Addition with Tandem Alkylation

When conjugate addition is carried out under aprotic conditions with stoichiometric formation of the enolate, the adduct is present as an enolate until the reaction mixture is quenched with a proton source. It is therefore possible to effect a second reaction of the enolate by addition of an alkyl halide or sulfonate to the solution of the adduct enolate, which results in an alkylation. This reaction sequence permits the formation of two new C-C bonds. 

Several examples of tandem conjugate addition-alkylation follow. 

Reactions of Carbon Nucleophiles with Carbonyl Compounds 

Tandem conjugate addition-alkylation has proven to be an efficient means of introducing groups at both a- and (3-positions at enones.307 As with simple conjugate addition, organocopper reagents are particularly important in this application, and they are discussed further in Section 8.1.2.3. 

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Alkylations. CS2CO3 has shown some unique properties as a base. It promotes (9-aIkylation of 2-pyrimidinone, diastereoselective Michael addition, and tandem alkylation/Wittig reaction to form ethoxycyclopentadienes with good results. 

Meyers has demonstrated that chiral oxazolines derived from valine or rert-leucine are also effective auxiliaries for asymmetric additions to naphthalene. These chiral oxazolines (39 and 40) are more readily available than the methoxymethyl substituted compounds (3) described above but provide comparable yields and stereoselectivities in the tandem alkylation reactions. For example, addition of -butyllithium to naphthyl oxazoline 39 followed by treatment of the resulting anion with iodomethane afforded 41 in 99% yield as a 99 1 mixture of diastereomers. The identical transformation of valine derived substrate 40 led to a 97% yield of 42 with 94% de. As described above, sequential treatment of the oxazoline products 41 and 42 with MeOTf, NaBKi and aqueous oxalic acid afforded aldehydes 43 in > 98% ee and 90% ee, respectively. These experiments demonstrate that a chelating (methoxymethyl) group is not necessary for reactions to proceed with high asymmetric induction. 

Several examples of conjugate addition of carbanions carried out under aprotic conditions are given in Scheme 2.24. The reactions are typically quenched by addition of a proton source to neutralize the enolate. It is also possible to trap the adduct by silylation or, as we will see in Section 2.6.2, to carry out a tandem alkylation. Lithium enolates preformed by reaction with LDA in THF react with enones to give 1,4-diketones (Entries 1 and 2). Entries 3 and 4 involve addition of ester enolates to enones. The reaction in Entry 3 gives the 1,2-addition product at —78°C but isomerizes to the 1,4-product at 25° C. Esters of 1,5-dicarboxylic acids are obtained by addition of ester enolates to a,(3-unsaturated esters (Entry 5). Entries 6 to 8 show cases of... 

Scheme 10.17 illustrates allylation by reaction of radical intermediates with allyl stannanes. The first entry uses a carbohydrate-derived xanthate as the radical source. The addition in this case is highly stereoselective because the shape of the bicyclic ring system provides a steric bias. In Entry 2, a primary phenylthiocar-bonate ester is used as the radical source. In Entry 3, the allyl group is introduced at a rather congested carbon. The reaction is completely stereoselective, presumably because of steric features of the tricyclic system. In Entry 4, a primary selenide serves as the radical source. Entry 5 involves a tandem alkylation-allylation with triethylboron generating the ethyl radical that initiates the reaction. This reaction was done in the presence of a Lewis acid, but lanthanide salts also give good results. 

Clerici and Porta reported that phenyl, acetyl and methyl radicals add to the Ca atom of the iminium ion, PhN+Me=CHMe, formed in situ by the titanium-catalyzed condensation of /V-methylanilinc with acetaldehyde to give PhNMeCHMePh, PhNMeCHMeAc, and PhNMeCHMe2 in 80% overall yield.83 Recently, Miyabe and co-workers studied the addition of various alkyl radicals to imine derivatives. Alkyl radicals generated from alkyl iodide and triethylborane were added to imine derivatives such as oxime ethers, hydrazones, and nitrones in an aqueous medium.84 The reaction also proceeds on solid support.85 A-sulfonylimines are also effective under such reaction conditions.86 Indium is also effective as the mediator (Eq. 11.49).87 A tandem radical addition-cyclization reaction of oxime ether and hydrazone was also developed (Eq. 11.50).88 Li and co-workers reported the synthesis of a-amino acid derivatives and amines via the addition of simple alkyl halides to imines and enamides mediated by zinc in water (Eq. 11.51).89 The zinc-mediated radical reaction of the hydrazone bearing a chiral camphorsultam provided the corresponding alkylated products with good diastereoselectivities that can be converted into enantiomerically pure a-amino acids (Eq. 11.52).90... 

