A, 3-enone

The cationic iridium complex [Ir(cod)(PPh3)2]OTf, when activated by H2, catalyzes the aldol reaction of aldehydes 141 or acetal with silyl enol ethers 142 to afford 143 (Equation 10.37) [63]. The same Ir complex catalyzes the coupling of a, 5-enones with silyl enol ethers to give 1,5-dicarbonyl compounds [64]. Furthermore, the alkylation of propargylic esters 144 with silyl enol ethers 145 catalyzed by [Ir(cod)[P(OPh)3]2]OTf gives alkylated products 146 in high yields (Equation 10.38) [65]. An iridium-catalyzed enantioselective reductive aldol reaction has also been reported [66]. 

Oxidation of allylic alchols. Dupuy and Luche4 recommend this oxidant (1) over Mn02 especially for oxidation of secondary allylic alcohols to a, 5-enones (30-92% yield, 5 examples). 

This procedure describes the preparation of 3-nitropropanal, 1, employing the rarely encountered 1,4-addition of ambident nitrite ion with its "softer" N-atom,2 and further transformations of 1, as reported earlier.3 A similar preparation of 3-nitrobutanal from crotonaldehyde (3-butenal) is known,4 as well as analogous additions to a,(5-enones.2 The reduction of 1 to the alcohol 2, originally carried out with borane-dimethyl sulfide (BMS),3 is now more conveniently and economically done with sodium borohydride. The acetalization of 1 to yield the dimethyl acetal 3 is based on our earlier report.3... 

The generality and scope of the (C6F5)2BOH-catalyzed OPP oxidation has been explored using various primary and secondary alcohols. The results are summarized in Table 2. All the allylic alcohols used are oxidized to a,/3-enals and a,/5-enones in high yield (entries 1-5). Unfortunately, however, (E)I Z) isomerization occurs between... 

An interesting case are the a,/i-unsaturated ketones, which form carbanions, in which the negative charge is delocalized in a 5-centre-6-electron system. Alkylation, however, only occurs at the central, most nucleophilic position. This regioselectivity has been utilized by Woodward (R.B. Woodward, 1957 B.F. Mundy, 1972) in the synthesis of 4-dialkylated steroids. This reaction has been carried out at high temperature in a protic solvent. Therefore it yields the product, which is formed from the most stable anion (thermodynamic control). In conjugated enones a proton adjacent to the carbonyl group, however, is removed much faster than a y-proton. If the same alkylation, therefore, is carried out in an aprotic solvent, which does not catalyze tautomerizations, and if the temperature is kept low, the steroid is mono- or dimethylated at C-2 in comparable yield (L. Nedelec, 1974). 

Entry Allyl silane a,g-Enone Temp., °C, time 5,e-Enone (J yield) ... 

Reaction times of from 5 to 60 minutes have been employed for the reduction of conjugated enones. Although the longer times apparently do not seriously diminish the yields of products, they usually are not necessary. If a conjugated enone is sufficiently soluble in the reaction medium, it is reduced almost instantly when added to lithium-ammonia solutions. 

Adducts (278) and (279) are derived formally from addition of cw-acetoxy-butenone, whereas the starting material contained ca. 90% of the trans-isomer. Since irradiation of the latter leads to a mixture of 30% cis- and 70 % tra 5-enones, it is possible that (278) and (279) result from the addition to (276) of the more reactive cw-isomer formed by photochemical isomerization prior to cycloaddition. 

A similar trend was observed in the reaction of tri- and tetrasubstituted etiolates derived from 2-unsubstituted or 2-bromo substituted 3,4-dihydro-6-methoxy-1(2//)-naphthalenone16. The trisubstituted cnolate underwent addition to (—)-(2 )-2-(4-methylphenylsulfinyl)-2-cyclopen-tenone via attack on the nonchelated conformation to give an adduct of d.r. [(2S)/(2/ )] 77 23. The tetrasubstituted enolate underwent addition to the corresponding ( + )-(5)-enone via attack on the chelated conformation to give an adduct with the same absolute configuration at C-2 but with d.r. [(2R) (2S)] 95.5-97 4.5-3. 

