Dirhodium(II) tetrakis(perfluoroalkylbenzoates) as partially recyclable catalysts for carbene transfer reactions with diazoacetates

Three highly fluorinated dirhodium(II) tetrakis(benzoates), [Rh2(O2CRF)4, RF=C6H4-4-C6F13 () and C6H3-3,5-di(CnF2n+1) (n=6: ; n=8: )], have been prepared and characterized. Only and are suited for applications in fluorous synthesis due to their excellent solubility in fluorous solvents. They were found to catalyze the following carbenoid reactions of diazo compounds in the fluorous solvents 1,1,2-trichloro-1,2,2-trifluoroethane and perfluoro(methylcyclohexane): cyclopropanation of styrenes using methyl diazoacetate, intermolecular carbene C–H insertion into hexane with methyl diazoacetate, and intramolecular aromatic C–H insertion of an α-diazo-β-ketoester. Except for the second reaction type, the catalyst could be recovered to a high extent by a liquid–liquid extraction (fluorous solvent—dichloromethane) due to its preference for the fluorous solvent. For the cyclopropanation reactions, the recovered catalyst was used in four subsequent reaction/workup cycles without significant loss of activity. In contrast, the catalyst could not be recovered from the carbenoid C–H insertion reaction with hexane; apparently, some by-products of this sluggish reaction, such as carbene dimers and oligomers, caused the deactivation or destruction of the catalyst.