Titanium complexes with carbenes

Actually, the titanium carbene LXVIII (not as stable as the chromium derivative) is usually generated in situ by stoichiometric reactions of titanium complexes with alkyls of aluminum or magnesium (typically, Tebbe s reagent LXVII ) [107]. 

Reactions of Titanium Carbene Complexes with Carbon Carbon Double Bonds... 

Although the reaction of a titanium carbene complex with an olefin generally affords the olefin metathesis product, in certain cases the intermediate titanacyclobutane may decompose through reductive elimination to give a cyclopropane. A small amount of the cyclopropane derivative is produced by the reaction of titanocene-methylidene with isobutene or ethene in the presence of triethylamine or THF [8], In order to accelerate the reductive elimination from titanacyclobutane to form the cyclopropane, oxidation with iodine is required (Scheme 14.21) [36], The stereochemistry obtained indicates that this reaction proceeds through the formation of y-iodoalkyltitanium species 46 and 47. A subsequent intramolecular SN2 reaction produces the cyclopropane. 

Since the hybridization and structure of the nitrile group resemble those of alkynes, titanium carbene complexes react with nitriles in a similar fashion. Titanocene-methylidene generated from titanacyclobutane or dimethyltitanocene reacts with two equivalents of a nitrile to form a 1,3-diazatitanacyclohexadiene 81. Hydrolysis of 81 affords p-ketoena-mines 82 or 4-amino-l-azadienes 83 (Scheme 14.35) [65,78]. The formation of the azati-tanacyclobutene by the reaction of methylidene/zinc halide complex with benzonitrile has also been studied [44]. 

The potential synthetic utility of titanium-based olefin metathesis and related reactions is evident from the extensive documentation outlined above. Titanium carbene complexes react with organic molecules possessing a carbon—carbon or carbon—oxygen double bond to produce, as metathesis products, a variety of acyclic and cyclic unsaturated compounds. Furthermore, the four-membered titanacydes formed by the reactions of the carbene complexes with alkynes or nitriles serve as useful reagents for the preparation of functionalized compounds. Since various types of titanium carbene complexes and their equivalents are now readily available, these reactions constitute convenient tools available to synthetic chemists. 

The Reaction of Titanium Carbene Complexes with Nitriles 495 ... 

Diaminocarbene complexes were reported as early as 1968 [152], Preparation and applications of such complexes have been reviewed [153], Because of 7t-electron donation by both nitrogen atoms, diaminocarbenes are very weak tt-acceptors and have binding properties towards low-valent transition metals similar to those of phosphines or pyridines [18,153]. For this reason diaminocarbenes form complexes with a broad range of different metals, including those of the titanium group. Titanium does not usually form stable donor-substituted carbene complexes, but rather ylide-like, nucleophilic carbene complexes with non-heteroatom-substituted carbenes (Chapter 3). 

Cycloreversion of four-membered metallacycles is the most common method for the preparation of high-valent titanium [26,27,31,407,599-606] and zirconium [599,601] carbene complexes. These are usually very reactive, nucleophilic carbene complexes, with a strong tendency to undergo C-H insertion reactions or [2 -F 2] cycloadditions to alkenes or carbonyl compounds (see Section 3.2.3). Figure 3.31 shows examples of the generation of titanium and zirconium carbene complexes by [2 + 2] cycloreversion. 

A novel route to 2,3-dihydrothiophenes involved a titanocene-promoted carbene formation and subsequenct intramolecular cyclization onto a thiol ester <99SL1029>. Treatment of thioacetal 9 with the low-valent titanium complex 10 gave 2,3-dihydrothiophene 12 by intramolecular olefination of the thiol ester of titanium-carbene intermediate 11. Another metal-mediated cyclization onto the thiophene ring system involved the palladium-catalyzed cyclization of 1,6-diynes <99T485>. For example, treatment of thioether 1,6-diyne 13 with Pdlj in the presence of CO and Oj in methanol followed by treatment with base gave 14. 

Bis(adamantylimido) compounds, with monomeric chromium(VI) complexes, 5, 348 Bis(alkene) complexes conjugated, Rh complexes, 7, 214 mononuclear Ru and Os compounds, 6, 401 -02 in Ru and Os half-sandwich rj6-arenes, 6, 538 with tungsten carbonyls and isocyanides, 5, 685 Bis(u-alkenylcyclopentadienyl) complexes, with Ti(II), 4, 254 Bis(alkoxide) nitrogen-donor complexes, with Zr(IV), 4, 805 Bis(alkoxide) titanium alkynes, in cross-coupling, 4, 276 Bis(alkoxo) complexes, with bis-Cp Ti(IV), 4, 588 Bis[alkoxy(alkylamino)carbene]gold complexes, preparation, 2, 288... 

Imidazolium ligands, in Rh complexes, 7, 126 Imidazolium salts iridium binding, 7, 349 in silver(I) carbene synthesis, 2, 206 Imidazol-2-ylidene carbenes, with tungsten carbonyls, 5, 678 (Imidazol-2-ylidene)gold(I) complexes, preparation, 2, 289 Imidazopyridine, in trinuclear Ru and Os clusters, 6, 727 Imidazo[l,2-a]-pyridines, iodo-substituted, in Grignard reagent preparation, 9, 37—38 Imido alkyl complexes, with tantalum, 5, 118—120 Imido-amido half-sandwich compounds, with tantalum, 5,183 /13-Imido clusters, with trinuclear Ru clusters, 6, 733 Imido complexes with bis-Gp Ti, 4, 579 with monoalkyl Ti(IV), 4, 336 with mono-Gp Ti(IV), 4, 419 with Ru half-sandwiches, 6, 519—520 with tantalum, 5, 110 with titanium(IV) dialkyls, 4, 352 with titanocenes, 4, 566 with tungsten... 

The potassium complex of the hydroxyethyl functionalised carbene, once formed, can then be used as a carbene transfer agent. Patel et al. employed this compound in the synthesis of titanium(lV) complexes used as catalysts in the polymerisation of lactides [38]. Synthesis of the catalyst is facile and involves the reaction of the potassium complex of the hydroxyethyl functionaUsed carbene with [TiCOFV) ] (see Figure 4.7). Although the activity of the titanium(lV) carbene complex is considerably less then that of the potassium complex, the titanium complex acts as a masked NHC and thus a highly moisture and air stable NHC source [38]. 

The titanium(IV) complex just seen is not the only titanium carbene complex generated with this hydroxy functionalised NHC ligand. Arnold and coworkres reacted the potassium salt also with [Ti(thf)3Cl3], a titanium(III) precursor for which they established anew, cost efficient synthesis [39]. The product is a nonsymmetrical titanium(in) complex with octahedral geometry (see Figure 4.8). 

Figure 6.2 The reactivity of titanium-, molybdenum-, tungsten-, and ruthenium-carbene complexes with various functionalities.

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