Prior to protonolysis, the products of conjugate addition to unsaturated carbonyl compounds are enolates and, therefore, potential nucleophiles. A useful extension of the conjugate addition method is to combine it with an alkylation step that adds a substituent at the a position.52 Several examples of this tandem conjugate addition/alkylation procedure are given in Scheme 8.2. 

A limited number of other anionic species have been employed as Michael donors in tandem vicinal difunctionalizations. In a manner similar to sulfur ylides described above, phosphonium ylides can be used as cyclopropanating reagents by means of a conjugate addition-a-intramolecular alkylation sequence. Phosphonium ylides have been used with greater frequency261-263 than sulfur ylides and display little steric sensitivity.264 Phosphorus-stabilized allylic anions can display regiospecific 7-1,4-addition when used as Michael donors.265... 

Two other Ni(CO)4 substitutes, Ni(CO)3PPh3 and Ni(COD)2/dppe, prove to be appropriate for the catalysis of tandem metallo-ene/carbonylation reactions of allylic iodides (Scheme 7)399. This process features initial oxidative addition to the alkyl iodide, followed by a metallo-ene reaction with an appropriately substituted double or triple bond, affording an alkyl or vinyl nickel species. This organonickel species may then either alkoxycar-bonylate or carbonylate and undergo a second cyclization on the pendant alkene to give 51, which then alkoxycarbonylates. The choice of nickel catalyst and use of diene versus enyne influences whether mono- or biscyclization predominates (equations 200 and 201). 

It is not even necessary to have a stereogenic centre in an unsaturated ring if we want to create stereochemistry. A tandem conjugate addition and alkylation creates two new stereogenic centres in one operation. The conjugate addition of a lithium cuprate makes a lithium enolate, which will react 11] [ u with an alkyl halide. The product is usually h tins. 

Phenols and naphthols are converted to chromans in a one-pot reaction with isoprene. The specific catalyst AgOTf promotes tandem alkylation, via a 1,4-addition, and cyclisation by O-C bond formation (Scheme 10). With other dienes, 2-naphthol preferentially forms dihydronaphthofurans <06JOC6705>. The Bi(OTf)3-catalysed [1,3] rearrangement of (4-substituted aryl) 3-methylbut-2-enyl ethers to 2-prenylphenols is spontaneously followed by a cationic cyclisation to chromans <06S3963>. 

The very structure of the sulfone 134 dictated a convergent scheme for its preparation from the easily synthesized Cg, 138, and Cjo, 139, building blocks. Furthermore, the structure of 139 also suggested the utilization of a convergent route for its preparation, with the help of a tandem Michael addition/electro-philic alkylation sequence from cyclopentenone 140 via adduct 141. 

An interesting tandem cyelization is used in the synthesis of (-)-a-pipitzol94. The mechanism proceeds via addition of a tin radical to the alkyne, subsequent stereoselective cyelization of the vinyl radical, and addition of the alkyl radical to the nitrile. The addition of tin radicals to alkenes or alkynes is reversible with an unfavorable equilibrium, but in this case the vinyl radical is trapped selectively and irreversibly by cyelization95. 

Organozinc reagents have been used in conjunction with a-bromovinylboranes in a tandem route to Z-trisubstituted allylic alcohols. After preparation of the vinylborane, reaction with diethylzinc effects migration of a boron substituent with inversion of configuration and exchange of zinc for boron.176 Addition of an aldehyde then gives the allylic alcohol. The reaction is applicable to formaldehyde alkyl and aryl aldehydes and to methyl, primary, and secondary boranes. 

Tandem syn addition of alkyl and trimethylsilyl groups can be accomplished with dialkylzinc and trimethylsilyl iodide in the presence of a Pd(0) catalyst.79... 

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