Photochemistry of Group 6 Fischer Carbene Complexes: Beyond the Photocarbonylation Reaction

The seminal report by Hegedus in 1982, showing that alkoxy-chromium(0) carbenes reacted with imines under bright Colorado sunlight to yield beta-lactams, marked the beginning of a key reaction in organometallic chemistry. Very little was known about the mechanism of this reaction. In fact, Hegedus proposed would react with nudeophiles. This coordinated species would reversible generation of a chromium-coordinated ketene, which show all the advantages of ketenes without their shortcomings, namely, dimerization, formation of undesired adducts, and so forth. The quest for the detection of these species and the pursuit of the mechanism of the photocarbonylation (a reaction exclusive to Cr(0) and Mo(0) carbene complexes, not W(0) carbene complexes) remained unabated over the next 15 years. In fact, all attempts to experimentally determine the mechanism of this useful reaction have been fruitless. At the same time, the photocarbonylation of Cr(0) carbenes matured into a valuable synthetic reaction, allowing access to several families of organic compounds. Unfortunately, reactions other than photocarbonylation remained elusive. We used a combination of experimental and computational methodologies to study the photocarbonylation of Cr(0) carbene complexes and the subsequent reaction of the photogenerated ketenes with nucleophiles. In parallel, we discovered new photochemical processes and succeeded in making photoreactive the so-called unreactive W(0) carbene complexes. In this Account, we discuss the disentangling of the mechanisms of these transformations, thereby shedding some light onto the photochemistry of group 6 metal (Fischer) carbene complexes. The original designation of the electronic transitions of group 6 carbene complexes was reassigned, and the photocarbonylation step was analyzed again, resulting in the sequence S(0)-T(1)-S(0), which is far removed from conventional organic photochemistry. The T, species is a chromacyclopropanone; its unpaired electrons are primarily localized in the metal fragment and in the former carbene carbon atom. The T(1)-S(0) intersystem crossing occurs with the participation of the solvent through an unusual loose-bolt radiationless mechanism. The photogenerated So species reacts with imines to form the final beta-lactams in a mechanism that resembles the organic Staudinger reaction, but here the metal is present during the entire reaction coordinate. The selectivity of these reactions is defined by the nucleophilic attack on the O-bonded metallaketene instead of the subsequent conrotatory ring closure, a distinct departure from the organic reaction. Appropriate modification of the substituents of the carbene ligand or in the coordination sphere of the complex results in new photoprocesses; these include 1,2-metalladyotropic rearrangements as well as alpha-fragmentations in which W(0) carbene complexes become photoreactive. Moreover, the inclusion of additional metal centers usually results in new reactions, such as the formation of fulvenes by eta(5)->eta(3) photoslippage, or in the complete inhibition of the photoreactivity. The photochemistry of group 6 metal carbene complexes thus offers unexplored territory for pursuing new reactions and reaction mechanisms.