Synthesis and Catalytic Study of Ruthenium Carbene Catalyst Containing a Zn‐Porphyrin Ligand

A ruthenium carbene complex containing a Zn‐porphyrin ligand has been developed. The complex was characterized by ¹H NMR, IR, HRMS and elemental analysis. The catalytic activity of the ruthenium carbene complex for olefin metathesis reactions was also investigated. The complex exhibited excellent performance for both ring‐closing and cross metathesis reactions at 35°C.     

锌卟啉修饰的双核钌卡宾烯烃复分解催化剂的合成及催化性能检测

为了得到稳定性更好、活性更高的烯烃复分解催化剂,本文采用有机合成的方法,以钌卡宾烯烃复分解催化剂为主体,用锌卟啉进行修饰,得到锌卟啉修饰的Grubbs-Hoveyda型双核钌卡宾烯烃复分解反应催化剂,产物结构使用核磁共振方法进行表征。 用0.1%化学计量催化剂催化几种代表性底物闭环复分解(RCM)反应产率能达到95%,对于特定的交叉烯烃复分解反应(CM),延长反应时间也能得到93%的较高产率。 研究结果为Grubbs-Hoveyda催化剂的修饰提供了新方法和理论依据。     

Batchwise and Continuous Organophilic Nanofiltration of Grubbs‐Type Olefin Metathesis Catalysts

Retained : An N‐heterocyclic carbene with eight cyclohexyl groups (see figure) provides increased electron density for a highly active olefin metathesis catalyst as well as sufficient steric bulk to allow the efficient separation of such a complex from the organic products in the solvent‐resistant nanofiltration.

     

A Fast‐Initiating Ionically Tagged Ruthenium Complex: A Robust Supported Pre‐catalyst for Batch‐Process and Continuous‐Flow Olefin Metathesis

In this study, a new pyridinium‐tagged Ru complex was designed and anchored onto sulfonated silica, thereby forming a robust and highly active supported olefin‐metathesis pre‐catalyst for applications under batch and continuous‐flow conditions. The involvement of an oxazine–benzylidene ligand allowed the reactivity of the formed Ru pre‐catalyst to be efficiently controlled through both steric and electronic activation. The oxazine scaffold facilitated the introduction of the pyridinium tag, thereby affording the corresponding cationic pre‐catalyst in good yield. Excellent activities in ring‐closing (RCM), cross (CM), and enyne metathesis were observed with only 0.5 mol % loading of the pre‐catalyst. When this powerful pre‐catalyst was immobilized onto a silica‐based cationic‐exchange resin, a versatile catalytically active material for batch reactions was generated that also served as fixed‐bed material for flow reactors. This system could be reused at 1 mol % loading to afford metathesis products in high purity with very low ruthenium contamination under batch conditions (below 5 ppm). Scavenging procedures for both batch and flow processes were conducted, which led to a lowering of the ruthenium content to as little as one tenth of the original values.     

Synthesis and Evaluation of Ruthenium 2‐Alkyl‐6‐mercaptophenolate Catalysts for Olefin Metathesis

A series of ruthenium carbene catalysts containing 2‐sulfidophenolate bidentate ligand with an ortho‐substituent next to the oxygen atom were synthesized. The molecular structure of ruthenium carbene complex containing 2‐isopropyl‐6‐sulfidophenolate ligand was confirmed through single crystal X‐ray diffraction. An oxygen atom can be found in the opposite position of the N‐heterocyclic carbene (NHC) based on the steric hindrance and strong trans‐effects of the NHC ligand. The ruthenium carbene catalyst can catalyze ring‐opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) reaction of norbornene with high activity and Z‐selectivity and cross metathesis (CM) reactions of terminal alkenes with (Z)‐but‐2‐ene‐1,4‐diol to give Z‐olefin products (Z/E ratios, 70:30–89:11) in low yields (13%–38%). When AlCl₃ was added into the CM reactions, yields (51%–88%) were considerably improved and process becomes highly selective for E‐olefin products (E/Z ratios, 79:21–96:4). Similar to other ruthenium carbene catalysts, these new complexes can tolerate different functional groups.     

