A New Diphosphite Promoting Highly Regioselective Rhodium-Catalyzed Hydroformylation

Developments in the Catalytic Asymmetric Synthesis of Agrochemicals and Their Synthetic Importance

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis has become an essential tool for the enantioselective synthesis of pharmaceuticals, natural products, and agrochemicals (mainly fungicides, herbicides, insecticides, and pheromones). With continuous growing interest in both modern agricultural chemistry and catalytic asymmetric synthesis chemistry, this review provides a comprehensive overview of some earlier reports as well as the recent successful applications of various catalytic asymmetric syntheses methodologies, such as enantioselective hydroformylation, enantioselective hydrogenation, asymmetric Sharpless epoxidation and dihydroxylation, asymmetric cyclopropanation or isomerization, organocatalyzed asymmetric synthesis, and so forth, which have been used as key steps in the preparation of chiral agrochemicals (on R&D, piloting, and commercial scales). Chiral agrochemicals can also lead the new generation of such chemicals having specific and novel modes of action for achieving sustainable crop protection and production. Some perspectives and challenges for these catalytic asymmetric methodologies in the synthesis of chiral agrochemicals are also briefly discussed in the final section of the manuscript. This review will provide the insight regarding understanding, development, and evaluation of catalytic asymmetric systems for the synthesis of chiral agrochemicals among the agrochemists.

Effects of Substitution Pattern in Phosphite Ligands Used in Rhodium-Catalyzed Hydroformylation on Reactivity and Hydrolysis Stability

The stability of homogeneous catalytic systems is an industrially crucial topic, which, however, receives comparatively little attention from academic research. Phosphites are among the most frequently used ligands in industrial, rhodium-catalyzed n-regioselective hydroformylation. However, they are particularly vulnerable to hydrolysis. Since the decomposition of ligands should be dependent on the substitution patterns, phenyl, tert-butyl and condensed ring systems of benzopinacolphosphites were evaluated concerning their activity, regioselectivity and hydrolysis stability. A series of twelve strongly related phosphites were synthesized, tested in the hydroformylation of isomeric n-octenes, and studied in hydrolysis experiments using in situ NMR spectroscopy. Our results show that substituents in the ortho-position, especially tert-butyl substituents, enhance hydrolysis stability while maintaining compelling activity and regioselectivity. In contrast, substituents in the para-position may destabilize the phosphite.

Understanding a Hydroformylation Catalyst that Produces Branched Aldehydes from Alkyl Alkenes

This paper reports experimental and computational studies on the mechanism of a rhodium-catalyzed hydroformylation that is selective for branched aldehyde products from unbiased alkene substrates. This highly unusual selectivity relies on a phospholane-phosphite ligand prosaically called BOBPHOS. Kinetic studies using in situ high pressure IR (HPIR) and the reaction progress kinetic analysis methodology suggested two steps in the catalytic cycle were involved as turnover determining. Negative order in CO and positive orders in alkene and H₂ were found and the effect of hydrogen and carbon monoxide partial pressures on selectivity were measured. Labeling studies found rhodium hydride addition to the alkene to be largely irreversible. Detailed spectroscopic HPIR and NMR characterization of activated rhodium-hydrido dicarbonyl species were carried out. In the absence of H₂, reaction of the rhodium-hydrido dicarbonyl with allylbenzene allowed further detailed spectroscopic characterization of four- and five-coordinate rhodium-acyl species. Under single-turnover conditions, the ratios of branched to linear acyl species were preserved in the final ratios of aldehyde products. Theoretical investigations uncovered unexpected stabilizing CH-π interactions between the ligand and substrate which influenced the high branched selectivity by causing potentially low energy pathways to become unproductive. Energy span and degree of TOF control analysis strongly support experimental observations and mechanistic rationale. A three-dimensional quadrant model was built to represent the structural origins of regio- and enantioselectivity.

