Al-based Lewis acids

The extremely high selectivity for tandem cycloaddition, the ease of manipulation of the nitroso acetals, and the release of the vinyl ether appendage in the hydrogenolytic cleavage constitute ideal features for asymmetric modifications of the cycloadditions with chiral vinyl ethers. As discussed in Section 8.3.2.1 (Inter [4+2]/inter [3+2] cycloadditions of nitroalkenes), the stereochemical course depends on the Lewis acids. The results are summarized in Scheme 8.38.179 The high levels and complementary selectivity with three chiral vinyl ethers and two kinds of Lewis acids (Ti- and Al-based Lewis acids) are presented in this scheme. 

Disubstituted dihydropyrans are produced with high u/iri-selectivity when 2-phenyl-4-(4-tolylsulfonyl)-3,4-dihydro-2H -pyrans ate treated with Al-based Lewis acids <99SL132>. Tetraenes 10, derived from dienes via their epoxides, undergo a double RCM reaction under Ru-catalysis to yield polycyclic ethers 11 in which the dihydropyran units can be joined by a variable number of carbon atoms <99JOC3354>. Continued work on the use of dispiroketals in synthesis has led to an improved route to the enantiomers of bi(dihydropyrans) 12 <99JCS(P1)1639>. 

Organometallic reactions. Addition of RM to ketones shows chemoselectivity in response to the type of Al-based Lewis acids. 4-Heptanone is attacked exclusively by MeLi at —78°C in the presence of 4-methylcyclohexanone. This result is in complete contrast to the reaction promoted by MeAI(OAr)2. 

In 2006, Poe et al. reported a cascade reaction employing two incompatible catalysts, one of which was microencapsulated [19]. In this case, an organic amine was encapsulated and used in conjunction with a nickel-based Lewis acid catalyst (Scheme 5.4). 

Boron-based Lewis acids are useful coinitiators for metallocenes [Chen and Marks, 2000 Chen et al., 1998 Pedeutour et ah, 2001 Zhou et ah, 2001]. Organoboranes such as... 

The solubility of rare earth hydrides in organic solvents is increased by appropriate additives, too. For this purpose the hydrides are reacted with electron-donor ligands such as alkyl benzoates, alkyl propionates, alkyl tolu-ates, dialkylethers, cyclic ethers, alkylated amines, N,N -dimclhylacelamide, AT-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, trialkyl and triaryl phosphines, trialkyl phosphates and triaryl phosphates, trialkyl phosphates, hexamethylphosphoric triamide, dimethyl sulfoxide, etc. Prior to use as a polymerization catalyst the prereacted mixture of the rare earth hydride plus the additive is prereacted with Al-alkyl-based Lewis acids in the temperature range of 60-100 °C for 10 min to 24 h [351,352]. 

Mukaiyama aldol reactions using a catalytic amount of a Lewis acidic metal salt afford silylated aldols (silyl ethers) as major products, but not free aldols (alcohols). Three mechanistic pathways which account for the formation of the silylated aldols are illustrated in Scheme 10.14. In a metal-catalyzed process the Lewis acidic metal catalyst is regenerated on silylation of the metal aldolate by intramolecular or intermolecular silicon transfer (paths a and b, respectively). If aldolate silylation is slow, a silicon-catalyzed process (path c) might effectively compete with the metal-catalyzed process. Carreira and Bosnich have concluded that some metal triflates serve as precursors of silyl triflates, which promote the aldol reaction as the actual catalysts, as shown in path c [46, 47]. Three similar pathways are possible in the triarylcarbenium ion-catalyzed reaction. According to Denmark et al. triarylcarbenium ions are the actual catalysts (path b) [48], whereas Bosnich has insisted that hydrolysis of the salts by a trace amount of water generates the silicon-based Lewis acids working as the actual catalysts (path c) [47]. Otera et al. have reported that 10-methylacridinium perchlorate is an efficient catalyst of the aldol reaction of ketene triethylsilyl acetals [49]. In this reaction, the perchlorate reacts smoothly with the acetals to produce the actual catalyst, triethylsilyl perchlorate. 

