Rhodium-catalyzed double carbonylation of diiodomethane in the presence of triethylorthoformate

Catalytic double carbonylation of diiodomethane in triethylorthoformate in the presence of a homogeneous rhodium complex gives diethylmalonate in a fairly good yield.     

Palladium nitrosoarene complexes in reductive carbonylation of nitroarenes

The reactions of carbon monoxide with the palladium nitrosoarene complexes Pd₂(-OCOR)₂(—CH₂C₆H₄NO)₂ (1, R = Me, CF₃, Bu^t, or Ph) and Pd₂(-OCOR)₂(PhNC₆H₄NO)₂ (2, R = Me, CF₃, Bu^t, or Ph) were studied. Complexes 1 contain the o-nitrosotoluene molecule metallated at the methyl group. In complexes 2, the phenyl-o-nitrosophenylamide ligand coordinated via two nitrogen atoms can be considered as a nitrosobenzene derivative bearing the NPh group in the ortho position of the Ph ring. It all cases, carbonylation of the complexes afforded the corresponding aryl isocyanates Ar—N=C=O or the products of their further transformations. The mechanism of reductive carbonylation of nitroarenes catalyzed by palladium compounds and the role of palladium nitrosoarene complexes as possible intermediates in this process are discussed.     

Rhodium-catalyzed carbonylation of 3-acyloxy-1,4-enynes for the synthesis of cyclopentenones

Functionalized cyclopentenones were synthesized by a Rh-catalyzed carbonylation of 3-acyloxy-1,4-enynes, derived from alkynes and α,β-unsaturated aldehydes. The reaction involved a Saucy-Marbet 1,3-acyloxy migration of propargyl esters and a [4 + 1] cycloaddition of the resulting acyloxy substituted vinylallene with CO.     

Rhodium-catalyzed reductive aldol reactions using aldehydes as the stoichiometric reductants

Chelated acyl rhodium hydrides, generated from the addition of [Rh(dppe)]ClO4 to beta-sulfide-substituted aldehydes, can function as the stoichiometric reductants in reductive aldol processes. Unsaturated nitriles, esters, and ketones can be used as enolate equivalents, and a variety of simple alpha- and beta-substituted aldehydes can be employed. The use of a second, more electrophilic, aldehyde allows three-component reactions to be performed.     

Palladium-catalyzed reductive carbonylation of nitrobenzene for producing phenyl isocyanate

Direct reductive carbonylation of nitrobenzene to phenyl isocyanate with carbon monoxide was performed using various types of palladium catalysts together with many types of N-donor ligands. The effect of reaction time, pressure, temperature, ligand amount, and molar ratio to establish the optimized conditions was also investigated. With this, we were able to achieve up to 100% conversion and 63.5% yield with PdCl₂ and alkylimidazole system (1:3) within 2 h at 220 °C and 1400 psi of CO in toluene.     

Rhodium-catalyzed reductive mannich coupling of vinyl ketones to N-sulfonylimines mediated by hydrogen

Catalytic hydrogenation of methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) and ethyl vinyl ketone (EVK) in the presence of N-(o-nitrophenylsulfonyl)imines 8a-13a at ambient pressure with tri-2-furylphosphine-ligated rhodium catalysts enables formation of Mannich products 8b-13b and 8c-13c with moderate to good levels of syn-diastereoselectivity. As revealed by an assay of various N-protecting groups, excellent yields of reductive Mannich product also are obtained for N-arylimines 1a-4a, although diminished levels of syn-diastereoselectivity are observed. Coupling of MVK to imine 8a under a deuterium atmosphere provides deuterio-8b, which incorporates a single deuterium atom at the former enone beta-position.     

Rhodium-catalyzed carbonylation of 2-alkynylbenzylamine: a new route to the synthesis of benzazepinones

Rhodium-catalyzed carbonylation of 2-alkynylbenzylamines under water-gas shift reaction conditions gives a seven-membered heterocyclic product, 2,4-disubstituted-1,4-dihydrobenz[c]azepin-3-ones, in a good yield.     

Cobalt-catalyzed reductive carbonylation of methyl esters to acetaldehyde and carboxylic acid

The reaction of methyl esters with synthesis gas and a Co—LiI catalyst results in the formation of anhydrous acetaldehyde and a carboxylic acid in very high yield. At 180 °C and 5000 psig, acetaldehyde is produced from methyl acetate at a rate of 7 M h⁻¹ and >95% selectivity.     

