Transition-metal-coordinated alkenes

Reactions of transition-metal coordinated olefins with diazo compounds as a route to cyclopropane products have not yet been rigorously established. Catalysts that should be effective in this pathway are those that are more susceptible to olefin coordination than to association with a diazo compound and also those whose coordinated alkene is sufficiently electrophilic to react with diazo compounds, especially diazomethane. Pd(II), Pt(II), and Co(II) compounds appear to be capable of olefin coordination-induced cyclopropanation reactions, but further investigations will be required to unravel this mechanistic possibility. 

The reaction occurs with some enantioselectivity and requires the presence of pivaldehyde (which is also oxidized)29,30. The reaction occurs for many other alkenes using transition metals coordinated to 1,3-diketone type ligands31-34. Use of a cobalt(II) complex and aldoacetal in place of the Mn(III) compound and pivaldehyde gives a novel method for the synthesis of acid-sensitive epoxides35. 

Considering the mechanistic rationales of the transition metal-catalyzed enyne cycloisomerization, different catalytic pathways have been proposed, depending on the reaction conditions and the choice of metal catalyst [3-5, 45], Complexation of the transition metal to alkene or alkyne moieties can activate one or both of them. Depending on the manner of formation of the intermediates, three major mechanisms have been proposed. The simultaneous coordination of both unsaturated bonds to the transition metal led to the formation of metallacydes, which is the most common pathway in transition metal-catalyzed cycloisomerization reactions. Hydrometalation of the alkyne led to the corresponding vinylmetal species, which reacts in turn with olefins via carbometalation. The last possible pathway involves the formation of a Jt-allyl complex which could further react with the alkyne moiety. The Jt-allyl complex could be formed either with a functional group at the allylic position or via direct C-H activation. Here the three major pathways will be discussed in a generalized form to illustrate the mechanisms (Scheme 8). 

There seems no reason why any of the mechanisms discussed in Sections 3.4-3.6 cannot function in the conversion of alkynes to alkenes. The alkene route of hydrogenation is frequently encountered because alkynes complex more strongly to transition metals than alkenes and their complexes are formed preferentially in competition with the oxidative addition of dihydrogen. Internal alkynes coordinate to bis(arylimino)acenaphthene complexes of palladium and the fricoordinate species activate molecular hydrogen. Transfer of both atoms of hydrogen forms... 

The two established pathways for transition metal-catalyzed alkene isomerization are the jr-allyl metal hydride and the metal hydride addition-elimination mechanisms. The metal hydride addition-elimination mechanism is the more common pathway for transition metal-catalyzed isomerization. In this mechanism, free alkene coordinates to a metal hydride species. Subsequent insertion into the metal-hydride bond yields a metal alkyl. Formation of a secondary metal alkyl followed by y3-elimination yields isomerized alkene and regenerates the metal hydride. The jr-allylhydride mechanism is the less commonly found pathway for alkene isomerization. Oxidative addition of an activated allylic C-H bond to the metal yields a jr-allyl metal hydride. Transfer of the coordinated hydride to the opposite end of the allyl group yields isomerized alkene. 

New Applications of TCNE in Organometallic Chemistry, A. J. Fatiadi (1987). Selected reactions used in organometallic synthesis are reviewed. 311 references are given. Structure and bonding of metal-TCNE complexes as well as reactions of TCNE with main-group organometallics, with transition-metal complexes, with metal-coordinated alkenes and alkynes, and reactions of platinum-family complexes are discussed. 

Several kinetic studies of alkene isomerizations catalyzed by transition-metal coordination complexes in homogeneous solutions have been reported. 

Several approaches have been taken to the development of efficient hydroam-ination processes and they have led to catalytic reactions that follow three main types of mechanisms (a) nucleophilic attack on activated metal-coordinated alkenes (applied mainly to late transition metals) [218], (b) cycloaddition of an alkyne and a metal imido moiety [219], (c) insertion into an M-N(amido) bond [207,220]. The subject has been reviewed recently [221]. 

The metal-bound carbonyl ligand is readily subjected to the attack of not only carbanions but heteroatom nucleophiles such as alcohols and amines to form ligands useful for formation of compounds containing ester and amide functionalities. The ease with which the nucleophilic attack takes place at metal-coordinated alkenes and alkynes provides a basis for oxidation of these molecules in the presence of a transition metal complex catalyst [3,4a], as exemplified by the Wacker type alkene oxidation by the use of a Pd catalyst. Metal catalyzed addition of alcohols or amines to alkenes and alkynes also involve the analogous nucleophilic attack [4b-e]. The attack of carbanions and heteroatom nucleophiles... 

