N-Heterocyclic Carbenes in Late Transition Metal Catalysis

The chemistry of heterocyclic carbenes has experienced a rapid development over the last years. In addition to the imidazolin-2-ylidenes, a large number of cyclic diaminocarbenes with different ring sizes have been described. Aside from diaminocarbenes, P-heterocyclic carbenes, and derivatives with only one, or even no heteroatom within the carbene ring are known. New methods for the synthesis of complexes with N-heterocyclic carbene ligands such as the oxidative addition or the metal atom template controlled cyclization of β-functionalized isocyanides have been developed recently. This review summarizes the new developments regarding the synthesis of N-heterocyclic carbenes and their metal complexes.

Heterocyclic Carbenes: Synthesis and Coordination Chemistry

The fascinating story of olefin (or alkene) metathesis (eq
1) began almost five decades ago, when Anderson and
Merckling reported the first carbon-carbon double-bond
rearrangement reaction in the titanium-catalyzed polymerization of norbornene. Nine years later, Banks and Bailey reported “a new disproportionation reaction . . . in which olefins are converted to homologues of shorter and longer carbon chains...”. In 1967, Calderon and co-workers named this metal-catalyzed redistribution of carbon-carbon double bonds olefin metathesis, from the Greek word “μeτάθeση”, which means change of position. These contributions have since served as the foundation for an amazing research field, and olefin metathesis currently represents a powerful transformation in chemical synthesis, attracting a vast amount of interest both in industry and academia.

https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/4884240.pdf

Ruthenium-based heterocyclic carbene-coordinated olefin metathesis catalysts.

Palladium-catalyzed C-C and C-N bond-forming reactions are among the most versatile and powerful synthetic methods. For the last 15 years, N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) have enjoyed increasing popularity as ligands in Pd-mediated cross-coupling and related transformations because of their superior performance compared to the more traditional tertiary phosphanes. The strong sigma-electron-donating ability of NHCs renders oxidative insertion even in challenging substrates facile, while their steric bulk and particular topology is responsible for fast reductive elimination. The strong Pd-NHC bonds contribute to the high stability of the active species, even at low ligand/Pd ratios and high temperatures. With a number of commercially available, stable, user-friendly, and powerful NHC-Pd precatalysts, the goal of a universal cross-coupling catalyst is within reach. This Review discusses the basics of Pd-NHC chemistry to understand the peculiarities of these catalysts and then gives a critical discussion on their application in C-C and C-N cross-coupling as well as carbopalladation reactions.

Palladium Complexes of N-Heterocyclic Carbenes as Catalysts for Cross-Coupling Reactions—A Synthetic Chemist's Perspective

Quantification and variation of characteristic properties of different ligand classes is an exciting and rewarding research field. N-Heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) are of special interest since their electron richness and structure provide a unique class of ligands and organocatalysts. Consequently, they have found widespread application as ligands in transition-metal catalysis and organometallic chemistry, and as organocatalysts in their own right. Herein we provide an overview on physicochemical data (electronics, sterics, bond strength) of NHCs that are essential for the design, application, and mechanistic understanding of NHCs in catalysis.

The Measure of All Rings—N‐Heterocyclic Carbenes

N,N‘-Disubstituted imidazolium-2-carboxylates are efficient precursors to NHC complexes of Rh, Ir, Pd, and Ru.

Disubstituted imidazolium-2-carboxylates as efficient precursors to N-heterocyclic carbene complexes of Rh, Ru, Ir, and Pd.

[H2Ir(OCMe2)2L2]BF4 (1) (L = PPh3), a preferred catalyst for tritiation of pharmaceuticals, reacts with model substrate 2-(dimethylamino)pyridine (py-NMe2; py = 2-pyridyl) to give chelate carbene [H2Ir(py-N(Me)CH=)L2]BF4 (2a) via cyclometalation, H2 loss, and reversible alpha-elimination. Agostic intermediate [H2Ir(py-N(Me)CH2-H)L2]BF4) (4a), seen by NMR, is predicted (DFT(B3PW91) computations) to give C-H oxidative addition to form the alkyl intermediate [(H)(eta2-H2)Ir(py-N(Me)CH2-)L2]BF4. Loss of H2 leads to the fully characterized alkyl [HIr(OCMe2)(py-N(Me)CH2-)L2]BF4 (3a(Me2CO)), which loses acetone to give alkylidene hydride 2a by rapid reversible alpha-elimination. 2a rapidly reacts with excess H2 in d6-acetone to generate [H2Ir(OC(CD3)2)2L2]BF4 (1-d12), 3a((CD3)2CO), and py-NMe2 in a 1:1:1 ratio, showing reversibility and accounting for the selective isotope exchange catalyzed by 1. Reaction of 1 with py-N(CH2)4 gives the fully characterized carbene 2c. A cis-L(2) carbene intermediate, cis-2c, observed by NMR, reacts with CO via retro alpha-elimination to give the alkyl 3cCO, while the trans isomer, 2c, does not react; retro alpha-elimination thus requires the Ir-H bond to be orthogonal to the carbene plane. Consistent with experiment, computational studies show a particularly flat PE surface with activation of the agostic C-H bond giving a less stable H2 complex, then formation of a kinetic carbene complex with cis-L, only seen experimentally for py-N(CH2)4. Hydrides at key positions, together with gain or loss of solvent and H2, flatten the PE (DeltaG) surfaces to allow fast catalysis.

Double geminal C-H activation and reversible α-elimination in 2-aminopyridine iridium(III) complexes: The role of hydrides and solvent in flattening the free energy surface

Stoichiometric C−C Coupling Reactions in the Coordination Sphere of an Iridium(III) Alkyl

Synthesis of monodentate bis(N-heterocyclic carbene) complexes of iridium: Mixed complexes of abnormal NHCs, normal NHCs, and triazole NHCs

The development of chemistry is reported to implement selective dual‐wavelength olefin metathesis polymerization for continuous additive manufacturing (AM). A resin formulation based on dicyclopentadiene is produced using a latent olefin metathesis catalyst, various photosensitizers (PSs) and photobase generators (PBGs) to achieve efficient initiation at one wavelength (e.g., blue light) and fast catalyst decomposition and polymerization deactivation at a second (e.g., UV‐light). This process enables 2D stereolithographic (SLA) printing, either using photomasks or patterned, collimated light. Importantly, the same process is readily adapted for 3D continuous AM, with printing rates of 36 mm h–1 for patterned light and up to 180 mm h–1 using un‐patterned, high intensity light.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/advs.202200770

Leah N. Appelhans

Papers

Disubstituted imidazolium-2-carboxylates as efficient precursors to N-heterocyclic carbene complexes of Rh, Ru, Ir, and Pd.

Double geminal C-H activation and reversible α-elimination in 2-aminopyridine iridium(III) complexes: The role of hydrides and solvent in flattening the free energy surface

Stoichiometric C−C Coupling Reactions in the Coordination Sphere of an Iridium(III) Alkyl

Synthesis of monodentate bis(N-heterocyclic carbene) complexes of iridium: Mixed complexes of abnormal NHCs, normal NHCs, and triazole NHCs

Continuous Additive Manufacturing using Olefin Metathesis