Highly regioselective reaction of zirconocene-alkene complexes with aldehydes or ketones

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/0022-328X(94)80112-6

Reactions of zirconocene-alkene complexes Cp2Zr(CH2=CHR)(PR'3) (R = H, Me, Et, SiR"3 or Ar) with aldehydes or ketones were investigated.Zirconocene-ethylene, -propylene or 1-butene complexes reacted with aldehydes or ketones at terminal carbons of alkenes to give the corresponding alcohols after hydrolysis with a high regioselectivity.A similar type of reaction product was also obtained by a reaction of zirconacyclopentanes with aldehydes.This reaction proceeded via β-β' carbon-carbon bond cleavage of zirconacyclopentanes.A reaction of zirconocene-vinylsilane complexes with ketones afforded 3-trimethylsilyl-1-oxa-2-zirconacyclopentanes with an excellent regioselectivity.Carbon-carbon bond formation occurred exclusively at the terminal carbon of vinylsilanes.Their corresponding γ-silylalcohols were obtained after hydrolysis.The products showed that vinylsilanes reacted with carbonyl compounds at the β-carbon to silyl group.It is in sharp contrast to the conventional reactions of vinylsilanes of which the α-carbon normally attacked electrophiles.The reactions of styrene and its derivatives with pentan-3-one on zirconium gave a mixture of two regioisomers.Substituents of alkenes tend to be in α-position to Zr in 1-oxa-2-zirconacyclopentanes.This orientation showed a different aspect of the formation of 1-oxa-2-zirconacyclopentanes from the alkene-alkene coupling reaction on zirconium.The regioselectivity of the reaction with carbonyl compounds decreased in this order; R = alkyl > silyl > aryl. Key words: Zirconium; Silicon; Metallocenes; Carbon-carbon bond formation; Aldehyde; Ketone