A highly reactive titanium precatalyst for intramolecular hydroamination reactions

Reactivity of terminal imido complexes of group 4-6 metals: stoichiometric and catalytic reactions involving cycloaddition with unsaturated organic molecules

Imido complexes of early transition metals are key intermediates in the synthesis of many nitrogen-containing organic compounds. The metal-nitrogen double bond of the imido moiety undergoes [2+2] cycloaddition reactions with various unsaturated organic molecules to form new nitrogen-carbon and nitrogen-heteroatom bonds. This review article focuses on reactivity of the terminal imido complexes of Group 4-6 metals, summarizing their stoichiometric reactions and catalytic applications for a variety of reactions including alkyne hydroamination, alkyne carboamination, pyrrole formation, imine metathesis, and condensation reactions of carbonyl compounds with isocyanates.

3d Transition Metals for C-H Activation

C-H activation has surfaced as an increasingly powerful tool for molecular sciences, with notable applications to material sciences, crop protection, drug discovery, and pharmaceutical industries, among others. Despite major advances, the vast majority of these C-H functionalizations required precious 4d or 5d transition metal catalysts. Given the cost-effective and sustainable nature of earth-abundant first row transition metals, the development of less toxic, inexpensive 3d metal catalysts for C-H activation has gained considerable recent momentum as a significantly more environmentally-benign and economically-attractive alternative. Herein, we provide a comprehensive overview on first row transition metal catalysts for C-H activation until summer 2018.

Strong Preference of the Redox-Neutral Mechanism over the Redox Mechanism for the TiIV Catalysis Involved in the Carboamination of Alkyne with Alkene and Diazene

Titanium catalysis generally prefers redox-neutral mechanisms. Yet it has been reported that titanium could promote bond formations in a way similar to reductive elimination. Accordingly, redox catalytic cycles involving Ti^IV /Ti^II cycling have been considered. By studying, as an example, the carboamination of alkynes with alkenes and azobenzene catalyzed by the [Ti^IV ]=NPh imido complex, we performed DFT computations to gain an understanding of how the "abnormal" catalysis takes place, thereby allowing us to clarify whether the catalysis really follows Ti^IV /Ti^II redox mechanisms. The reaction first forms an azatitanacyclohexene by alkyne addition to the [Ti^IV ]=NPh bond, followed by alkene insertion. The azatitanacyclohexene can either undergo C^α -C^γ coupling, to afford bicyclo[3.1.0]imine, or β-H elimination, to yield a [Ti^IV ]-H hydride, which then undergoes C^α =C^β or C^γ =C^δ insertion to give an α,β- or β,γ-unsaturated imine, respectively. Both the geometric and electronic structures indicate that the catalytic cycles proceed through redox-neutral mechanisms. The alternative redox mechanisms (e.g., by N-H or C-H reductive elimination) are substantially less favorable. We concluded that electronically, the Ti^IV catalysis intrinsically favors the redox-neutral mechanism, because a redox pathway would involve Ti^II structures either in the triplet ground state or in the high-lying open-shell singlet state, but the involvement of triplet Ti^II structures is spin-forbidden and that of singlet Ti^II structures is energetically disadvantageous.

N,O-Chelating Four-Membered Metallacyclic Titanium(IV) Complexes for Atom-Economic Catalytic Reactions

Titanium, as the second most abundant transition metal in the earth's crust, lends itself as a sustainable and inexpensive resource in catalysis. Its nontoxicity and biocompatibility are also attractive features for handling and disposal. Titanium has excelled as a catalyst for a broad range of transformations, including ethylene and α-olefin polymerizations. However, many reactions relevant to fine chemical synthesis have preferrentially employed late transition metals, and reactive, inexpensive early transition metals have been largely overlooked. In addition to promising reactivity, titanium complexes feature more robust character compared with some other highly Lewis-acidic metals such as those found in the lanthanide series. Since the advent of modulating ligand scaffolds, titanium has found use in a growing variety of reactions as a versatile homogeneous catalyst. These catalytic transformations include hydrofunctionalization reactions (adding an element-hydrogen (E-H) bond across a C-C multiple bond), as well as the ring-opening polymerization of cyclic esters, all of which are atom-economic transformations. Our investigations have focused on tight bite angle monoanionic N,O-chelating ligands, forming four-membered metallacycles. These ligand sets, including amidates, ureates, pyridonates, and sulfonamidates, have flexible binding modes offering a range of stable and reactive intermediates necessary for catalytic activity. Additionally, the simple form of these ligands leads to easily prepared proligands, along with facile tuning of steric and electronic factors. A sterically bulky titanium amidate complex has proven to be a leading catalyst for the selective formation of anti-Markovnikov addition products via intermolecular hydroamination of terminal alkynes, while sterically less demanding titanium pyridonates have opened the path to the selective formation of amine substituted cycloalkanes via the intramolecular hydroaminoalkylation of aminoalkenes over the competing hydroamination pathway. Sulfonamidates have boosted reactivity for hydrofunctionalization and polymerization reactions compared with amide ligands not bearing a sulfonyl group. N,O-Chelated titanium complexes have been used to synthesize ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene and have been utilized in the challenging task of realizing equal incorporation of two different cyclic esters in a random ring-opening copolymerization. These discrete complexes have allowed for careful study of fundamental coordination chemistry and stoichiometric organometallic investigations. With inexpensive starting materials and modular ligands, titanium N,O-chelated complexes are well-suited to address the challenges of achieving greener chemical processes while accessing useful reaction manifolds for sustainable synthesis.

