A Selective and Functional Group-Tolerant Ruthenium-Catalyzed Olefin Metathesis/Transfer Hydrogenation Tandem Sequence Using Formic Acid as Hydrogen Source.

A ruthenium-catalyzed transfer hydrogenation of olefins utilizing formic acid as a hydrogen donor is described. The application of commercially available alkylidene ruthenium complexes opens access to attractive C(sp3)-C(sp3) bond formation in an olefin metathesis/transfer hydrogenation sequence under tandem catalysis conditions. High chemoselectivity of the developed methodology provides a remarkable synthetic tool for the reduction of various functionalized alkenes under mild reaction conditions. The developed methodology is applied for the formal synthesis of the drugs pentoxyverine and bencyclane.

Tandem Catalysis Utilizing Olefin Metathesis Reactions.

Since olefin metathesis transformation has become a favored synthetic tool in organic synthesis, more and more distinct non-metathetical reactions of alkylidene ruthenium complexes have been developed. Depending on the conditions applied, the same olefin metathesis catalysts can efficiently promote isomerization reactions, hydrogenation of C=C double bonds, oxidation reactions, and many others. Importantly, these transformations can be carried out in tandem with olefin metathesis reactions. Through addition of one portion of a catalyst, a tandem process provides structurally advanced products from relatively simple substrates without the need for isolation of the intermediates. These aspects not only make tandem catalysis very attractive from a practical point of view, but also open new avenues in (retro)synthetic planning. However, in the literature, the term "tandem process" is sometimes used improperly to describe other types of multi-reaction sequences. In this Concept, a number of examples of tandem catalysis involving olefin metathesis are discussed with an emphasis on their synthetic value.