Whereas tropones usually act as dienes in cycloaddition reactions (Section 5.4), tricarbonyl (tropone) iron 59 displays a reactivity that is almost identical to that of a normal enone. High pressure cycloadditions of 59 with 1-oxygen substituted dienes 60 gave the desired cycloadducts 61 in good to excellent yields (Equation 5.9). The subsequent decomplexation of the cycloadducts has been accomplished by treatment with CAN [20]. 

Further insight into the P-borylation reaction of a,P-enones (Scheme 2.32) showed that the reaction can be carried out in THF, and the catalyst generated in situ from CuCl (5 mol%), the imidazolium salt (5 mol%), and NaO Bu (10 mol%), to form the [Cu(O Bu) (NHC)] as the catalysis initiating species. In this case, stable boron enolate products are formed which need to be hydrolysed by methanol to the ketone products [114]. 

Carbon monoxide rapidly inserts into the carbon—zirconium bond of alkyl- and alkenyl-zirconocene chlorides at low temperature with retention of configuration at carbon to give acylzirconocene chlorides 17 (Scheme 3.5). Acylzirconocene chlorides have found utility in synthesis, as described elsewhere in this volume [17]. Lewis acid catalyzed additions to enones, aldehydes, and imines, yielding a-keto allylic alcohols, a-hydroxy ketones, and a-amino ketones, respectively [18], and palladium-catalyzed addition to alkyl/aryl halides and a,[5-ynones [19] are examples. The acyl complex 18 formed by the insertion of carbon monoxide into dialkyl, alkylaryl, or diaryl zirconocenes may rearrange to a r 2-ketone complex 19 either thermally (particularly when R1 = R2 = Ph) or on addition of a Lewis acid [5,20,21]. The rearrangement proceeds through the less stable... 

The Stille coupling of a-iodo enones is sluggish under standard conditions. Significant rate enhancement was observed for the Stille reaction of 2-chloro-5-tributylstannylpyridine and a-iodo enone 76 using triphenylarsine as the soft palladium ligand and Cul as the co-catalyst [63], Oxygenated functionalities did not affect the efficiency of the reaction provided both Ph3As and Cul were added. Additional manipulations of 77 resulted in the synthesis of (+)-epibatidine (78). 

Cycloalkenones are ubiquitous as reactive intermediates and bioactive materials. Modification of a simple cycloalkenone by addition of a carbon substituent at the o-position should be a useful transformation, but one that is not readily accomplished by conventional enone chemistry. a-Substituted cycloalkenones could of themselves be of interest, but perhaps, of more general importance would be their use as intermediates for the production of substituted cycloalkanones or a, 5-disubstituted cycloalkanones by a subsequent conjugate addition procedure.2 These strategies avoid many of the limitations attendant to the trapping of enolates with carbon electrophiles. The method of Kim involving treatment of enones with the combination of a dimethyl acetal, pyridine and trimethylsilyl triflates results in a-(1-methoxyalkyljenones.3 The metallation of a-bromoenones masked as ketals for [Pg.184]

When the chiral a,jS-enone enoate 98 was treated with magnesiocuprates in the presence of 1.5-2 equivalents of diethylaluminium chloride, the anti addition product 99 was obtained in moderate yield and with good diastereoselectivity (Scheme 6.21) [43, 44]. A reasonable explanation might assume a chelating coordination of the aluminium reagent [45]. Thus, if the enone 98 were to adopt an s-trans conformation, as indicated for complex 100, subsequent front side attack of the nucleophile would furnish the major diastereomer anti-99. 

Vaska s complex catalyzed the transformahon of aUenylcyclopropane into 2-alkenylidenecyclohex-3-enone under conditions of pressurized CO (Scheme 11.25) [38]. In this reaction, the jr-coordination to internal oleflnic moiety of the aUene brings the metal closer to the cyclopropane ring. Release of the cyclopropane ring strain then facilitates the oxidative addition of vinylcyclopropane moiety along with C-C bond cleavage, such that metallacyclohexene is obtained a subsequent carbonyl insertion and reductive elimination then provides the product Hence, the reaction can be recognized as a [5+1] cycloaddition of vinylcyclopropane and CO. 

Figure 3.16. Catalytic cycle of Rh/(5)-binap-catalyzed asymmetric 1,4-addition of orga-noboronic acids to a,P-enones.

Figure 3.17. Scope of [Rh(OH)((5)-binap)]2-catalyzed as5dnmetric 1,4-addition of aryl-boroxines to a,P-enones.

---