Palladium-catalyzed hydrophosphinylation of alkenes and alkynes

Various palladium catalysts promote the addition of hypophosphorous derivatives ROP(O)H(2) to alkenes and alkynes in good yields and under mild conditions. Particularly, Cl(2)Pd(PPh(3))(2)/2 MeLi, and Pd(2)dba(3)/xantphos allow for phosphorus-carbon bond formation instead of transfer hydrogenation. Commercial aqueous solutions of hypophosphorous acid can be employed successfully at ambient temperature. With styrene and terminal alkynes, the regioselectivity (linear versus branched products) can be controlled to some extent with the catalytic system employed. The methodology considerably extends upon previous routes for the preparation of H-phosphinic acids and other organophosphorus compounds.     

Polar addition of perfluoro-tert-hexyl iodide to alkenes and alkynes

The effective charges on the atoms in molecules of perfluoroalkyl halides of general formula (CF₃)_nCF_3–nX (X=Cl, Br, I) have been calculated by the AM1 semiempirical method. In polar solvents perfluoro-tert-hexyl iodide is reduced under the action of alkenes and aromatic hydrocarbons to form 2-hydroperfluoro-2-methyl-pentane and perfluoro-2-methyl-2-pentene. In ethyl acetate the regio- and stereo-specific addition of perfluoro-tert-hexyl iodide to alkenes, butadiene, and alkynes takes place, which is associated with the realization of a polar ion-radical mechanism for the reaction.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 9, pp. 2057–2061, September, 1989.     

A novel stereospecific reduction of alkynes to alkenes

Zinc-copper couple in boiling methanol reduces alkynes to olefins in nearly quantitative yields. Terminal acetylenes are converted to terminal ethylenes, whereas disubstituted acetylenes are transformed to (Z)-olefins.     

Binding affinity of alkynes and alkenes to low-coordinate iron

We report the synthesis, spectroscopy, and structural characterization of iron-alkyne and -alkene complexes of the type L(Me)Fe(ligand) [L(Me) = bulky beta-diketiminate, ligand = HCCPh, EtCCEt, CH2CHPh, EtCHCHEt, HCC(p-C6H4OCH3), HCC(p-C6H4CF3)]. The neutral ligand exchanges rapidly at room temperature, and the equilibrium constants have been measured or estimated. The binding affinity toward the low-coordinate Fe follows the trend HCCPh > EtCCEt > CH2CHPh > EtCHCHEt approximately PPh3 > benzene > N2. This trend is consistent with a model in which pi back-bonding from the formally Fe(I) center is the dominant interaction in determining the relative binding affinities. In nitrogenase, alkynes are reduced while alkenes are unreactive, and this work suggests that the different binding affinities to low-coordinate Fe might explain the differential activity of the enzyme toward these two substrates.     

Amine-directed intramolecular hydroacylation of alkenes and alkynes

Medium-ring heterocycles are prepared via an amine-directed, rhodium(I)-catalyzed intramolecular hydroacylation. The presence of an allyl substituent on the amine accelerates the reaction and increases product yields.     

Cobalt-mediated cyclic and linear 2:1 cooligomerization of alkynes with alkenes: a DFT study

The mechanism of the cobalt-mediated [2 + 2 + 2] cycloaddition of two alkynes to one alkene to give CpCo-complexed 1,3-cyclohexadienes (cyclic oligomerization) has been studied by means of DFT computations. In contrast to the mechanism of alkyne cyclotrimerization, in which final alkyne inclusion into the common cobaltacyclopentadiene features a direct "collapse" pathway to the complexed arene, alkene incorporation proceeds via insertion into a Co-C sigma-bond rather than inter- or intramolecular [4 + 2] cycloaddition. The resulting seven-membered metallacycle 7 is a key intermediate which leads to either CpCo-complexed cyclohexadiene 5 or hexatriene 13. The latter transformation, particularly favorable for ethene, accounts, in part, for the linear oligomerization observed occasionally in these reactions. With aromatic double bonds, a C-H activation mechanism by the cobaltacyclopentadiene seems more advantageous in hexatriene product formation. Detailed investigations of high- and low-spin potential energy surfaces are presented. The reactivity of triplet cobalt species was found kinetically disfavored over that of their singlet counterparts. Moreover, it could not account for the formation of CpCo-complexed hexatrienes. However, triplet cobalt complexes cannot be ruled out since all unsaturated species appearing in this study were found to exhibit triplet ground states. Consequently, a reaction pathway that involves a mixing of both spin-state energy surfaces is also described (two-state reactivity). Support for such a pathway comes from the location of several low-lying minimum-energy crossing points (MECPs) of the two surfaces.     

