Аннотация:Abstract The cyclobutadiene rhodium complex [(C4Et4)RhCl]2 (generated from [(C4Et4)Rh(p-xylene)]PF6 and BnNEt3Cl) catalyzes the reaction of methyl α-diazophenylacetate with RnX-H compounds to give the insertion products methyl 2-RnX-2-phenylacetates in 70–90% yields (RnX-H = methanol, tert-butylamine, 2,6-diisopropylaniline, morpholine, diallylamine, triethylsilane, triethylamine-borane). The stoichiometric reaction of [(C4Et4)RhI]2 with methyl α-diazophenylacetate gives the intermediate complex (C4Et4)2Rh2(μ-I)2(μ-1-carboxymethyl-1-phenylmethylene), which has a binuclear structure with bridging iodide and carbene ligands. This result indicates that catalytically active carbene species may have more complex structures than the commonly assumed LnM=CR2.
