[reaction: see text] A general method for the conversion of pyrrole anions to 2-arylpyrroles has been developed. Using a palladium precatalyst and sterically demanding 2-(dialkylphosphino)biphenyl ligands, (pyrrolyl)zinc chloride may be cross-coupled with a wide range of aryl halides, including aryl chlorides and aryl bromides, at low catalyst loadings and under mild conditions. A high degree of steric hindrance is tolerated. Certain ring-substituted pyrrole anions have also been arylated with aryl bromide substrates.

Several halogenated substrates are found to participate in C-H bond cleavage reactions with the photochemically generated fragment [Tp'Rh(CNR)] (Tp' = hydrotris(3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl)borate; R = CH(2)CMe(3)). Reaction with 1- or 3-chloropentane gives only terminal C-H activation products. Reaction with 2-chloropentane gives a mixture of 4-chloropentyl activation product and Tp'Rh(CNR)HCl, arising from beta-chloride elimination of the 2-chloropentyl activation product. Activation of chloromethane gives Tp'Rh(CNR)(CH(2)Cl)H, with no activation of the C-Cl bond. Dichloromethane, however, gives only C-Cl cleavage product Tp'Rh(CNR)(CH(2)Cl)Cl. By comparing the kinetic stabilities of a series of 1-chloroalkane activation products (C(1)-C(5)), it was found that the chlorine substituent dramatically decreases reductive elimination rates as the substitution is closer to the metal center. With 1-chloroalkanes, there is evidence for the formation of small quantities of C-H cleavage products alpha to the chloro substituent. Reactions of neopentyl chloride also showed evidence for small quantities of alpha-chloro C-H activation product. Reactions with the cyclic substrates 1-chlorocyclopentane and 1,1-dichlorocyclopentane yielded a mixture of diastereomeric activation products.

O rganometallic complexes of the cyclopentadienyl (Cp) and trispyrazolylborate (Tp) type have been shown to activate a variety of COH bonds in alkanes and arenes (1-9). However, studies on the activation of alkanes and arenes containing reactive functional groups have received far less attention in the literature. Hartwig and coworkers (10-12) have been successful in the hydroborylation of mono-and disubstituted arenes using transition metal catalysts. The borylation of the arene ring is believed to occur after oxidative addition of the ring COH bond without interference of reaction with the functional group. Smith (13,14) has even shown that haloarenes can be borylated and functionalized without affecting the carbon-halogen bond. Although numerous examples are presented for the functionalization of substituted arenes (15), the functionalization of alkanes containing reactive functional groups is somewhat restricted, perhaps because some of the functional groups on the alkanes are more reactive toward the catalysts and do not allow for COH activation. In addition, some functional groups (e.g., OH) are known to make the adjacent COH bonds more reactive in alkanes (16).We recently reported the activation of 1-, 2-, and 3-chloropentanes using a trispyrazolylborate rhodium complex (17). It was determined that the [TpЈRh(L)] fragment did not oxidatively cleave the COCl bond of the chloroalkane, as would have been expected given the relative bond strengths of COH (Ϸ100 kcal) vs. COCl (80 kcal) bonds (18) and the literature precedence that exists for the oxidative addition of COCl bonds to Rh(I) and Ir(I) metal systems (15,19). Surprisingly, the [TpЈRh(L)] fragment reacted exclusively with the terminal COH bonds of the alkane to give the substituted haloalkyl hydride complex. Here, we extend the investigation of the activation of hydrocarbon COH bonds to include substrates containing the nitrile functional group (OC'N).The COH bond activation of acetonitrile has been documented in the past. Teuben and coworkers (20) have reported the COH activation of acetonitrile via a -bond metathesis using Cp* 2 LnCH(SiMe 3 ) 2 . Jesson and coworkers (21) have also documented the formation of the cyanomethyl hydride as a result of activation of acetonitrile using (dmpe) 2 M(Np)H (M ϭ Fe, Ru; Np ϭ 2-naphthyl). The scission of the COCN bond of acetonitrile has also been reported by Parkin and coworkers (22), Brookhart and coworkers (23, 24), Nakazawa et al. (25), and Jones and coworkers (26). Of particular interest is the work by Brookhart using a similar Cp*Rh(PMe 3 ) system (23), which is known to undergo COH bond activation in the presence of alkanes and arenes (3,27). However, in the presence of nitriles and triphenylsilane, the complex promotes the cleavage of the COCN bond.To demonstrate the diversity of nitrile reactivity with low valent metals, our group has also investigated the reactions of aromatic, allylic, and alkyl nitriles using [(dippe)NiH] 2 (28-30). In these studies, 2 coordination of the CN bond to the Ni metal cent...

Several transition-metal systems have been used to establish correlations between metal-carbon and carbon-hydrogen bonds. Here, the [Tp'RhL] fragment, where Tp' = tris(3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl)borate and L = neopentyl isocyanide, is used to investigate C-H bond activation in a series of linear alkylnitriles and chloroalkanes. Using a combination of kinetic techniques, relative free energies can be found for the compounds TpRhL(CH(3))H, Tp'RhL[(CH(2))(n)CN]H (n = 1-5), and Tp'RhL[(CH(2))(m)Cl]H (m = 1, 3, 4, 5). It is found that the CN and Cl substituents dramatically strengthen the M-C bond more than anticipated if in the alpha-position, with the effect on bond strength diminishing substantially as the X group moves further from the metal (i.e, beta, gamma, delta). Examination of M-C vs C-H bond strengths shows that the Tp'RhL(CH(2)X)H compounds (X = phenyl, vinyl, CN, Cl) all show a good correlation, as do the alkyl, aryl, and vinyl derivatives. The compounds in the former group, however, have stronger M-C bonds than expected based on the C-H bond strengths and consequently, their correlation is separate from the other unsubstituted compounds.

In the present work, the electrophile equivalents Cl+, Br+, SCN+, and NO2+ are generated from their respective sodium, potassium, and in some cases ammonium salts (M+X-) by reaction with Selectfluor electrophilic fluorination agent in acetonitrile solution at room temperature. These generated electrophilic species subsequently react in situ with a variety of aromatic substrates containing one or more substituent groups including H, F, Cl, CH3, COOH, C(O)CH3, NO2, and OR' and NR'R' ' where R' and R' ' are H or CH3. The resulting substitution products are, in most cases, isolable as pure compounds in high yield. Variations in the process include the use of other anions, electrophilic fluorination agents, and solvents.