The Mechanistic Puzzle of Transition-Metal-Catalyzed Skeletal Rearrangements of Enynes

Organometallic catalysts in synthetic organic chemistry: From reactions in aqueous media to gold catalysis

Water has attracted significant attention as an alternative solvent for transition-metal-catalyzed reactions. The use of water as solvent allows simplified procedures for separation of the catalyst from the products and recycling of the catalyst. Water is an inexpensive reagent for the formation of oxygen-containing products such as alcohols. The use of water as a medium for promoting organometallic and organic reactions is also of great potential. This chapter will focus on old and recent developments in the design and applications of some catalytic reactions using aqueous-phase Pd, Rh, Pt, and Au complexes.

Catalytic carbophilic activation: catalysis by platinum and gold pi acids

The ability of platinum and gold catalysts to effect powerful atom-economic transformations has led to a marked increase in their utilization. The quite remarkable correlation of their catalytic behavior with the available structural data, coordination chemistry, and organometallic reactivity patterns, including relativistic effects, allows the underlying principles of catalytic carbophilic activation by pi acids to be formulated. The spectrum of reactivity extends beyond their utility as catalytic and benign alternatives to conventional stoichiometric pi acids. The resulting reactivity profile allows this entire field of catalysis to be rationalized, and brings together the apparently disparate electrophilic metal carbene and nonclassical carbocation explanations. The advances in coupling, cycloisomerization, and structural reorganization--from the design of new transformations to the improvement to known reactions--are highlighted in this Review. The application of platinum- and gold-catalyzed transformations in natural product synthesis is also discussed.

Recent developments in the metal-catalyzed reactions of metallocarbenoids from propargylic esters

The transition-metal-catalyzed intramolecular cycloisomerization of propargylic carboxylates provides functionalized bicyclo[n.1.0]enol esters in a very diastereoselective manner and, depending on the structure, with partial or complete transfer of chirality from enantiomerically pure precursors. The subsequent methanolysis gives bicyclo[n.1.0] ketones, hence resulting in a very efficient two-step protocol for the syntheses of alpha,beta-unsaturated cyclopropyl ketones, key intermediates for the preparation of natural products. The results from mechanistic computational studies suggest that they probably proceed through cyclopropyl metallocarbenoids, formed by endo-cyclopropanation, that undergo a 1,2-acyl migration. Finally, the potential of the intermolecular reaction and the related pentannulation of propargylic esters bearing pendant aromatic rings are also discussed.

W(CO)5(L)-catalyzed tandem intramolecular cyclopropanation/cope rearrangement for the stereoselective construction of bicyclo[5.3.0]decane framework

Utilizing the biscarbene character of electrophilically activated alkynes, a novel tandem intramolecular cyclopropanation/Cope rearrangement of 3-siloxy-1,3,9-trien-7-ynes catalyzed by W(CO)5(L) for the stereoselective construction of bicyclo[5.3.0]decane framework is achieved. When 3-siloxy-1,3,9-trien-7-ynes were treated with a catalytic amount of W(CO)6 under photoirradiation, bicyclo[5.3.0]decanes were obtained in good yield stereoselectively. In this reaction, the Cope rearrangement of the divinylcyclopropane intermediates, generated by the intramolecular cyclopropanation of 3-siloxy-1,3,9-trien-7-ynes based on the W(CO)5(L)-catalyzed electrophilic activation of alkynes, occurs to give synthetically useful functionalized bicyclo[5.3.0]decane derivatives stereoselectively.

Ring closing enyne metathesis: A powerful tool for the synthesis of heterocycles

The ring closing metathesis (RCM) is a powerful method in organic synthesis for the preparation of cyclic compounds by formation of new carbon-carbon bonds. In the past years a particular subclass of the RCM, the ring closing enyne metathesis (RCEYM), has attracted attention due to its synthetic potential in the generation of ring structures with 1,3-diene moieties, which can subsequently be further functionalised. In this tutorial review mechanistic considerations will be described and the synthetic power of this useful and attractive carbon-carbon bond forming reaction will be illustrated by recent examples of RCEYM applications in the preparation of heterocyclic compounds.

Gold(i)-catalysed arylation of 1,6-enynes: different site reactivity of cyclopropyl gold carbenes

Gold(I)-catalysed addition of electron-rich arenes and heteroarenes to 1,6-enynes gives two different types of products by reaction of the intermediate cyclopropyl gold carbenes at the cyclopropane or at the carbene.

Pt- and Au-catalyzed oxidative cyclization of 2-ethenyl-1-(prop-2′-yn-1′-ol)benzenes to naphthyl aldehydes and ketones: catalytic oxidation of metal-alkylidene intermediates using H2O and H2O2

2-Ethenyl-1-(prop-2'-yn-1'-ol)benzenes was cyclized through catalytic oxidation with PtCl(2)/CO/H(2)O and PEt(3)AuCl/H(2)O(2); the metal-naphthylidene intermediates were identified and oxygenated with water and H(2)O(2), respectively; for the efficiency of cyclization, the Au catalytic system is superior to that of the PtCl(2)-catalysis because of its compatibility toward diverse alcohol substrates including both internal alkynes and terminal alkynes.

Molecular diversity through gold catalysis with alkynes

In this feature article we cover most recent efforts in gold-catalysed transformations, highlighting the wide molecular diversity that can be achieved, in particular with regard to the formation of C-C bonds. Mechanistic interpretations of some cyclisations are based on our own work on the skeletal rearrangement of 1,6-enynes.