Aluminium-catalysed intramolecular hydroamination of aminoalkenes: computational perusal of alternative pathways for aminoalkene activation

A comprehensive computational examination of alternatively plausible mechanistic pathways for the intramolecular hydroamination (HA) of aminoalkenes utilising a recently reported novel phenylene-diamine aluminium amido compound is presented. On the one hand, a proton-assisted concerted N-C/C-H bond-forming pathway to afford the cycloamine in a single step can be invoked, and, on the other, a stepwise σ-insertive pathway that involves a relatively fast, reversible migratory olefin 1,2-insertion step linked to a less rapid, irreversible Al-C alkyl bond protonolysis. The present study, which employs a sophisticated and reliable computational methodology, supports the prevailing mechanism to be a stepwise σ-insertive pathway. The predicted effective barrier for turnover-limiting aminolysis compares favourably with reported catalytic performance data. Non-competitive kinetic demands militates against the operation of the concerted proton-assisted pathway, which describes N-C bond-forming ring closure triggered by concomitant amino proton delivery at the C[double bond, length as m-dash]C linkage evolving through a six-centre transition state structure. The valuable insights into mechanistic intricacies of aluminium-mediated intramolecular HA reported herein will help guide the rational design of group 13 metal-based HA catalysts.

Gold(I)-Catalyzed Enantioselective Intramolecular Hydroamination of Allenes with Ureas

Enantioselective intramolecular hydroamination of N-allenyl ureas catalyzed by an enantiomerically enriched bis(gold) phosphine complex forms pyrrolidine derivatives in good yield with up to 93% ee.

Titanium hydroamination catalysts bearing a 2-aminopyrrolinato spectator ligand: monitoring the individual reaction steps

A series of new titanium half sandwich complexes, containing a 2-aminopyrrolinato ligand {N(Xyl)N}(-) as the ancillary ligand, have been prepared and are shown to be pre-catalysts for the hydroamination of alkynes. The coordination of {N(Xyl)N}(-) to titanium was achieved by reaction of [Cp*TiMe(3)] with the protioligand N(Xyl)NH giving [Cp*Ti(N(Xyl)N)(Me)(2)] (). Upon reaction of complex with an excess of tert-butylamine, the imido complex [Cp*Ti(N(Xyl)N)(N(t)Bu)(NH(2)(t)Bu)] () was formed. The latter provided the preparative entry to the synthesis of a range of N-aryl substituted imido complexes. Imido ligand exchange with 2,6-dimethylaniline, 2,4,6-trimethylaniline as well as 2,6-diisopropylaniline gave the corresponding arylimido complexes in clean reactions. Reaction of the titanium imido complex [Cp*Ti(N(Xyl)N)(N(t)Bu)(NH(2)(t)Bu)] with terminal arylacetylenes, such as phenylacetylene and tolylacetylene, led to C-H activation and the formation of alkynyl/amido complexes, whereas the arylimido complexes and cleanly underwent {2 + 2} cycloaddition, giving the azatitanacyclobutene derivatives. A single-crystal X-ray structure analysis of the azatitanacyclobutene [Cp*Ti(N(Xyl)N){kappa(2)N(2,6-C(6)H(3)Me(2))CTol[double bond, length as m-dash]CH}] () provided the first crystallographically characterized Markovnikov cycloaddition product of an imidotitanium complex with a terminal alkyne. The mechanistic aspects of the hydromanination of alkynes with the new Ti half sandwich complexes were studied and established a reversible {2 + 2} cycloaddition step and the cleavage of the metallacyclic intermediate as the rate determining step in the catalytic cycle. The titanium half sandwich imido complexes were found to be active catalysts for the inter- and intramolecular hydroamination of a broad range of alkynes and omega-aminoalkynes.