Effect of a proximal substituent on the triruthenium dodecacarbonyl-catalyzed reductive carbonylation of nitroarenes

Three nitroarenes were submitted to Ru₃(CO)₁₂-catalyzed reductive carbonylation in acetonitrile and in cis-cyclooctene. The main reaction products were the corresponding amines, ureas and six- or five-membered cyclization products. Optimization of the reaction varying the temperature, the CO pressure, the catalyst/substrate ratio and the reaction time and a statistical analysis of conversion and selectivity data allow to suggest a reaction mechanism in some reaction conditions.     

The subtle effects of iron-containing metal surfaces on the reductive carbonylation of RuCl3

The use of iron-containing metal surfaces, Fe, Fe-Cr-alloy and stainless steel, for the synthesis of mixed metal Ru-Fe compounds has been studied. The studied process was reductive carbonylation of RuCl3 in the presence of a metal surface. Reactions were carried out in ethanol solutions under 10-50 bar carbon monoxide pressure at 125 degrees C using an autoclave. During the reaction the metal surface was oxidized, releasing iron into the solution and acting as a sacrificial source of iron. Under these conditions the corrosion of the metal surface was facile and produced a series of iron-containing species. In addition to the formation of most obvious iron(II) products, such as [Fe(H2O)6]2+ or [FeCl2(H2O)4] the use of the metal surface also provided a route to novel labile trinuclear [Ru2Cl2(mu-Cl)4(CO)6FeL2] (L = H2O, EtOH) complexes. The stability and reactivity of the [Ru2Cl2(mu-Cl)4(CO)6FeL2] complexes were further studied using computational DFT methods. Based on the computational results a reaction route has been suggested for the formation and decomposition of [Ru2Cl2(mu-Cl)4(CO)6FeL2].     

Palladium/di-1-adamantyl-n-butylphosphine-catalyzed reductive carbonylation of aryl and vinyl halides

A general and efficient palladium-catalyzed reductive carbonylation with low catalyst loadings (0.5 mol % Pd or below) has been developed. The formylation of aryl and heteroaryl bromides proceeds smoothly in the presence of palladium/di-1-adamantyl-n-butylphosphine at ambient pressure of synthesis gas to afford the corresponding aromatic aldehydes in good yields and excellent selectivity. In addition, vinyl halides react under similar conditions to form α,β-unsaturated aldehydes in good yield.     

Direct involvement of the acetato ligand in the reductive elimination step of rhodium-catalyzed methanol carbonylation

For the last step of rhodium-catalyzed methanol carbonylation, high-pressure NMR, and kinetic and experimental data supported by density functional theory calculations are consistent with substitution of I(-) by an AcO(-) ligand on the [RhI(3)(COCH(3))(CO)(2)](-) species followed by reductive elimination of acetic anhydride, which immediately reacts with water to afford acetic acid.     

Rhodium-catalyzed reductive coupling of disulfides and diselenides with alkyl halides, using hydrogen as a reducing agent

[reaction: see text] We have established that RhCl(PPh3)3 catalyzes a reductive coupling of disulfides and diselenides with alkyl halides in the presence of triethylamine using hydrogen as a reducing agent. This reaction serves as a convenient new method to produce unsymmetrical sulfides and selenides from disulfides and diselenides instead of unstable and odoriferous thiols and selenols.     

Rhodium-catalyzed carbonylation of cyclopropyl substituted propargyl esters: a tandem 1,3-acyloxy migration [5 + 1] cycloaddition

We have developed two different types of tandem reactions for the synthesis of highly functionalized cyclohexenones from cyclopropyl substituted propargyl esters. Both reactions were initiated by rhodium-catalyzed Saucy-Marbet 1,3-acyloxy migration. The resulting cyclopropyl substituted allenes derived from acyloxy migration then underwent [5 + 1] cycloaddition with CO. The acyloxy group not only eased the access to allene intermediates but also provided a handle for further selective functionalizations.     

