Matthias Tamm

Reactions of β-functional phenyl isocyanides

Abstract Aspects of the coordination chemistry of β-functional phenyl isocyanides are reviewed, with emphasis on research involving 2-hydroxyphenyl isocyanide and derivatives thereof, which has been carried out in our Berlin group during the last few years. The driving force of coordinated 2-hydroxyphenyl isocyanide to form carbene complexes with 2,3-dihydrobenzoxazol-2-ylidene ligands depends on the attached metal fragment and can be used as a probe for the π-electron release ability of the metal center. Related work on N- and C-functional phenyl isocyanides aimed towards the synthesis of 2,3-dihydro-1H-imidazol-2-ylidene and 2,3-dihydro-1H-indol-2-ylidene complexes is also described.

C−H Insertion Reactions of Nucleophilic Carbenes

Syntheses and characterizations are described for C−H insertion products derived from 1,3-dimesityldihydroimidazol-2-ylidene (1) with acetylene, acetonitrile, methyl phenyl sulfone, and chloroform. In the reaction with acetylene, both acetylenic H-atoms are reactive so that 1 : 1 and 2 : 1 adducts can be obtained. The acetylene and methyl-phenyl-sulfone adducts are structurally characterized by means of single-crystal X-ray structure determinations. The reactions of 1,3,4,5-tetramethylimidazolidin-2-ylidene (8) with chloroform or chlorodifluoromethane are shown to yield 2-(dihaloalkyl)imidazolium salts that arise from a failure of the intermediate 2-protioimidazolium salt to capture the initially formed halocarbanion.

Recent advances in the development of alkyne metathesis catalysts

Summary The number of well-defined molybdenum and tungsten alkylidyne complexes that are able to catalyze alkyne metathesis reactions efficiently has been significantly expanded in recent years.The latest developments in this field featuring highly active imidazolin-2-iminato- and silanolate–alkylidyne complexes are outlined in this review.

Preparation of Imidazolin‐2‐iminato Molybdenum and Tungsten Benzylidyne Complexes: A New Pathway to Highly Active Alkyne Metathesis Catalysts

The reaction of [PhC[triple bond]MBr(3)(dme)] (dme=1,2-dimethoxyethane) with the hexafluoro-tert-butoxides LiX or KX [X=OC(CF(3))(2)Me] afforded the benzylidyne complexes [PhC[triple bond]MX(3)(dme)] (2a: M=W, 2b: M=Mo), which further reacted with the lithium reagent Li(Im(tBu)N), generated with MeLi from 1,3-di-tert-butylimidazolin-2-imine (Im(tBu)NH), to form the imidazolin-2-iminato complexes [PhC[triple bond]MX(2)(Im(tBu)N)] (3a: M=W, 3b: M=Mo). The propylidyne complex [EtC[triple bond]MoX(2)(NIm(tBu))] (4) was obtained by treatment of 3b with an excess of 3-hexyne. Complexes 3a and 3b are able to efficiently catalyse alkyne cross metathesis of various 3-pentynyl benzyl ethers 5 and benzoic esters 7 at room temperature, to afford 2-butyne and the corresponding diethers 6 and diesters 8. The tungsten complex 3a proved to be a superior catalyst for ring-closing alkyne metathesis, and the [10]cyclophanes 10 and 12 were synthesised in high yield from 1,3-bis(3-pentynyloxymethyl)benzene (9) and bis(3-pentynyl) phthalate (11), respectively. The molecular structures of compounds 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4, and 12 were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. DFT calculations have been carried out for catalyst systems based on the imidazolin-2-iminato tungsten and molybdenum complexes 3a and 3b by choosing the alkyne metathesis of 2-butyne as the model reaction; the studies revealed a lower activation barrier for the tungsten system.

Imidazolin-2-iminato titanium complexes: synthesis, structure and use in ethylene polymerization catalysis

