Reactions of Cyclopropenone Derivatives with a Cyclopentadienylcobalt(I) Chelate: Formation of a Cobaltacyclobutenone and a Transformation of 2,2-Dimethoxycyclopropenone to Methyl Acrylate at Cobalt

Temperature-Dependent Divergent Cyclopentadiene Synthesis through Cobalt-Catalyzed C-C Activation of Cyclopropenes

We report a temperature-dependent divergent approach to synthesize multisubstituted cyclopentadienes through cobalt-catalyzed carbon-carbon (C-C) bond activation of cyclopropenes and ring expansion with internal alkynes. By employing different heating procedures, two cyclopentadiene substitution isomers were efficiently and selectively constructed. This reaction does not require preactivation of the metal catalyst or additional reducing reagents. Preliminary mechanistic investigations suggest that the key steps are oxidative addition of the cyclopropene to cobalt catalyst, followed by alkyne insertion and 1,5-ester shift.

Robust and efficient hydrogenation of carbonyl compounds catalysed by mixed donor Mn(I) pincer complexes

Any catalyst should be efficient and stable to be implemented in practice. This requirement is particularly valid for manganese hydrogenation catalysts. While representing a more sustainable alternative to conventional noble metal-based systems, manganese hydrogenation catalysts are prone to degrade under catalytic conditions once operation temperatures are high. Herein, we report a highly efficient Mn(I)-CNP pre-catalyst which gives rise to the excellent productivity (TOF° up to 41 000 h^-1) and stability (TON up to 200 000) in hydrogenation catalysis. This system enables near-quantitative hydrogenation of ketones, imines, aldehydes and formate esters at the catalyst loadings as low as 5-200 p.p.m. Our analysis points to the crucial role of the catalyst activation step for the catalytic performance and stability of the system. While conventional activation employing alkoxide bases can ultimately provide catalytically competent species under hydrogen atmosphere, activation of Mn(I) pre-catalyst with hydride donor promoters, e.g. KHBEt₃, dramatically improves catalytic performance of the system and eliminates induction times associated with slow catalyst activation.

Synthesis and characterization of manganese(ii) complexes supported by cyclopentadienyl-phosphine ligands

A series of manganese(ii) complexes supported by cyclopentadienyl-phosphine ligands have been synthesized and characterized. [LMn(μ-Cl)]₂ served as a precursor to organomanganese(ii) derivatives.

Nucleophilicity and P-C Bond Formation Reactions of a Terminal Phosphanido Iridium Complex

The diiridium complex [{Ir(ABPN2)(CO)}2(μ-CO)] (1; [ABPN2](-) = [(allyl)B(Pz)2(CH2PPh2)](-)) reacts with diphenylphosphane affording [Ir(ABPN2)(CO)(H) (PPh2)] (2), the product of the oxidative addition of the P-H bond to the metal. DFT studies revealed a large contribution of the terminal phosphanido lone pair to the HOMO of 2, indicating nucleophilic character of this ligand, which is evidenced by reactions of 2 with typical electrophiles such as H(+), Me(+), and O2. Products from the reaction of 2 with methyl chloroacetate were found to be either [Ir(ABPN2)(CO)(H)(PPh2CH2CO2Me)][PF6] ([6]PF6) or [Ir(ABPN2)(CO)(Cl)(H)] (7) and the free phosphane (PPh2CH2CO2Me), both involving P-C bond formation, depending on the reaction conditions. New complexes having iridacyclophosphapentenone and iridacyclophosphapentanone moieties result from reactions of 2 with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate and dimethyl maleate, respectively, as a consequence of a further incorporation of the carbonyl ligand. In this line, the terminal alkyne methyl propiolate gave a mixture of a similar iridacyclophosphapentanone complex and [Ir(ABPN2){CH═C(CO2Me)-CO}{PPh2-CH═CH(CO2Me)}] (10), which bears the functionalized phosphane PPh2-CH═CH(CO2Me) and an iridacyclobutenone fragment. Related model reactions aimed to confirm mechanistic proposals are also studied.

The broad diversity of CpCo(I) complexes

The presented review will focus on the systematic overview of the available synthetic approaches and the reactivity and the structural characteristics of selected mononuclear CpCo(I) complexes with (non)chelating neutral donor ligands. The complexes containing symmetrical or unsymmetrical neutral ligand combinations aside from the anionic cyclopentadienyl (Cp) ligand will be discussed and the differences to complexes with substituted Cp ligands will be considered in selected cases.