Radical carbonylation/reductive cyclization for the construction of tetrahydrofuran-3-ones and pyrrolidin-3-ones

Beta-hydroxyalkyl aryl chalcogenides obtained by regioselective ring-opening of epoxides with benzeneselenolate or -tellurolate were found to undergo efficient hetero-Michael addition when treated with ethyl propiolate. Subsequent carbonylation/reductive cyclization of the resulting vinylogous carbonates in the presence of AIBN/TTMSS and carbon monoxide (80 atm) afforded 2,5-disubstituted tetrahydrofuran-3-ones, predominantly as cis isomers (cis/trans = 4/1-9/1). Starting from a polymer-supported diaryl diselenide, the methodology was also successfully extended to solid-phase synthesis. Vinylogous carbamates prepared by hetero-Michael addition of aziridines to electron-deficient alkynes were regioselectively ring-opened with benzeneselenolate from the sterically least hindered side. Radical carbonylation/reductive cyclization of the resulting N-vinyl-beta-amino-alkyl phenyl selenides afforded 2,5-disubstituted pyrrolidin-3-ones, predominantly as cis isomers (cis/trans = 3/1-12/1).     

Synthesis of [11C]/(13C)amines via carbonylation followed by reductive amination

Twelve 11C-labelled amines were prepared via 11C-carbonylation followed by reductive amination. The 11C-carbonylation was performed in the presence of tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)palladium using aryl iodides or aryl triflates, [11C]carbon monoxide and phenyl-/methylboronic acid. The [11C]ketones formed in this step were then transformed directly into amines by reductive amination using different amines in the presence of TiCl4 and NaBH3CN. The 11C-labelled amines were obtained with decay-corrected radiochemical yields in the range 2-78%. The radiochemical purity of the isolated products exceeded 98%. (13C)Benzhydryl-phenyl-amine was synthesised and analysed by NMR spectroscopy for confirmation of the labelling position. Specific radioactivity was determined for the same compound. The reference compounds were prepared by reductive amination of ketones using conventional reaction conditions and three of the compounds were novel. The presented approach is a new method for the synthesis of [11C]/(13C)amines.     

Rhodium-catalyzed reductive cyclization of 1,6-enynes and stereoselective synthesis of the putative structure of lucentamycin A and its stereoisomers

A Rh-catalyzed diastereoselective reductive cyclization, mediated by hydrogen, of optically active 1,6-enynes using chiral BINAP was successfully applied to the total synthesis of four stereoisomers of the proposed structure of lucentamycin A. In order to synthesize two of these four stereoisomers, we successfully constructed chiral proline derivatives bearing cis-carbon substituents at C2 and C3 positions based on Krische’s methodology, which has very rarely been reported. Anti-proliferative activities on HCT-116 cell line and NMR data of these four stereoisomers were compared with those of naturally occurring lucentamycine A. The results show that the proposed structure of lucentamycin A needs revision.     

Reaction mechanism of the reductive elimination in the catalytic carbonylation of methanol. A density functional study

Reductive elimination, the final step of the Monsanto and Cativa processes, has been studied using the density functional theory with the hybrid B3LYP exchange and correlation functional. To our knowledge, this is the first systematic computational study of the reductive elimination for which even the experimental studies are rare. We have studied different isomers of the anionic dicarbonyls [Rh(CO)₂(COCH₃)I₃]⁻ (1) and [Ir(CO)₂(COCH₃)I₃]⁻ (2). Several possible reaction routes for the elimination of CH₃COI from 1 and 2 have been explored. In addition, different isomers of the neutral tricarbonyl [Ir(CO)₃(COCH₃)I₂] (3) and possible reaction paths connected to 3 have been studied. Our results show mer,trans-1 to be the dominant intermediate in the rhodium system although its transformation to fac,cis-1 and the elimination from this seems to be the most likely reaction pathway. In the anionic iridium system, the dominating intermediate is proposed to be fac,cis-2. In the neutral iridium system, mer,cis-3 is proposed to be the dominant intermediate. While inspecting the iridium system as a whole, one could propose a transformation from anionic dicarbonyl to neutral tricarbonyl that would enhance the total rate of the reductive elimination. This observation is similar to that already verified in the 1,1-insertion in the Cativa process. In general, the geometrical arrangement of the different ligands has a large effect on the catalytic activity of the different possible intermediates of these processes.