Addition reactions alkene precursors

Since alkenes are relatively impotent precursors to aziridines, especially with regard to stereoselective reactions, substantially greater advances have been made in this field by means of the addition reactions between imines and a range of car-bene equivalents. 

This synthetic approach is known from the synthesis of L M(alkene)H compounds from LnM(CO)alkane precursors and can easily be applied to the analogous silyl complexes. The Si—H bond even shows an increased activity for oxidative addition reactions [42, 43]. 

The simple addition reaction in Scheme 19 illustrates how the notation is used. Ester (1) can be dissected into synthons (2), (3) and (4). Synthons for radical precursors (pro-radicals) possess radical sites ( ) A reagent that is an appropriate radical precursor for the cyclohexyl radical, such as cyclohexyl iodide, is the actual equivalent of synthon (2). By nature, alkene acceptors have one site that reacts with a radical ( ) and one adjacent radical site ( ) that is created upon addition of a radical. Ethyl acrylate is a reagent that is equivalent to synthon (3). Atom or group donors are represented as sites that react with radicals ( ) Tributyltin hydride is a reagent equivalent of (4). In practice, such analysis will usually focus on carbon-carbon bond forming reactions and the atom transfer step may be omitted in the notation for simplicity. 

One of the mildest general techniques to extend a carbon chain entails the addition of a carbon-centered radical to an alkene or alkyne. The method for conducting these addition reactions often determines the types of precursors and acceptors that can be used and the types of products that are formed. In the following section, synthetically useful radical additions are grouped into chain and non-chain reactions and then further subdivided by the method of reaction. Short, independent sections that follow treat the addition of carbon-centered radicals to other multiple bonds and aromatic rings and the additions of hete-roatom-centered radicals. 

There are several examples of the addition reactions of caibonyl-substituted radicals to alkenes by the tin hydride method. The first reaction cited in Scheme 32 is a clear-cut example of reversed electronic requirement an electrophilic radical pairing with a nucleophilic alkene.60 Because enol ethers are not easily hydrostannylated, the use of a chloride precursor (which is activated by the esters) is possible. Indeed, the use of a bromomalonate results in a completely different product (Section 4.1.6.1.4). The second example is more intriguing (especially in light of die recent proposals on the existence of ambiphilic radicals) because it appears to go against conventional wisdom in the pairing of radicals and acceptors.118,119... 

In fact, additions of tributylgermyl radical and tributyltin radical to activated alkenes occur at about the same rate (see refs, 38 and 101). This addition reaction is probably more readily reversible in the case of tin (because a weaker bond is formed) and therefore hydrostannylation is a less serious problem than hydrogermylation. Thus, very reactive precursors (preferably iodides) are required as precursors if germanium hydride is used with an electron deficient alkene but this is not because the germanium radical is less reactive towards halides than the tin radical. 

The hydrogen atom transfer method is most useful for electrophilic radicals (for example, malonate, acetoacetate, etc.). Because radicals are generated from C—H bonds, the preparation of cyclization precursors by alkylation is routine. The hydrogen atom transfer method is very good for conducting slow cyclizations. In addition reactions, the hydrogen donor is typically used in large excess relative to the acceptor to facilitate H-transfer however, cyclizations must use different conditions because the H-donor and the alkene acceptor are in the same molecule. 

The Kharasch addition reactions promoted by [RuCl2(PPh3)3] are believed to proceed through a redox chain mechanism (Eqs. 1-3) [ 16]. Their kinetics show a first-order dependence both on the ruthenium complex and on CC14. Whereas no clear-cut evidence for alkene coordination to the metal was found with catalyst precursor 1 (which readily loses one phosphine ligand), olefin coordination cannot be excluded because there is a saturation kinetic rate dependence on the alkene. This observation led to the proposal of a reversible step involving olefin coordination to the metal center [ 16,19,20]. Recent work with other ruthenium-based catalysts further supports olefin coordination (see later). 

Selenium-containing molecules have also been used as precursors for radical seleno group transfer reactions. This is a very powerful method for radical additions to alkenes and alkynes it is especially interesting from an atom economy point of view since all atoms remain in the product molecule. The free-radical addition of selenosulfonates 146 can be initiated either photochemically or thermally using AIBN. The addition of 146 not only to alkynes 147,255-257 km also to alkenes258-261 or allenes,261 has been reported and the products such as 148 are versatile building blocks for subsequent reactions (Scheme 39). For example, vinyl selenides 148 can be easily transformed into allenes. 

This method can be considered as a sulfur analogue of alkene epoxidation. The general principle is that a cycloalkane thiolate is generated, which bears a leaving group at the adjacent position. These precursors can conveniently formed via addition reactions of cycloalkenes. For example, cyclopentene sulfide 87 had been prepared in 58%... 

Acyl radicals are very useful synthetic intermediates. Their preparation is not simple since the corresponding halides are highly electrophilic and cannot be used as radical precursors. Organocobalt compounds were proposed as suitable source of acyl radicals [44]. However, the use of acyl selenides proved to be more general [45, 46]. These radical precursors can be efficiently prepared from the corresponding carboxylic acids and esters [47]. Acyl phenyl selenides should be preferred, when possible, relative to acyl methyl selenides due to the consumption of two equivalents of tin hydride with this last system (Scheme 1) [4]. Acyl selenides have found many applications in tandem radical additions to alkenes. Examples of intermole-cular [Eq. (18)] [48,49] and intramolecular reactions [Eq. (19)] [50a] are reported. The enoyl selenide 68 give the unsaturated acyl radicals 69. This intermediate... 

Two routes have been shown to produce sulfanyl- and selanyldifluoromethyl-phosphonates (342). Generation of phosphonodifluoromethyl radicals (343) from such precursors and their addition reactions with alkenes represents a... 

In addition to the sulfoximines, Johnson has studied phosphinothioic amides as alkene precursors. This reagent has not achieved the popularity of the sulfoximines. It can be utilized for ketone methylen-ation with resolution, as well as for Ae synthesis of more highly substituted alkenes. Rigby has found that in the synthesis of guaianolides this reagent was effective where Peterson and Wittig reactions gave only p-elimination. ... 

A study carried out by Kocienski and Lythgoe flrst demonstrated the trans selectivity of the Julia coupling process. The authors found the i uctive elimination could best be carried out with the acet-oxy or benzoyloxy sulfones. If the lithio sulfone derivative is used for addition to the carbonyl, the reaction can be worked up with acetic anhydride or benzoyl chloride to obtain the alkene precursor. In cases where enolization of the carbonyl is a complication, the magnesium derivative can frequently be used successfully. A modification of the reductive elimination was found to be most effective. Methanol, ethyl acetate/methanol or THF/methanol were the solvents of choice and a temperature of -20 C was effective at suppressing the undesired elimination of the acetoxy group to produce the vinyl sulfone. With these modifications of the original procedure, the ability of the reaction to produce dienes as well as rran.r-disubstituted alkenes was demonstrated, llie diastereoisomeric erythro- and threo-acetoxy sulfones could be separated and it was demonstrated that both isomers were converted to the rrans-alkene. It... 

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