In Silico Design of Heteroaromatic Half‐Sandwich RhI Catalysts for Acetylene [2+2+2] Cyclotrimerization: Evidence of a Reverse Indenyl Effect

A mechanistic density functional theory study of acetylene [2+2+2] cyclotrimerization to benzene catalyzed by Rh^I half metallocenes is presented. The catalyst fragment contains a heteroaromatic ligand, that is, the 1,2‐azaborolyl (Ab) or the 3a,7a‐azaborindenyl (Abi) anions, which are isostructural and isoelectronic to the hydrocarbon cyclopentadienyl (Cp) and indenyl (Ind) anions, respectively, but differ from the last ones on having two adjacent carbon atoms replaced with a boron and a nitrogen atom. The better performance of either the classic hydrocarbon or the heteroaromatic catalysts is found to depend on the different mechanistic paths that can be envisioned for the process. The present analyses uncover and explain general structure–reactivity relationships that may serve as rational design principles. In particular, we provide evidence of a reverse indenyl effect.     

Synthesis and Structure of Monomeric,Trimeric, and Mixed Phenylcyanamides

In a new synthetic approach phenylcyanamide (Hpca) was synthesized by methylation of phenylthiourea followed by a basic work‐up. All products along the synthetic route have been fully characterized by means of NMR, IR, and X‐ray studies. The first structural report of neutral mixed crystals of phenylcyanamide containing monomeric and trimeric Hpca is presented. Examination of these intriguing mixed crystals revealed the formation of distinct layers of monomeric and trimeric Hpca. These layers are interconnected by weak hydrogen bonds. The trimer represents triphenylisomelamine, which readily isomerizes to the triphenylmelamine in the melt, in accord with computations at the B3LYP level, indicating an exothermic process (ΔH=?49.4 kcal mol^?1). Pure trimeric Hpca (triphenylisomelamine) was obtained either by recrystallization of the mixed crystals from boiling water or by trimerization of monomeric Hpca in isopropanol for 12 h under reflux conditions. For comparison tritylcyanamide (Htca) and potassium phenylcyanamide as an [18]crown‐6 complex [K([18]crown‐6)pca] have been synthesized, and the solid‐state structures were determined using X‐ray diffraction techniques. The thermal behavior was studied by thermo‐analytical experiments. In agreement with the experimental results, computations predict an exothermic cyclotrimerization process for Hpca (ΔH=?41.3 kcal mol^?1).     

离子液体存在下脂肪醛的环化三聚反应

Aliphatic aldehydes such as ethanal,propanal,n-butanal,isobutyraldehyde,n-valeraldehyde,isovaleraldehyde,n-hexanal and n-octanal were converted into the corresponding 2,4,6-trialkyl-1,3,5-trioxanes through cyclotrimer-ization in the presence of the ferric chloride based ionic liquids at room temperature without solvent in high selec-tivity.The effects of different ionic liquids,acidity of ionic liquids and temperature on cyclotrimerization were alsostudied.The results showed that the ferric chloride based ionic liquids(apparent molar fraction of FeCl_3(x(FeCl_3)=0.62))were a kind of efficient catalysts for the cyclotrimerization of aliphatic aldehyde which could be separatedconveniently from the reaction mixture and recycled without loss of catalytic activity.The conversion of isobu-tyraldehyde and the selectivity to 2,4,6-triisopropyl-1,3,5-trioxane were 91.1% and 99.8% respectively under opti-mum reaction condition(isobutyraldehyde 25.0 g,[Et_3NH]Cl/FeCl_3(x(FeCl_3)=0.62)1.0 g,25 ℃for 1 h).     

过渡金属催化的炔烃芳构化反应

综述了过渡金属催化的炔烃环三聚芳构化反应的历史沿革及最新研究进展，并 重点对含有不同电性取代基的炔烃环三聚反应、几种典型的催化体系和作用机理、 该领域的一些前沿热点作了评述．     

Nature of the active center in the cyclotrimerization of isocyanates catalyzed by the tertiary amine—α-oxide—protondonor system

The structure of the dimethylbenzylamine (DMBA)—phenylglyc idyl ether (PGE)—phenol complex was studied by IR and¹H NMR spectroscopy under various conditions of its formation. The active catalyst in the cyclotrimerization of isocyanates is a complex of composition DMBA : PGE : PhOH = 1 : 1 : 2, in which the oxygen atom of the zwitter-ion PhCH₂N⁺Me₂CH₂CH(O^–)CH₂OPh that forms after opening, of the epoxide cycle is bound to two phenol molecules by a very strong hydrogen bonds. In this complex, the oxygen atom of both the zwitter-ion and the phenolate anion can be catalytic centers. Two schemes of the cyclotrimerization of isocyanate in the presence of the aforementioned catalytic system are suggested, depending on whether the catalytic complex has time to form or not.For Part I, see Ref. 1.Deceased.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 7, pp. 1662–1668, July, 1996.     

