/palladium nanoparticle composite [152]. This PDHC-Pd catalyst showed remarkable activity and stability under microwave irradiation. Near quantitative conversion (95% isolated yield) was obtained after 40 min of microwave heating of a mixture of iodobenzene with phenylboronic acid in dioxane. Re-using the immobilized catalyzed showed no significant loss of efficiency, as the fifth cycle still furnished a 90% isolated yield of the desired biphenyl. 

A mild aerobic palladium-catalyzed 1,4-diacetoxylation of conjugated dienes has been developed and is based on a multistep electron transfer46. The hydroquinone produced in each cycle of the palladium-catalyzed oxidation is reoxidized by air or molecular oxygen. The latter reoxidation requires a metal macrocycle as catalyst. In the aerobic process there are no side products formed except water, and the stoichiometry of the reaction is given in equation 19. Thus 1,3-cyclohexadiene is oxidized by molecular oxygen to diacetate 39 with the aid of the triple catalytic system Pd(II)—BQ—MLm where MLm is a metal macrocyclic complex such as cobalt tetraphenylporphyrin (Co(TPP)), cobalt salophen (Co(Salophen) or iron phthalocyanine (Fe(Pc)). The principle of this biomimetic aerobic oxidation is outlined in Scheme 8. 

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