Transition-metal derivatives insertion reactions

Transition metal catalyzed insertion reactions offer a convenient route for the preparation of five membered heterocyclic rings. Besides intramolecular Heck-couplings and CO insertion, examples of the intramolecular insertion of an acetylene derivative constitute the majority of this chapter. Although some of these processes involve the formation of a carbon-heteroatom bond, they are discussed here. 

Acceptor-substituted carbene complexes are highly reactive intermediates, capable of transforming organic compounds in many different ways. Typical reactions include insertion into o-bonds, cyclopropanation, and ylide formation. Generally, acceptor-substituted carbene complexes are not isolated and used in stoichiometric amounts, but generated in situ from a carbene precursor and transition metal derivative. Usually only catalytic quantities of a transition metal complex are required for complete conversion of a carbene precursor via an intermediate carbene complex into the final product. 

Transition metal-catalyzed Buchner reactions of arene substrates proceed via electrophilic carbenoids. In addition to cyclopropanation of the arene double bond, these a-diazoketones possessing an aromatic ring can also participate in C-H insertion reactions. As shown in the decomposition of diazomethyl ketone 53, the benzylic C-H insertion product 56 is obtained as a minor product (vide supra). The rhodium(II) acetate-catalyzed reaction of diazoketone 71 also affords cycloheptatriene derivative 73 along with the benzylic C-H insertion product, y-lactam 72, in a ratio of 1 2. Treatment of 71 with the more electron-rich rhodium(II) caprolactamate [Rh2(Cap)4] favors more C-H insertion, but the cycloaddition pathway is still significant the ratio of 73 to 72 is 1 3.5. 

Formal hydration of the double bond appeared by the hydroboration-oxidation sequence. Desymmetrization reactions with catalytic asymmetric hydroboration are not restricted to norbornene or nonfunctionalized substrates and can be successfully applied to meso bicyclic hydrazines. In the case of 157, hydroxy derivative 158 is formed with only moderate enantioselectivity both using Rh or Ir precatalysts. Interestingly, a reversal of enantioselectivity is observed for the catalytic desymmetrization reaction by exchanging these two transition metals. Rh-catalyzed hydroboration involves a metal-H insertion, and a boryl migration is involved when using an Ir precatalyst (Equation 17) <2002JA12098, 2002JOC3522>. 

C—H bond 174-280,28i por comparison, only trace amounts of cyclopentane resulted from the CuS04-catalyzed decomposition of 1 -diazo-2-octanone or l-diazo-4,4-dimethyl-2-pentanone 277). It is obvious that the use of Rh2(OAc)4 considerably extends the scope of transition-metal catalyzed intramolecular C/H insertion, as it allows for the first time, efficient cyelization of ketocarbenoids derived from freely rotating, acyclic diazoketones. This cyelization reaction can also be highly diastereo-selective, as the exclusive formation of a m is-2,3-disubstituted cyclopentane carboxylate from 307 shows281 a). The stereoselection has been rationalized by... 

Redox reactions are considered as being able to provide versatile and efficient methods for bringing about ring transformations. Transition metal complexes in particular are able to induce or catalyze oxidative or reductive transformations of small ring compounds. Organometallics, such as metal-lacycles derived by the insertion of metal atoms into rings, are involved as key intermediates in many cases, allowing subsequent functionalization or carbon-carbon bond formation. 

These reactions are covered in other chapters of Volume 11 (Chapters 11.06 and 11.07). This part deals only with examples which are in connection with other sections of this chapter. Additions of metallocarbenoids to unsaturated partners have been extensively studied. Most of the initial studies have involved the transition metal-catalyzed decomposition of cr-carbonyl diazo compounds.163,164 Three main reaction modes of metallocarbenoids derived from a-carbonyl diazo precursor are (i) addition to an unsaturated C-C bond (olefin or alkyne), (ii) C-H insertion, and (iii) formation of an ylid (carbonyl or onium).1 5 These reactions have been applied to the total synthesis of natural... 