Stable transition-metal complexes may act as homogenous catalysts in alkene polymerization. The mechanism of so-called Ziegler-Natta catalysis involves a cationic metallocene (typically zirconocene) alkyl complex. An alkene coordinates to the complex and then inserts into the metal alkyl bond. This leads to a new metallocei e in which the polymer is extended by two carbons, i.e. 

The reaction of alkenes with alkenes or alkynes does not always produce an aromatic ring. An important variation of this reaction reacts dienes, diynes, or en-ynes with transition metals to form organometallic coordination complexes. In the presence of carbon monoxide, cyclopentenone derivatives are formed in what is known as the Pauson-Khand reaction The reaction involves (1) formation of a hexacarbonyldicobalt-alkyne complex and (2) decomposition of the complex in the presence of an alkene. A typical example Rhodium and tungsten ... 

A catalytic cycle proposed for the metal-phosphine complexes involves the oxidative addition of borane to a low-valent metal yielding a boryl complex (35), the coordination of alkene to the vacant orbital of the metal or by displacing a phosphine ligand (35 —> 36) leads to the insertion of the double bond into the M-H bond (36 —> 37) and finally the reductive elimination to afford a hydroboration product (Scheme 1-11) [1]. A variety of transition metal-boryl complexes have been synthesized via oxidative addition of the B-H bond to low-valent metals to investigate their role in cat-... 

Hegedus et al. have thoroughly studied the homogeneous hydroamination of olefins in the presence of transition metal complexes. However, most of these reactions are either promoted or assisted, i.e. are stoichiometric reactions of an amine with a coordinated alkene [98-101] or, if catalytic, give rise to the oxidative hydroamination products, as for example in the cyclization of o-allylanilines to 2-alkylindoles [102, 103], i.e. are relevant to Wacker-type chemistry [104]. 

The mechanism for the reaction catalyzed by cationic palladium complexes (Scheme 24) differs from that proposed for early transition metal complexes, as well as from that suggested for the reaction shown in Eq. 17. For this catalyst system, the alkene substrate inserts into a Pd - Si bond a rather than a Pd-H bond [63]. Hydrosilylation of methylpalladium complex 100 then provides methane and palladium silyl species 112 (Scheme 24). Complex 112 coordinates to and inserts into the least substituted olefin regioselectively and irreversibly to provide 113 after coordination of the second alkene. Insertion into the second alkene through a boat-like transition state leads to trans cyclopentane 114, and o-bond metathesis (or oxidative addition/reductive elimination) leads to the observed trans stereochemistry of product 101a with regeneration of 112 [69]. 

In order to rationalize the catalyst-dependent selectivity of cyclopropanation reaction with respect to the alkene, the ability of a transition metal for olefin coordination has been considered to be a key factor (see Sect. 2.2.1 and 2.2.2). It was proposed that palladium and certain copper catalysts promote cyclopropanation through intramolecular carbene transfer from a metal carbene to an alkene molecule coordinated to the same metal atom25,64. The preferential cyclopropanation of terminal olefins and the less hindered double bond in dienes spoke in favor of metal-olefin coordination. Furthermore, stable and metastable metal-carbene-olefin complexes are known, some of which undergo intramolecular cyclopropane formation, e.g. 426 - 427 415). 

As shown in Table 1, a remarkable variety of alkene complexes bearing metal centers in a low oxidation state have been isolated and their structures have been determined by X-ray analysis. All the C-C bond distances in olefins coordinated to early transition metals at low oxidation states are more or less elongated compared to free ethylene. These structural data, together with those from NMR studies [14], indicate a major contribution of the metallacyclo-propane structure (2), a fact which is also supported by calculation studies [15]. In the case of ethylene bridging two metal centers such as [ Cp2ZrX 2(iu-f/-C2H4)] (3), the M-C bond could be characterized as a er-bond and there is a little contribution from the / -ethylene canonical structure [16-18]. 

The chain-carrying catalytic species of alkene-polymerization reactions is commonly a tri-coordinate group 4 transition-metal cation of the general form L2M+P , where P is the polyalkene chain. A family of commercially important examples is based on the complex titanium ion57... 

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