Room-Temperature Selective Aliphatic Carbon-Carbon Bond Activation and Functionalization of Ethers by Rhodium(II) Porphyrin

Selective aliphatic carbon(alpha)-carbon(beta) bond activation of ethers by (5,10,15,20-tetramesitylporphyrinato)rhodium (II) (Rh(tmp) (1)) was achieved at room temperature to yield corresponding rhodium porphyrin alkyls and the functionalized esters. Rh(tmp)OH was the proposed intermediate responsible for cleaving the C(alpha)-C(beta) bond. The reaction is general for both straight- and branch-chain ethers.