FeBr_3-catalyzed dibromination of alkenes and alkynes

The dibromination of alkenes and alkynes with bromosuccinimide and sodium bromide catalyzed by FeBr₃ under mild conditions has been developed.The trans-dibromo compounds were exclusively obtained with excellent yields.     

Recent advances in diphosphination of alkynes and alkenes

1,2-Bis(diphenylphosphino)ethenes and -ethanes (DPPEs) are among representative supporting ligands in transition metal catalysts, which can promote otherwise challenging organic transformations with high efficiency and selectivity. Such bidentately coordinating ligands are conventionally prepared by nucleophilic substitution reactions of halogenated carbon electrophiles with nucleophilic metal phosphides. However, they suffer from poor functional group compatibility and/or tedious preparation of highly functionalized starting substrates. In this context, additions of phosphines to readily available and simple alkynes and alkenes have recently received significant attention. This digest paper focuses on recent developments of diphosphination of alkynes and alkenes for the synthesis of DPPE-type ligands. The reported approaches are categorized into several types of reactions, and their scope, limitation, and mechanism are briefly summarized.     

Disulfidation of alkynes and alkenes with gallium trichloride

[reaction: see text] Treatment of diphenyl disulfide and terminal alkynes with gallium trichloride afforded (E)-1,2-diphenylthio-1-alkenes selectively (E/Z > 20/1). Alkenes also underwent this reaction to form trans adducts.     

Fluoride-mediated phosphination of alkenes and alkynes by silylphosphines

Regioselective phosphination of carbon-carbon unsaturated bonds by a fluoride-mediated reaction of silylphosphines is described. Alkenes and alkynes having a directing group, such as an aromatic or a carbonyl group, reacted to form a carbon-phosphorus bond under mild conditions. When an anhydrous fluoride source was applied in the presence of an electrophile, the corresponding three-component coupling product was obtained.     

Cycloaddition of bis(trifluoromethyl)diazomethane to activated alkenes and alkynes

Bis(Trifluoromethyl)diazomethane undergoes [3+2] cycloaddition with activated alkenes and alkynes regiospecifically to give substituted pyrazolines and pyrazoles.A. N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organometallic Compounds, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117813 Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 2, pp. 452–455, February, 1992.     

Ligand-switchable directing effects of tethered alkenes in nickel-catalyzed additions to alkynes

Nickel-catalyzed reductive couplings of aldehydes with alkynes that contain tethered olefins are described, in which the degree and sense of regioselectivity are controlled by the length of the tether and the presence or absence of an additive. When the alkyne and alkene are separated by four bonds, very high (>95:5) regioselectivities are observed. Use of a monodentate phosphine as an additive leads to formation of the opposite regioisomer in equal and opposite selectivity (5: >95). These results provide strong evidence for an interaction between the remote alkene and the metal center during the regioselectivity-determining step and suggest that reactions with and without an additive proceed via fundamentally distinct mechanisms.     

Stereoselective halogenations of alkenes and alkynes in ionic liquids

[reaction: see text]. Room-temperature ionic liquids, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide, and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, are used as "green" recyclable alternative to chlorinated solvents for the stereoselective halogenation of alkenes and alkynes.     

Palladium-catalyzed reaction of phenyl fluoroalkanesulfonates with alkynes and alkenes

Palladium-catalyzed reaction of phenyl fluoroalkanesulfonates with alkynes and alkens under mild conditions gives the corresponding alkynyl and alkenyl substituted benzenes in good yields.     

Novel amine-catalysed hydroalkoxylation reactions of activated alkenes and alkynes

Substoichiometric loadings of DBU catalyse the efficient 1,4-addition of alcohols and non-nucleophilic amines such as pyrrole to activated alkenes; the application of this methodology in a one-pot synthesis of a natural product, and as a novel strategy for the synthesis of mono-protected 1,3-carbonyl compounds is reported.