Additions to Allenes

Electrophilic additions to allenes represent an interesting reaction type which is related to additions to both alkenes and alkynes. An allene could, for example, conceivably be protonated at either a terminal s[p- carbon or the central sp carbon. 

High-temperalure carbene additions to allenes are especially prone to give rearranged methylenecyclopropanes [42, 43, 44] (equations 14 and 15), and there-... 

Electrophilic addition to allenes can occur via either of two ways ... 

Although at first glance addition to the central carbon and formation of what seems like an allylic carbonium ion would clearly be preferred over terminal addition and a vinyl cation, a closer examination shows this not to be the case. Since the two double bonds in allenes are perpendicular to each other, addition of an electrophile to the central carbon results in an empty p orbital, which is perpendicular to the remaining rr system and hence not resonance stabilized (and probably inductively destabilized) until a 90° rotation occurs around the newly formed single bond. Hence, allylic stabilization may not be significant in the transition state. In fact, electrophilic additions to allene itself occur without exception at the terminal carbon (54). 

Kant and coworkers [89] synthesized cefzil (2-167) through a Normant cuprate addition to allene 2-164, readily available from inexpensive penicillins, to give 2-165, which cyclized to the cefzil precursor 2-166 in a SN -type reaction (Scheme 2.38). The conversion of 2-166 into 2-167 was already known [90]. 

Attempts to employ allenes in palladium-catalyzed oxidations have so far given dimeric products via jr al lyI complexes of type 7i62.63. The fact that only very little 1,2-addition product is formed via nucleophilic attack on jral ly I complex 69 indicates that the kinetic chloropalladation intermediate is 70. Although formation of 70 is reversible, it is trapped by the excess of allene present in the catalytic reaction to give dimeric products. The only reported example of a selective intermolecular 1,2-addition to allenes is the carbonylation given in equation 31, which is a stoichiometric oxidation64. 

Fundamentals and Application of Free Radical Addition to Allenes 701... 

Less common addition reactions such as the bromination of trifhioromethyl-substi-tuted butatrienes [30] or the reaction of tetrafluoroallene with boron trifluoride have also been reported [283]. Especially the interaction of phosphorylated allenes with electrophiles was summarized in a review by Alabugin and Brel [8], whereas Smadja [284] published a more general overview about the electrophilic addition to allenic derivatives. 

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