Selective carbene transfer to amines and olefins catalyzed by ruthenium phthalocyanine complexes with donor substituents

Electron-rich ruthenium phthalocyanine complexes were evaluated in carbene transfer reactions from ethyl diazoacetate (EDA) to aromatic and aliphatic olefins as well as to a wide range of aromatic, heterocyclic and aliphatic amines for the first time. It was revealed that the ruthenium octabutoxyphthalocyanine carbonyl complex [(BuO)8Pc]Ru(CO) is the most efficient catalyst converting electron-rich and electron-poor aromatic olefins to cyclopropane derivatives with high yields (typically 80-100%) and high TON (up to 1000) under low catalyst loading and nearly equimolar substrate/EDA ratio. This catalyst shows a rare efficiency in the carbene insertion into amine N-H bonds. Using a 0.05 mol% catalyst loading, a high amine concentration (1 M) and 1.1 eq. of EDA, a number of structurally divergent amines were selectively converted to mono-substituted glycine derivatives with up to quantitative yields and turnover numbers reaching 2000. High selectivity, large substrate scope, low catalyst loading and practical reaction conditions place [(BuO)8Pc]Ru(CO) among the most efficient catalysts for the carbene insertion into amines.

The Power of Iron Catalysis in Diazo Chemistry

The use of iron catalysis to enable reactions with diazo compounds has emerged as a valuable tool to forge carbon–carbon or carbon–heteroatom bonds. While diazo compounds are often encountered with toxic and expensive metal catalysts, such as Rh, Ru, Pd, Ir, and Cu, a resurgence of Fe catalysis has been observed. This short review will showcase and highlight the recent advances in iron-mediated reactions of diazo compounds.

1 Introduction

2 Insertion Reactions

2.1 Insertion into B–H Bonds

2.2 Insertion into Si–H Bonds

2.3 Insertion into N–H Bonds

2.4 Insertion into S–H bonds

3 Ylide Formation and Subsequent Reactions

3.1 Doyle–Kirmse Rearrangement

3.2 [1,2]-Stevens and Sommelet–Hauser Rearrangements

3.3 Olefination Reactions

3.4 Cycloaddition Reactions

3.5 gem-Difluoroalkenylation

4 Three-Component Reactions

5 Miscellaneous

6 Conclusion