Ring expansion of a 2-rhodaoxetane: insertion chemistry with unsaturated molecules

Abstract

A 2-rhodaoxetane was found to react with unsaturated electrophiles, such as highly electron-deficient acetylene dicarboxylates, CS₂ and various aldehydes, to form a series of six-membered metallacycles. These metallacycles were characterized by ¹H, ¹³C and 2D NMR spectroscopic techniques, as well as HRMS and, for one complex, XRD. In some cases, the insertions were found to be reversible.