The Staudinger reaction of the imidazolin-2-ylidenes, 1,3-di-tert-butylimidazolin-2-ylidene (1a), 1,3-diisopropylimidazolin-2-ylidene (1b), 1,3-diisopropyl-4,5-dimethylimidazolin-2-ylidene (1c), 1,3-bis(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)imidazolin-2-ylidene (1d) and 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenylimidazolin-2-ylidene (1e), with trimethylsilyl azide furnishes the corresponding N-silylated 2-iminoimidazolines 2a-e, which react with [(eta-C5H5)TiCl3] to afford half-sandwich cyclopentadienyl titanium complexes of the type [CpTi(L)Cl2] (3) (L = imidazolin-2-iminato ligand). Similarly, the reactions of 1,3-di-tert-butyl-2-(trimethylsilylimino)imidazoline (2a) with [(eta-tBuC5H4)TiCl3] results in the formation of [(eta-tBuC5H4)Ti(L)Cl2] (4) (L = 1,3-di-tert-butylimidazolin-2-imide). Bis(1,3-di-tert-butylimidazolin-2-iminato)titanium dichloride (5) is obtained from the reaction of two eq. of 2a with TiCl4. Treatment of 5 with methyllithium results in the formation of the corresponding dimethyl complex [L2Ti(CH3)2] (6), whereas [CpTi(L)(CH3)2] (7) is similarly obtained from 3a. The molecular structures of 3a, 3b, 3c, 3e x C7H8, 4 and 7 are reported revealing linearly coordinated imidazolin-2-iminato ligands together with very short Ti-N bond distances. All dichloro complexes (3a-e, 4 and 5) can be activated with methylaluminoxane (MAO) to give active catalysts for ethylene homopolymerization. In most cases, moderate to high activities are observed together with the formation of high (HMWPE) or even ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE).

Reactivity of a Frustrated Lewis Pair and Small-Molecule Activation by an Isolable Arduengo CarbeneB{3,5-(CF3)2C6H3}3 Complex

Tris[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borane reacts with the sterically demanding Arduengo carbenes 1,3-di-tert-butylimidazolin-2-ylidene and 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazolin-2-ylidene to form isolable normal adducts. In the case of 1,3-di-tert-butylimidazolin-2-ylidene, the adduct exhibits dynamic behaviour in solution and frustrated-Lewis-pair (FLP) reactivity. Fast cleavage of dihydrogen and THF, the C-H activation of phenylacetylene, and carbon dioxide fixation were achieved by using solutions of this adduct in benzene. This adduct is stable at room temperature in the absence of suitable substrates; however, thermal rearrangement into an abnormal carbene-borane adduct can be observed. In contrast, the 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazolin-2-ylidene adduct exhibits no evidence of FLP reactivity or of dissociation in solution. DFT calculations confirmed the experimental behaviour and stability of these carbene-borane adducts.

Selective heterolytic P–P bond cleavage of white phosphorus by a frustrated carbene-borane Lewis pair

Frustrated carbene-borane Lewis pairs are able to affect the selective cleavage of one of the six P-P bonds in white phosphorus (P(4)) to afford an adduct, in which an abnormal carbene of the imidazolium-4-yl type and B(C(6)F(5))(3) are bound in a trans,trans fashion to a butterfly-like bicyclo[1.1.0]tetraphosphabutane moiety.

Regioselective Si–C bond activation in silicon-bridged ansa-cycloheptatrienyl-cyclopentadienyl complexes

On treatment with [Pt(PEt3)3], silicon-bridged ansa-cycloheptatrienyl-cyclopentadienyl Ti and V complexes, [1]silatroticenophane and [1]silatrovacenophane, undergo oxidative addition and regioselective insertion of a Pt(PEt3)2 moiety into the silicon-carbon bond to the seven-membered ring; the resulting complexes, [2]platinasilatroticenophane and [2]platinasilatrovacenophane, can be partly used as single-source catalysts for the ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of the original highly strained sandwich molecules.

Efficient metathesis of terminal alkynes.

Now even terminal: The 2,4,6-trimethylbenzylidyne complexes [MesC≡M{OC(CF(3))(2)Me}(3)] (M=Mo, W) were synthesized from [Mo(CO)(6)] and [W(CO)(6)], respectively. The molybdenum complex is an efficient catalyst for the metathesis of internal and terminal alkynes and also for the ring-closing metathesis of internal and terminal α,ω-diynes at room temperature and low catalyst concentrations.

Preparation of cyclophanes by room-temperature ring-closing alkyne metathesis with imidazolin-2-iminato tungsten alkylidyne complexes.

Room-temperature ring-closing alkyne metathesis of 1,2-, 1,3-, and 1,4-bis(3-pentynyloxymethyl)benzenes has been investigated in the presence of catalytic amounts of an imidazolin-2-iminato tungsten alkylidyne complex. The m- and p-diynes selectively form the respective [10]metacyclophane or [10.10]paracyclophane, respectively, whereas a mixture of monomeric and dimeric cycloalkynes is obtained in the case of the o-diyne. DFT calculations reveal that the different selectivities can be attributed to the relative thermodynamic stability of the emerging cyclophanes.