{2-[Bis(2,4-di-tert-butylphenoxy)phosphanyloxy-κP]-3,5-di-tert-butylphenyl-κC1}{3,3′-di-tert-butyl-5,5′-dimethoxy-2,2′-bis[(1,1,2,2-tetraphenylethane-1,2-dioxy)phosphanyloxy-κP]biphenyl}rhodium(I) toluene-d82.7-solvate

The molecule of the title compound, [Rh(C42H62O3P)(C74H68O4P2]·2.7C7D8, consists of two phospharhodacyclic substructures sharing the Rh atom, which are formed by coordination/ortho-metallation of a triaryl phosphite, and by the coordination of a rigid bisphosphite, respectively. The metal displays a tetrahedrally distorted square-planar coordination geometry. Atert-butyl group shows rotational disorder over two positions with refined site occupancy of 0.561 (3):0.439 (3). Two partial-occupancy toluene solvent molecules are disordered over two orientations with site occupancies of 0.5:0.3 and 0.5:0.4, respectively. Intramolecular C—H...O hydrogen bonds are observed. In the crystal, complex molecules and toluene solvent molecules pack as alternating layers parallel to theacplane.

Synthesis and characterization of TiO2 nanotube supported Rh-nanoparticle catalysts for regioselective hydroformylation of vinyl acetate

Three procedures: the impregnation-borohydride reduction procedure, the impregnation-alcohol reduction procedure and the impregnation-photoreducing procedure, were utilized for preparing TiO₂ nanotube supported rhodium nanoparticle catalysts.

Precise supramolecular control of selectivity in the Rh-catalyzed hydroformylation of terminal and internal alkenes

In this study, we report a series of DIMPhos ligands L1-L3, bidentate phosphorus ligands equipped with an integral anion binding site (the DIM pocket). Coordination studies show that these ligands bind to a rhodium center in a bidentate fashion. Experiments under hydroformylation conditions confirm the formation of the mononuclear hydridobiscarbonyl rhodium complexes that are generally assumed to be active in hydroformylation. The metal complexes formed still strongly bind the anionic species in the binding site of the ligand, without affecting the metal coordination sphere. These bifunctional properties of DIMPhos are further demonstrated by the crystal structure of the rhodium complex with acetate anion bound in the binding site of the ligand. The catalytic studies demonstrate that substrate preorganization by binding in the DIM pocket of the ligand results in unprecedented selectivities in hydroformylation of terminal and internal alkenes functionalized with an anionic group. Remarkably, the selectivity controlling anionic group can be even 10 bonds away from the reactive double bond, demonstrating the potential of this supramolecular approach. Control experiments confirm the crucial role of the anion binding for the selectivity. DFT studies on the decisive intermediates reveal that the anion binding in the DIM pocket restricts the rotational freedom of the reactive double bound. As a consequence, the pathway to the undesired product is strongly hindered, whereas that for the desired product is lowered in energy. Detailed kinetic studies, together with the in situ spectroscopic measurements and isotope-labeling studies, support this mode of operation and reveal that these supramolecular systems follow enzymatic-type Michaelis-Menten kinetics, with competitive product inhibition.

Carbonyl{3,3′-di-tert-butyl-5,5′-dimethoxy-2,2′-bis[(4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1,3,2-dioxaphospholan-2-yl)oxy]biphenyl-κ2P,P′}hydrido(triphenylphosphane-κP)rhodium(I) diethyl ether trisolvate

In the title compound, [RhH(C₇₄H₆₈O₈P₂)(C₁₈H₁₅P)(CO)]·3C₄H₁₀O, the CHP₃ coordination set at the Rh^I ion is arranged in a distorted trigonal–bipyramidal geometry with the P atoms adopting equatorial coordination sites and the C atom of the carbonyl ligand as well as the H atom adopting the axial sites. The asymmetric unit contains two very similar mol­ecules of the rhodium complex, two half-occupied diethyl ether mol­ecules and further diethyl ether solvent mol­ecules which could not be modelled successfully. Therefore contributions of the latter were removed from the diffraction data using the SQUEEZE procedure in PLATON [Spek (2009 ▶). Acta Cryst. D65, 148–155].

Dicarbonyl-{3,3'-di-tert-butyl-5,5'-di-meth-oxy-2,2'-bis-[(4,4,5,5-tetra-phenyl-1,3,2-dioxa-phospho-lan-2-yl)-oxy-κP]biphen-yl}hydridorhodium(I) diethyl ether monosolvate

In the title compound, [Rh(C₇₄H₆₈O₈P₂)H(CO)₂]·C₄H₁₀O, the C₂HP₂ coordination set at the Rh^I ion is arranged in a distorted trigonal–planar geometry with one P atom of the diphosphite mol­ecule and the H atom adopting the axial coordination sites.