Total Synthesis of (+)‐Rubriflordilactone A

Two enantioselective total syntheses of the nortriterpenoid natural product rubriflordilactone A are described, which use palladium‐ or cobalt‐catalyzed cyclizations to form the CDE rings, and converge on a late‐stage synthetic intermediate. These key processes are set up through the convergent coupling of a common diyne component with appropriate AB‐ring aldehydes, a strategy that sets the stage for the synthetic exploration of other members of this family of natural products.     

Cycloaddition Reactions of Deoxyribosylpropynoates

Pure anomers of either α or β 3-(2-deoxyribofuranosyl)propynoates reacted with the tetramethylcyclobutadiene–aluminum trichloride complex to yield the corresponding diastereoisomeric Dewar benzenes. Thermal- or ultraviolet light–initiated rearrangement gave rise to highly substituted C-aryldeoxyribosides as single anomers. The same compounds as well as other substituted deoxyribosides were obtained also by transition metal–mediated cycloaddition reactions.     

Reactions of 16e CpCo half-sandwich complexes containing a chelating 1,2-dicarba-closo-dodecaborane-1,2-dichalcogenolate ligand with ethynylferrocene and dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate

The reaction of the 16e half-sandwich complex [CpCo(S2C2B10H10)] (1S; Cp: cyclopentadienyl) with ethynylferrocene in CH2Cl2 at ambient temperature leads to [CpCo(S2C2B10H9)-(CH2CFc)] (2S; Fc: ferrocenyl) and 1,2,4-triferrocenylbenzene. In 2S, B substitution occurs at the carborane cage in the position B3/B6 with the formation of a C-B bond. In the presence of the protic solvent MeOH, 2S loses a CpCo fragment to generate [(CH2CFc)(S2C2B10H9)] (3S). On the other hand, 2S can take a free CpCo fragment to form [(CpCo)2(S2C2B9H8)-(CHCFc)] (4S) containing a nido-C2B9 unit. In sharp contrast, [CpCo-(Se2C2B10H10)] (1Se) does not react with the alkyne in CH2Cl2, but in MeOH [(CHCFc)(Se2C2B10H10)] (5Se) is generated without the presence of a CpCo unit. The reaction of 1 with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate at ambient temperature leads to insertion compounds [CpCo(E2C2B10H10){(MeO2C)-C=C(CO2Me)}] (6S, E=S; 6 Se, E=Se). Upon heating, 6S rearranges to two geometrical isomers [CpCo(S2C2B10H9){(MeO2C)C=CH(CO2Me)}] (7S) and [CpCo(S2C2B10H9){(MeO2C)-CHC(CO2Me)}] (8S). In both, B-H functionalization takes place at the carborane cage in the position B3/B6, but 7S is a 16e complex with an olefinic unit in a Z configuration, and 8S is an 18e complex containing an alkyl B-CH group. Further treatment of 7 S with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate at ambient temperature affords two B-disubstituted complexes at the carborane cage in the positions of the B3 and B6 sites, that is, [CpCo(S2C2-B10H8){(MeO2C)C=CH(CO2Me)}2] (9S) and [CpCo(S2C2B10H8){(MeO2C)-CHC(CO2Me)}{(MeO2C)C=CH-(CO2Me)}] (10S). Compound 9S is a 16e complex with two olefinic units in E/E configurations, whereas 10S is an 18e species containing both an olefinic substituent and an alkyl B--CH unit. The reaction of 7S with methyl acetylenemonocarboxylate at ambient temperature leads to the sole 16e compound [CpCo(S2C2B10H8){CH=CH(CO2Me)}-{(MeO2C)C=CH(CO2Me)}] (11S). In contrast, 6Se does not rearrange. All new complexes 2S-4S, 5Se, 6Se, and 7S-11S were characterized by NMR spectroscopy (1H, 11B, 13C) and X-ray structural analyses were performed for 2S-4S, 5Se, 6Se, and 7S-9S.