Homogeneous hydrogenation. Transition metal complexes

Ionic liquids can be used as replacements for many volatile conventional solvents in chemical processes see Table A-14 in the Appendix. Because of their extraordinary properties, room temperature ionic liquids have already found application as solvents for many synthetic and catalytic reactions, for example nucleophilic substitution reactions [899], Diels-Alder cycloaddition reactions [900, 901], Friedel-Crafts alkylation and acylation reactions [902, 903], as well as palladium-catalyzed Heck vinylations of haloarenes [904]. They are also solvents of choice for homogeneous transition metal complex catalyzed hydrogenation, isomerization, and hydroformylation [905], as well as dimerization and oligomerization reactions of alkenes [906, 907]. The ions of liquid salts are often poorly coordinating, which prevents deactivation of the catalysts. 

Compared to homogeneous chiral transition metal complexes, enantioselective hydrogenation of aromatic and heteroaromatic compounds over modified metal catalysts has the greater potential. 

Two significant communications indicate the considerable potential of transition metal complexes as multifunctional homogeneous catalysts in the silane field (5, 53). Here the same catalyst activates silanes toward different substrates and it is probable that all proceed via a common metal hydrido intermediate. Both Co2(CO)8 and (Ph3P)3CoHX [X = H2, N2, or (H)Si(OEt)j] catalyze 0-silylation and hydrosilylation the hydrogen on Si may be replaced by R O, R COO, R CONH, or R3SiO [e.g., Eqs. (117)-(120)], and excellent yields of silylated product result. Phenolic groups do... 

Early transition-metal complexes have been some of the first well-defined catalyst precursors used in the homogeneous hydrogenation of alkenes. Of the various systems developed, the biscyclopentadienyl Group IV metal complexes are probably the most effective, especially those based on Ti. The most recent development in this field has shown that enantiomerically pure ansa zirconene and titanocene derivatives are highly effective enantioselective hydrogenation catalysts for alkenes, imines, and enamines (up to 99% ee in all cases), whilst in some cases TON of up to 1000 have been achieved. 

A large number of homogeneous transition-metal complexes have been reported as catalysts for the stereoselective hydrogenation of alkynes, although the... 

In the reactions above we have not explicitly touched upon the reactions of dihydrogen and transition metal complexes. Here the reactions that involve the activation of dihydrogen will be summarised, because they are very common in homogeneous catalysis and because a comparison of the various mechanisms involved may be useful. Three reactions are usually distinguished for hydrogen ... 

Besides solid transition metals, certain soluble transition-metal complexes are active hydrogenation catalysts.4. The most commonly used example is tris(triphenylphosphine)-chlororhodium, which is known as Wilkinson s catalyst.5 This and related homogeneous catalysts usually minimize exchange and isomerization processes. Hydrogenation by homogeneous catalysts is believed to take place by initial formation of a rc-complex, followed by transfer of hydrogen from rhodium to carbon. 

Many transition metal complexes catalyze homogeneous activation of molecular hydrogen in solution, forming hydrido complexes. Such complexes include pentacyanocobaltate(II) anion, [Co(CN)5], many metal carbonyls, and several complexes of rhodium, iridium, and palladium. 

The mechanistic details of cycle 18.10 have been represented in a somewhat arbitrary fashion, but the essence of the mode of action of transition metal complexes (in particular, complexes of the Group 9 elements Co, Rh, and Ir in the I oxidation state) as homogeneous catalysts for hydrogenation reactions should be clear. 

Asymmetric synthesis (i) has gained new momentum with the potential k use of homogeneous catalysts. The use of a transition metal complex with chiral ligands to catalyze a synthesis asymmetrically from a prochiral substrate is beneficial in that resolution of a normally obtained racemate product may be avoided. In certain catalytic hydrogenations of olefinic bonds, optical purities approaching 100% have been attained (2,3,4,5) hydrogenations of ketones (6,... 

Homogeneous Hydrogenation. The mild reaction conditions used in the homogeneous hydrogenation of C02 catalyzed by transition metal complexes allows the partial hydrogenation of C02 to yield formic acid and derivatives ... 

TJased on several kinetic investigations on hydrogenations catalyzed by transition metal complexes conducted over the last few years, certain general requirements must be fulfilled if a complex is to form an effective homogeneous catalyst in solution (see Ref. 1). One condition is that the catalytically active complex must be coordinatively unsaturated another that M-H or M-C bonds must be present in the complex. 

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