Mg-Al mixed oxides obtained by thermal decomposition of anionic clays of hydrotalcite structure, present acidic or basic surface properties depending on their chemical composition [1]. These materials contain the metal components in close interaction thereby promoting bifunctional reactions that are catalyzed by Bronsted base-Lewis acid pairs. Among others, hydrotalcite-derived mixed oxides promote aldol condensations [2], alkylations [3] and alcohol eliminations reactions [1]. In particular, we have reported that Mg-Al mixed oxides efficiently catalyze the gas-phase self-condensation of acetone to a,P-unsaturated ketones such as mesityl oxides and isophorone [4]. Unfortunately, in coupling reactions like aldol condensations, basic catalysts are often deactivated either by the presence of byproducts such as water in the gas phase or by coke build up through secondary side reactions. Deactivation has traditionally limited the potential of solid basic catalysts to replace environmentally problematic and corrosive liquid bases. However, few works in the literature deal with the deactivation of solid bases under reaction conditions. Studies relating the concerted and sequential pathways required in the deactivation mechanism with the acid-base properties of the catalyst surface are specially lacking. 

Scettri et al. reported the aza-Michael addition of aniline to chalcones under solvent-free conditions, promoted by cinchonine. The corresponding products were obtained in good yield but with poor ee (11-58%). The enantioselectivity was improved up to 99% by the addition of an achiral silicon-based Lewis acid catalyst such as trimethylsilyl iodide (TMSI). ... 

Another example of polymer-supported A1 based Lewis acid is cross-linked polystyrene-supported aluminum triflate (79). Cross-linked polystyrene-supported AICI3 (72) was easily converted into (79) by treatment with triflic acid. This catalyst was applied to dithioacetalization of carbonyl compounds and transdithioacetal-ization of acetals (Scheme 19.19) [44]. From benzaldehyde the corresponding dithioacetal (84) was obtained in the presence of the polymeric catalyst (79) in 98% yield in 30 minutes. The same product was also obtained from the dimethyl acetal (85) in 94% yield. Chemoselectivity of the polymeric catalyst was also demonstrated in Scheme 19.19. Aldehydes reacted faster in the presence of ketone (34) to give the dithioacetals with (79). Aliphatic ketone (89) exclusively reacted with dithiol (81) in the presence of aromatic ketone (34). These chemoselectivities were higher than those obtained from the reactions using nonsupported Al(OTf)3. 

In 1986, Reetz et al. provided the first indication that asymmetry in catalyzed Mukaiyama aldol reactions could be induced by substoichiometric quantities of chiral Lewis acid complexes. The Ti(IV)-BINOL complex 71 and the Al(III)-based Lewis acids 72 and 73 were evaluated as... 

Analogous to the classification of Lewis acids and bases in hard and soft species, Ahrland et al. have su ested a division of donors and acceptors into classes a and 6. See Ahrland, S. Chatt, J. Davies, N.R. Quart. Rev. 1958, 77, 265... 

For the activation of a substrate such as 19a via coordination of the two carbonyl oxygen atoms to the metal, one should expect that a hard Lewis acid would be more suitable, since the carbonyl oxygens are hard Lewis bases. Nevertheless, Fu-rukawa et al. succeeded in applying the relative soft metal palladium as catalyst for the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction between 1 and 19a (Scheme 6.36) [79, 80]. They applied the dicationic Pd-BINAP 54 as the catalyst, and whereas this type of catalytic reactions is often carried out at rt or at 0°C, the reactions catalyzed by 54 required heating at 40 °C in order to proceed. In most cases mixtures of endo-21 and exo-21 were obtained, however, high enantioselectivity of up to 93% were obtained for reactions of some derivatives of 1. 

Flowever, ionic liquids acting as transition metal catalysts are not necessarily based on classical Lewis acids. Dyson et al. recently reported the ionic liquid [BMIM][Co(CO)4] [38]. The system was obtained as an intense blue-green colored liquid by metathesis between [BMIM]C1 and Na[Co(CO)4]. The liquid was used as a catalyst in the debromination of 2-bromoketones to their corresponding ketones. 

As described in Section 10.13, the strong polarizing effect of the small, highly charged Al3+ ion (a Lewis acid) on the water molecules around it (Lewis bases) gives the Al(H20)63+ ion acidic properties ... 

Aluminum chloride is an ionic solid in which each Al 1+ ion is coordinated to six Cl ions. However, it sublimes at 192°C to a vapor of A12C16 molecules (7). In this molecule, the A1 atom of one A1C13 fragment acts as a Lewis acid and accepts an electron pair from a Cl atom of the other A1C13 fragment, which is acting as a 1 Twis base. 

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