Kinetic and Modeling Studies on the Nickel-Catalyzed Homo-Diels−Alder Addition of 7-Substituted Norbornadienes

Ruthenium-Complex-Catalyzed Regio- and Stereoselective Linear Codimerization of 2-Norbornenes with Acrylic Compounds

A linear codimerization of 2-norbornenes with acrylic compounds such as acrylates and an acrylamide proceeded efficiently by ruthenium catalyst systems, RuCl3(tpy)/Zn (tpy = 2,2':6',2' '-terpyridine) or [RuCl2(C6H6)]2/Zn in a primary or secondary alcoholic solvent, to afford the corresponding exo-trans-2-norbornylacrylates as major products regio- and stereoselectively along with a small amount of cis isomers. The reaction of 2,5-norbornadiene with methyl acrylate also gave the linear exo-trans codimer, which was effectively catalyzed by the addition of triarylphosphines to the RuCl3(tpy)/Zn catalyst system.

Asymmetric hetero-Diels-Alder reaction catalyzed by dirhodium(II) carboxamidates

Chiral dirhodium(II) carboxamidates are highly efficient catalysts for reactions between a variety of aldehydes and activated dienes. Catalyst loadings as low at 0.01 mol % have been realized with enantioselectivities up to 97%. Kinetic investigations reveal a pronounced electronic influence on the rate of the hetero-Diels-Alder reaction with a Hammett rho value of +1.9 (versus sigma(+)). Inhibition of the catalyst by reactant aldehyde is apparent, but reactions show first-order dependence on aldehyde and diene, and there is a variable dependence on catalyst.

Kinetics study and theoretical modeling of the Diels-Alder reactions of cyclopentadiene and cyclohexadiene with methyl vinyl ketone. The effects of a novel organotungsten catalyst

The Diels-Alder reaction rate constants of methyl vinyl ketone with cyclopentadiene and cyclohexadiene in the presence of a novel organotungsten catalyst, [P(2-py)(3)W(CO)(NO)(2)](2+), have been measured experimentally and modeled theoretically at several temperatures. The uncatalyzed systems were also studied for direct comparison. When 0.0022 M of catalyst is present at room temperature, the rate constants were found to be approximately 5.3 and 5300 times higher than the corresponding uncatalyzed reactions for cyclopentadiene and cyclohexadiene systems, respectively. Experimental data suggested that the catalyst reduced the activation energies by 5-10 kcal/mol. However, the preexponential factors showed reduction of more than 3 orders of magnitude upon catalysis due to the entropic effects. The energy barriers and the rate constants of the uncatalyzed systems were accurately modeled by correlated electronic structure and dual-level variational transition state theory calculation. The calculated endo selectivity is in good agreement with the observed product distribution. Theoretical calculation also suggested the catalyzed reactions proceeded in a highly asynchronous or even stepwise fashion.

Transition metal-catalyzed [4 + 2 + 2] cycloadditions of bicyclo[2.2.1]hepta-2,5-dienes (norbornadienes) and bicyclo[2.2.2]octa-2,5-dienes

The transition-metal-catalyzed [4 + 2 + 2] cycloadditions of norbornadienes, bicyclo[2.2.2]octa-2,5-diene, and benzobarrelene with 1,3-butadienes proceed in excellent yields using cobalt-based catalytic systems. Two key distinctions between these [4 + 2 + 2] cycloadditions and the corresponding transition-metal-catalyzed [2 + 2 +2] reactions of norbornadiene are the requirement of a bimetal catalytic system with a bisphosphine ligand for the former and exclusive regioselectivity in the [4 + 2 + 2] reaction of 2-substituted norbornadienes to produce 1-substituted adducts. These distinctions may indicate two distinct mechanisms for the [4 + 2 + 2] and [2 + 2 + 2] reactions.