The aforementioned observations have significant mechanistic implications. As illustrated in Eqs. 6.2—6.4, in the chemistry of zirconocene—alkene complexes derived from longer chain alkylmagnesium halides, several additional selectivity issues present themselves. (1) The derived transition metal—alkene complex can exist in two diastereomeric forms, exemplified in Eqs. 6.2 and 6.3 by (R)-8 anti and syn reaction through these stereoisomeric complexes can lead to the formation of different product diastereomers (compare Eqs. 6.2 and 6.3, or Eqs. 6.3 and 6.4). The data in Table 6.2 indicate that the mode of addition shown in Eq. 6.2 is preferred. (2) As illustrated in Eqs. 6.3 and 6.4, the carbomagnesation process can afford either the n-alkyl or the branched product. Alkene substrate insertion from the more substituted front of the zirconocene—alkene system affords the branched isomer (Eq. 6.3), whereas reaction from the less substituted end of the (ebthi)Zr—alkene system leads to the formation of the straight-chain product (Eq. 6.4). The results shown in Table 6.2 indicate that, depending on the reaction conditions, products derived from the two isomeric metallacyclopentane formations can be formed competitively. 

Transition metal-catalyzed reactions of ct-diazocarbonyl compounds proceed via electrophilic Fischer-type carbene complexes. Consequently, when cr-diazoketone 341 was treated, at room temperature, with catalytic amounts of [ RhiOAcbh, it gave the formation of a single NH insertion product, which was assigned to the enol stmcture 342. At room temperature, in both solid state and in solution, 342 tautomerizes to give the expected 1-oxoperhydropyr-rolo[l,2-c]oxazole derivative 343 (Scheme 50) <1997TA2001>. 

Ylide formation, and hence X-H bond insertion, generally proceeds faster than C-H bond insertion or cyclopropanation [1176], 1,2-C-H insertion can, however, compete efficiently with X-H bond insertion [1177]. One problem occasionally encountered in transition metal-catalyzed X-H bond insertion is the deactivation of the (electrophilic) catalyst L M by the substrate RXH. The formation of the intermediate carbene complex requires nucleophilic addition of a carbene precursor (e.g. a diazocarbonyl compound) to the complex Lj,M. Other nucleophiles present in the reaction mixture can compete efficiently with the carbene precursor, or even lead to stable, catalytically inactive adducts L M-XR. For this reason carbene X-H bond insertion with substrates which might form a stable complex with the catalyst (e.g. amines, imidazole derivatives, thiols) often require larger amounts of catalyst and high reaction temperatures. 

These reactions involve metallate rearrangements , migratory insertion and transition metal-catalysed vinylic substitution reactions. They also perform well in applications in natural product synthesis . Many useful synthetic possibilities arise from application of ring-closing olefin metathesis (RCM) to unsaturated homoaldol products and their derivatives by means of the Grubbs catalyst 3942 4-286 Equation 105 presents some examples. ... 

Working with diazo compounds, known since the early 1900s to undergo loss of dinitrogen when treated with copper or copper salts, Yates described in 1952 the possibility that transition metals could form an intermediate that combined units of the diazo compound and the metal (Eq. 1, L = ligand) and acted like a carbene in addition and insertion reactions. Somewhat later, but independently, E. O. Fischer isolated and characterized stable metal carbenes that could also undergo cyclopro-panation reactions." They were derived from transition metals on the left side of the... 

Insertion of unsaturated molecules into a transition metal-silyl bond has been suggested for the catalytic reactions related to hydrosilylation and silylcarbonylation. However, there is little direct evidence supporting such a process for unsaturated molecules to insert into a metal-silyl bond in organometallic complexes. " Thus, the fact that 108 is readily derived from 11 and 13 demonstrates the participation of this process in the catalytic cycle of silylformylation. 

Figure C shows carbon monoxide insertion reactions. There are a number of reduction reactions of carbon monoxide catalyzed by transition metals, and these, I believe, all involve an insertion of carbon monoxide into a metal hydride as an initial step. Cobalt hydrocarbonyl reacts with carbon monoxide to give formate derivatives. This is probably an insertion reaction also.

The first borinate-transition metal complex to be prepared was actually the first known derivative of borin. Bis(cyclopentadienide)cobalt (94) reacts with organic halides and was analogously found to react with boron halides in a redox reaction to give (95), followed by an insertion to yield (cyclopentadienide)(borinato)cobalt (97) (72CB3413). The product composition depends on the ratio of reactants. Compound (97) is the main product (80% yield when R = Ph, X = Br) when the molar ratio between (94) and the boron halide is 2.5 1. A second and slower insertion occurs to give (28) when (97) is treated with another equivalent of the boron halide (Scheme 13). Compounds (28), (29) and (97) have one electron more than predicted by the 187r-electron rule for transition metal complexes. They are red in colour and, of course, paramagnetic. The mixed complexes (97) are thermally labile, in contrast to (28) and (29), which can be heated to 180 °C and sublimed at 90 °C. Their ionization potentials are low and the complexes are sensitive to air. 

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