Acylation of carbonyl compounds

Since Stork et al. introduced as a new synthetic method the alkylation and acylation of carbonyl compounds via enamines, this class of compounds has been the subjeet of intensive studies 1-3). The exceptional physical and chemical behavior of the enamine structure can be ascribed to resonance by conjugation of the unshared pair of electrons of the nitrogen atom with the 77 electrons of the double bond ... 

S. M. Luk yanov and A. V. Koblik, Acid-catalyzed acylation of carbonyl compounds compounds," Russ. Chem. Rev. 1996, 65,1-26. 

Nitrogen has an unshared electron pair so an enamine could function as an enolate ion. Many people had had this idea before, but nobody had done anything synthetically useful with it. We were extremely lucky because the kind of reaction we tried, the monoalkylation of a ketone enamine with an alkyl halide, is actually poor with enamines with one exception, and, by chance, it was that exception that we tried first and it worked very well. The particular molecule was a so-called -tetralon. These ketones give 90% yield by the enamine alkylation process. This was in the mid-1950s and we published a general review in 1963 [Stork, G. Brizzolara, A. H. Landesman, H. K. Szmuszkovicz, J. Terrell, R. The enamine alkylation and acylation of carbonyl compounds. /. Am. Chem. Soc. 1963,... 

The dienophilic character of imines parallels that of carbonyl compounds Consequently, electron deficient imtnes are the most reactive dienophiles of this class, particularly those having C perfluoroalkyl [5, 146, 150, 228], /V-acyl [/2i5 127], or A/-sulfonyl groups [148, 229 230]... 

Both in the laboratory and in living organisms, the reactions of carbonyl compounds take place by one of four general mechanisms nucleophilic addition, nucleophilic acyl substitution, alpha substitution, and carbonyl condensation. These... 

The second fundamental reaction of carbonyl compounds, nucleophilic acyl substitution, is related to the nucleophilic addition reaction just discussed but occurs only with carboxylic acid derivatives rather than with aldehydes and ketones. When the carbonyl group of a carboxylic acid derivative reacts with a nucleophile, addition occurs in the usual way, but the initially formed tetra-... 

As a general rule, nucleophilic addition reactions are characteristic only of aldehydes and ketones, not of carboxylic acid derivatives. The reason for the difference is structural. As discussed previously in A Preview of Carbonyl Compounds and shown in Figure 19.14, the tetrahedral intermediate produced by addition of a nucleophile to a carboxylic acid derivative can eliminate a leaving group, leading to a net nucleophilic acyl substitution reaction. The tetrahedral intermediate... 

We said in A Preview ofCnrbonyl Compounds that much of the chemistry of carbonyl compounds can be explained by just four fundamental reaction types nucleophilic additions, nucleophilic acyl substitutions, o substitutions, and carbonyl condensations. Having studied the first two of these reactions in the past three chapters, let s now look in more detail at the third major carbonyl-group process—the a-substitution reaction. 

Insertion of carbon monoxide into Csp2—Zr bonds occurs readily at ambient temperatures or below to produce a,(5-unsaturated, reactive acyl zirconocene derivatives [27—29]. Early work by Schwartz demonstrated the potential of such intermediates in synthesis [5d], as they are highly susceptible to further conversions to a variety of carbonyl compounds depending upon manipulation. More recently, Huang has shown that HC1 converts 16 to an enal, that addition of a diaryl diselenide leads to selenoesters, and that exposure to a sulfenyl chloride gives thioesters (Scheme 4.11) [27,28]. All are obtained with (F)-stereochemistry, indicative of CO insertion with the expected retention of alkene geometry. 

The addition of carbonyl compounds towards lithiated 1-siloxy-substituted allenes does not proceed in the manner described above for alkoxyallenes. Tius and co-work-ers found that treatment of 1-siloxy-substituted allene 67 with tert-butyllithium and subsequent addition of aldehydes or ketones led to the formation of ,/i-unsaturated acyl silanes 70 (Scheme 8.19) [66]. This simple and convenient method starts with the usual lithiation of allene 67 at C-l but is followed by a migration of the silyl group from oxygen to C-l, thus forming the lithium enolate 69, which finally adds to the carbonyl species. Transmetalation of the lithiated intermediate 69 to the corresponding zinc enolate provided better access to acylsilanes derived from enolizable aldehydes. For reactions of 69 with ketones, transmetalation to a magnesium species seems to afford optimal results. 

The method described here belongs to a group of recently developed procedures comprising the spontaneous intramolecular acylation of active derivatives of metalated p-hydroxy alkanoates. These compounds are available by reactions of carbonyl compounds with ester enolates prepared from S-phenyl alkanethioates6 or phenyl alkanoates,15 as well as by Reformatsky16 or Darzens17 reactions of carbonyl compounds with phenyl a-halo alkanoates. 