Oxygen‐chelated indenylidene ruthenium catalysts for olefin metathesis

Olefin metathesis is a transition metal‐mediated transformation that rearranges the carbon atoms of the carbon–carbon double bond of olefins. This reaction has become one of the most important and powerful reactions. Therefore development of new, well‐defined, highly active and selective catalysts is very desirable and a valuable goal. This mini‐review mainly introduces the development of ruthenium catalysts in olefin metathesis highlighting oxygen‐chelated indenylidene ruthenium catalysts. Applying an alkoxyl group on the indenylidene ligand fragment can generate the Ru ? O chelating bond. Additionally, various modifications of the ligand as well as the catalytic activity for ring‐closing metathesis reaction and selectivity of cross metathesis reaction are overviewed. Finally, the perspectives on the development of new catalysts are summarized. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Heterogenization of a Modified Grubbs–Hoveyda Catalyst on a ROMP‐Derived Monolithic Support

A ring‐opening metathesis polymerization‐ (ROMP‐) based monolith was synthesized using a Grubbs' first generation catalyst. The living termini were used for surface grafting of norborn‐5‐ene‐2‐ylmethyl hexafluoroglutarate. The free carboxylic acid groups of the graft polymer were converted into the corresponding silver salt and reacted with the Grubbs–Hoveyda catalyst [RuCl₂(CH (2‐iPrO )C₆H₄)(IMesH₂)] (IMesH₂ = 1,3‐bis(2,4,6‐trimethylphenyl)‐4,5‐dihydroimidazol‐2‐ylidene) to yield a stable heterogeneous version of this catalyst for use in ring‐closing metathesis (RCM) under continuous flow conditions.

The monolith‐supported Grubbs–Hoveyda catalyst.     

Chelating Ruthenium Phenolate Complexes: Synthesis,General Catalytic Activity,and Applications in Olefin Metathesis Polymerization

Cyclic Ru‐phenolates were synthesized, and these compounds were used as olefin metathesis catalysts. Investigation of their catalytic activity pointed out that, after activation with chemical agents, these catalysts promote ring‐closing metathesis (RCM), enyne and cross‐metathesis (CM) reactions, including butenolysis, with good results. Importantly, these latent catalysts are soluble in neat dicyclopentadiene (DCPD) and show good applicability in ring‐opening metathesis polymeriyation (ROMP) of this monomer.     

DFT Study on the Recovery of Hoveyda–Grubbs‐Type Catalyst Precursors in Enyne and Diene Ring‐Closing Metathesis

DFT (B3LYP‐D) calculations have been used to better understand the origin of the recovered Hoveyda–Grubbs derivative catalysts after ring‐closing diene or enyne metathesis reactions. For that, we have considered the activation process of five different Hoveyda–Grubbs precursors in the reaction with models of usual diene and enyne reactants as well as the potential precursor regeneration through the release/return mechanism. The results show that, regardless of the nature of the initial precursor, the activation process needs to overcome relatively high energy barriers, which is in agreement with a relatively slow process. The precursor regeneration process is in all cases exergonic and it presents low energy barriers, particularly when compared to those of the activation process. This indicates that the precursor regeneration should always be feasible, unlike the moderate recoveries sometimes observed experimentally, which suggests that other competitive processes that hinder recovery should take place. Indeed, calculations presented in this work show that the reactions between the more abundant olefinic products and the active carbenes usually require lower energy barriers than those that regenerate the initial precatalyst, which could prevent precursor regeneration. On the other hand, varying the precursor concentration with time obtained from the computed energy barriers shows that, under the reaction conditions, the precursor activation is incomplete, thereby suggesting that the origin of the recovered catalyst probably arises from incomplete precursor activation.     

Synthesis and Catalytic Activity of a Two-core Ruthenium Carbene Complex: a Unique Catalyst for Ring Closing Metathesis Reaction

The reaction of a ruthenium carbide complex RuCl2(C:)(PCy3)2 with [H(Et2O)x]+[BF4]– at a molar ratio of 1:2 produced a two-core ruthenium carbene complex, {[RuCl(=CHPCy3)(PCy3)]2(μ-Cl)3}+·[BF4]–, in the form of a yellow-green crystalline solid in a yield of 94%. This two-core ruthenium complex is a selective catalyst for ring closing metathesis of unsubstituted terminal dienes. More importantly, no isomerized byproduct was observed for N-substrates when the two-core ruthenium complex was used as the catalyst at an elevated temperature(137 °C), indicating that the complex is a chemo-selective catalyst for ring closing metathesis reactions.     

Application of a Grubbs–Hoveyda Metathesis Catalyst Noncovalently Immobilized by Fluorous–Fluorous Interactions

A Grubbs–Hoveyda metathesis catalyst bearing a tris(perfluoroalkyl)silyl tag for efficient noncovalent attachment to fluorous silica gel (FSG) was synthesized and employed in ring‐closing metathesis (RCM) reactions in CH₂Cl₂. After the reaction, a solvent switch to a polar system allowed for recovery of the catalyst by filtration and its reuse. The approach was demonstrated for a number of different substrates. Furthermore, it was shown that the application of this catalytic system yielded products with low ruthenium content.     