The First Cyclopentadienylalkylphosphane Nickel Chelates: Synthesis, Structures, and Reactions

The first cyclopentadienylalkylphosphane nickel chelate complexes are reported. The anionic ligand obtained by reaction of spiro[2.4]hepta-4,6-diene with lithium di-tert-butylphosphide was treated with NiCl2 to yield [eta(5):kappa(1)-(di-tert-butylphosphanylethyl)cyclopentadienyl]chloronickel(II). From this complex, some acetonitrile-stabilized cationic complexes were obtained by reaction with the respective silver salts in acetonitrile. Methyl- and alkynylnickel chelates were prepared by reaction of the chloronickel complex with methyllithium and by copper-mediated coupling with terminal alkynes, respectively. Some of the complexes prepared were investigated by X-ray crystallography or cyclic voltammetry. The alkynylnickel chelates undergo cycloaddition reactions with ethoxycarbonylisothiocyanate or tetracyanoethylene, and the cyclobutenes obtained undergo ring opening to the corresponding dienes. The study includes an NMR spectroscopic investigation of the two conformers of one of these dienes.

Syntheses and Structures of Sterically Congested Linear and Branched Cobalta[n]triangulanes

Treatment of {eta(5):eta(1)[2-(di-tert-butylphosphanyl-P)ethyl]cyclopentadienyl}cobalt(I) chloride (5) with methylenecyclopropane (3) or bicyclopropylidene (4), as well as with their spirocyclopropanated analogues methylenespiropentane (7), cyclopropylidenespiropentane (10), or 7,7'-bi(dispiro[2.0.2.1]heptylidene) (15) in the presence of sodium amalgam at -50 degrees C, furnished the stable cobalt complexes 6, 9, 8, 11, and 16, respectively, in 72, 83, 84, 86, and 54 % isolated yield, respectively. The complexes 14 and 16 were also obtained by ligand exchange of the ethene complex {eta(5):eta(1)[2-(di-tert-butylphosphanyl-P)ethyl]cyclopentadienyl}(eta(2)-ethene)cobalt(I) (12) with 13 and 15 in 79 and 52 % yield, respectively. The X-ray crystal-structure analyses of complexes 9, 14, and 16, as well as the NMR-spectroscopic data of all complexes, reveal that they can be regarded as linear and branched cobalta[n]triangulanes. The thermal stability of complexes 6, 8, and 9 up to 109, 145, and 160 degrees C was determined by differential thermal analysis-thermogravimetry (DTA-TG) analysis.

The first cobalt catalyzed [2 + 2 + 2] alkyne cyclotrimerization in aqueous medium at room temperature

Chelate complex 1 (5 mol%) was found to catalyze the [2 + 2 + 2] cyclization of terminal alkynes in good yields in a 80/20 mixture of water and ethanol at room temperature without further activation.

Rapid ruthenium-catalyzed synthesis of pyranopyrandiones by reconstructive carbonylation of cyclopropenones involving C[bond]C bond cleavage

Pyranopyrandiones were prepared by a novel ruthenium-catalyzed carbonylative dimerization of cyclopropenones via C-C bond cleavage. For example, treatment of dipropylcyclopropenone with a catalytic amount of Ru3(CO)12 and NEt3 in THF under 15 atm of carbon monoxide at 140 degrees C for 20 h gave a novel functional monomer, 3,4,7,8-tetrapropylpyrano[6,5-e]pyran-2,6-dione, in an isolated yield of 81%. Unsymmetrically substituted pyranopyrandiones were also obtained by ruthenium-catalyzed carbonylative coupling of cyclopropenones with alkynes under similar reaction conditions.

Hemilability of Hybrid Ligands and the Coordination Chemistry of Oxazoline-Based Systems

Ligand design is becoming an increasingly important part of the synthetic activity in chemistry. This is of course because of the subtle control that ligands exert on the metal center to which they are coordinated. Ligands which contain significantly different chemical functionalities, such as hard and soft donors, are often called hybrid ligands and find increasing use in molecular chemistry. Although the interplay between electronic and steric properties has long been recognized as essential in determining the chemical or physical properties of a complex, predictions remain very difficult, not only because of the considerable diversity encountered within the Periodic Table-different metal centers will behave differently towards the same ligand and different ligands can completely modify the chemistry of a given metal-but also because of the small energy differences involved. New systems may-even through serendipity-allow the emergence of useful concepts that can gain general acceptance and help design molecular structures orientated towards a given property. The concept of ligand hemilability, which finds numerous illustrations with hybrid ligands, has gained increased acceptance and been found to be very useful in explaining the properties of metal complexes and in designing new systems for molecular activation, homogeneous catalysis, functional materials, or small-molecule sensing. In the field of homogeneous enantioselective catalysis, in which steric and/or electronic control of a metal-mediated process must occur in such a way that one stereoisomer is preferentially formed, ligands containing one or more chiral oxazoline units have been found to be very valuable for a wide range of metal-catalyzed reactions. The incorporation of oxazoline moieties in multifunctional ligands of increasing complexity makes such ligands good candidates to display hemilabile properties, which until recently, had not been documented in oxazoline chemistry. Herein, we briefly recall the definition and scope of hemilabile ligands, present the main classes of ligands containing one or more oxazoline moieties, with an emphasis on hybrid ligands, and finally explain why the combination of these two facets of ligand design appears particularly promising.