It has been found that 3-azapyrylium salts 57 and 58 are obtained in reactions of pinacolone as well as vinyl chlorides 59 with N-acylnitrilium salt 56 (91ZOR2479 92ZOR2577). The acylation of vinyl chlorides 59 in benzonitrile also leads to salts 60 (91ZOR1986). The same salts 55 are formed as intermediates by acylation of acetylenes in the presence of nitriles (88ZOR1605). Vinyl chlorides and acetylenes are both direct derivatives of carbonyl compounds with the same oxidation level (72MI2 85KGS1443). 

The double bonds in certain heterocyclic compounds, such as furans, Af-acylpyrroles and A-acylindoles are also susceptible to photoaddition of carbonyl compounds to form oxetanes (equation 106) (77JHC1777). A wide range of carbonyl compounds can be used, including quinones, a-diketones, acyl cyanides, perfluorinated aldehydes and ketones and esters. A remarkable case of asymmetric induction in oxetane formation has been reported from optically active menthyl phenylglyoxylate and 2,3-dimethyl-2-butene the oxetane product obtained after hydrolysis of the ester group had an optical purity of 53% (79AG(E)868). 

Enol Ethers and Esters 0-15 O-Alkylation of carbonyl compounds with diazo alkanes 0-17 Transetherification 0-20 Reaction between acyl halides and active hydrogen compounds 0-23 Transesterification 0-24 Acylation of vinylic halides 0-94 Alkylation with ortho esters 0-107 O-Acylation of 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds... 

The most important use of 1,3-dithianes (792) stems from their ability to function as acyl anion equivalents (794 Scheme 184). Metallation of this heterocycle followed by alkylation of the anion and cleavage of the dithiane group produces a carbonyl compound. Since such aspects of dithiane chemistry have been extensively documented (69S17 75JOC231), only a few of the more current applications of these heterocycles are highlighted. We again note here that the application of heterocycles to the synthesis of carbonyl compounds has been the sole subject of an extensive review (77H(6)73l). 

Enamines are the stable products of a similar reaction between secondary amines (such as pyrrolidine or morpholine) and aldehydes and ketones.218 These vinylamines are reactive reagents of value in synthesis they function as specific enol equivalents of carbonyl compounds, readily undergoing alkylation and acylation processes (e.g. Section 5.9.2, p. 632). 

Table I. Geminal Acylation-Alkylation of Carbonyl Compounds... 

A similar catalytic procedure for enantioselective formation of C-Br and C-Cl bonds has been reported recently by the Lectka group [83]. The concept of this a-halogenation of carbonyl compounds is tandem asymmetric halogenation and esterification (Scheme 3.28). Inexpensive acyl halides, 74, are used as starting... 

O-Alkyl oximes are excellent precursors of COs as they react more slowly with ozone than alkenes. Initially <1995LA1571>, as added carbonyl species, acyl cyanides and esters of trifluoroacetic acid were used and the ozonides could be isolated usually in 25-60% yields. In an extension of this reaction, trapping could be performed by a variety of carbonyl compounds. 

Addition of 1,3-diones to vinyl acetateUse of CAN for oxidative addition of carbonyl compounds to alkenes has been reported in several patents. The method can be extended to synthesis of acyl or alkoxycarbonylfurans. 

Another synthesis based on the combination of these fragments is the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of carbonyl compounds to nitrile ylides. The latter are generated by photolysis of 1-azirines when the irradiation is carried out in the presence of an acyl chloride and triethylamine, oxazoles are formed in moderate yields (equation 121). 

The organoindium reagent, prepared from indium metal and bromoacetonitrile, reacts with carbonyl compounds in the presence of chlorotrimethylsilane to give /3-hydroxy nitriles (Scheme 93),336 337 Similarly, indium-mediated coupling of bromoacetonitrile or 2-bromopropionitrile with a variety of aromatic acyl cyanides affords the corresponding aromatic a-cyanoketones in moderate to good yields under mild and neutral conditions (Equation (86)).338 Carbonyl compounds are efficiently transformed into 2,2-dichloro-3-hydroxynitriles by the action of trichloroaceto-nitrile and indium(i) bromide (Scheme 94).339 Bromocyanomethylation of carbonyl compounds is also achieved by the reaction of dibromoacetonitrile and indium(i) bromide.340... 

A sequence in which a carbonyl group has been masked as a sulfur derivative, alkylated with an electrophile, and then revealed again is a nucleophilic acylation. These nucleophilic equivalents of carbonyl compounds are known as acyl anion equivalents. In the retrosynthetic terms of Chapter 50 they are d1 reagents corresponding to the acyl anion synthon. 

In the course of acyloxycarbocation investigations112 it has been noted that the reactions of both aldehydes and ketones follow an unusual course or are strongly accelerated if either acylium ions RCO+ are present in the reaction mixtures or conditions to generate them in situ arise. These observations are explained by a transformation of carbonyl compounds into the highly reactive acyloxycarbocations 163 which easily react with weak nucleophiles such as vinyl ethers, vinyl esters, etc. Hence the electrophilic catalysis by acyl cations in carbonyl reactions takes place regardless of the origin of the latter. This catalysis was used in the reaction of ketones with nitriles. 

---