DFT Mechanistic Study on Diene Metathesis Catalyzed by Ru‐Based Grubbs–Hoveyda‐Type Carbenes: The Key Role of π‐Electron Density Delocalization in the Hoveyda Ligand

The catalytic activity and catalyst recovery of two heterogenized ruthenium‐based precatalysts ( H and NO₂(4) ) in diene ring‐closing metathesis have been studied by means of density functional calculations at the B3LYP level of theory. For comparison and rationalization of the key factors that lead to higher activities and higher catalyst recoveries, four other Grubbs–Hoveyda complexes have also been investigated. The full catalytic cycle (catalyst formation, propagation, and precatalyst regeneration) has been considered. DFT calculations suggest that either for the homogeneous and heterogenized systems the activity of the catalysts mainly depends on the ability of the precursor to generate the propagating carbene. This ability does not correlate with the traditionally identified key factor, the Ru???O interaction strength. In contrast, precatalysts with lower alkoxy‐dissociation energy barriers and lower stabilities compared with the propagating carbene also present larger C1? C2 bond length (i.e., lower π character of the C? C bond that exists between the metal–carbene (Ru?C) and the phenyl ring of the Hoveyda ligand). Catalyst recovery, regardless of whether a release–return mechanism occurs or not, is also mainly determined by the π delocalization. Therefore, future Grubbs–Hoveyda‐type catalyst development should be based on fine‐tuning the π‐electron density of the phenyl moiety, with the subsequent effect on the metalloaromaticity of the ruthenafurane ring, rather than considering the modification of the Ru???O interaction.     

环(烷基)(氨基)卡宾及其在烯烃复分解反应中的研究展望

烯烃复分解反应是形成碳碳双键的重要反应之一,其发展与结构明确的钌催化剂[L2X2Ru=CHR]中配体的创制密切相关.1999年,环二氨基卡宾配体的引入极大提高了催化剂的活性、稳定性以及官能团适用性.2005年,Bertrand等发展了一种比环二氨基卡宾具有更强给电子能力的配体──环(烷基)(氨基)卡宾(CAACs)配体,且卡宾中心α位为一季碳原子,这使得其空间环境与其他类型卡宾配体有很大差异.首先概述了CAACs配体的合成及性质,紧接着讨论了其在烯烃复分解催化反应中的研究进展,最后对该领域所存在的问题进行简要分析并对其发展作了展望.     

Isocyanate‐ and Isothiocyanate‐Derived RuIV‐Based Alkylidenes: Synthesis,Structure, and Activity

The synthesis and characterization of a series of isocyanate‐ and isothiocyanate‐derived second generation Grubbs–Hoveyda‐type ruthenium–alkylidene complexes, that is, [Ru(N?C?O)₂(IMesH₂)(?CH‐2‐(2‐PrO)‐C₆H₄)] ( 1 ), [Ru(N?C?O)₂(1,3‐dimesityl‐3,4,5,6‐tetrahydropyrimidin‐2‐ylidene)(=CH‐2‐(2‐PrO)‐C₆H₄)] ( 2 ), [Ru(N?C?S)₂(IMesH₂)(?CH‐2‐(2‐PrO)‐C₆H₄)] ( 3 ), and [Ru(N?C?S)₂(1,3‐dimesityl‐3,4,5,6‐tetrahydropyrimidin‐2‐ylidene)(?CH‐2‐(2‐PrO)‐C₆H₄)] ( 4 ), and their activity in various metathesis reactions are described. Compounds 1 – 4 were prepared by reaction of the parent complexes [RuCl₂(IMesH₂)(?CH‐2‐(2‐PrO)C₆H₄)] ( 5 ) (IMesH₂=1,3‐bis‐(2,4,6‐trimethylphenyl)‐4,5‐dihydroimidazol‐2‐ylidene) and [RuCl₂(1,3‐dimesityl‐3,4,5,6‐tetrahydropyrimidin‐2‐ylidene)(?CH‐2‐(2‐PrO)‐C₆H₄)] ( 6 ) with silver cyanate and thiocyanate, respectively. The X‐ray structure of 1 was determined, confirming the isocyanate‐type bonding of the ligand. The isothiocyanate‐type bonding in 3 and 4 was unambiguously confirmed by IR and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The isocyanate‐derived complexes 1 and 2 were found to be excellent catalysts for the ring‐opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) of cis‐cycloocta‐1,5‐diene (COD). Both 1 and 2 yielded poly(COD) with a trans‐content of about 80 %. First‐order kinetics with unprecedentedly high rate constants of polymerization (k_p=0.068 and 0.26 s^?1, respectively) were observed. Compounds 3 and 4 were also active initiators for the ROMP of COD, however, they generated poly(COD) with a cis‐content of 80 and 67 %, respectively. Complexes 1 and 2 also showed good catalytic activity in cross‐metathesis (CM) reactions. Finally, 1 – 4 were also found to be excellent catalysts for the regioselective cyclopolymerization of diethyl 2,2‐dipropargylmalonate (DEDPM), resulting in poly(DEDPM) almost entirely based on five‐membered repeat units, that is, cyclopent‐1‐ene‐1,2‐vinylenes.