Alcohols reaction with ketene complexes

Many other reactions designed to trap intermediate vinylketene complexes are known. Dotz has used alkynes with a pendant alcohol to produce the butyrolactones E-31 and Z-31 in a 70 30 ratio and 34% yield.16 These are formed by the nucleophilic attack of the pendant alcohol on the ketene... 

The reactivity of the produced complexes was also examined [30a,b]. Since the benzopyranylidene complex 106 has an electron-deficient diene moiety due to the strong electron-withdrawing nature of W(CO)5 group, 106 is expected to undergo inverse electron-demand Diels-Alder reaction with electron-rich alkenes. In fact, naphthalenes 116 variously substituted at the 1-, 2-, and 3-positions were prepared by the reaction of benzopyranylidene complexes 106 and typical electron-rich alkenes such as vinyl ethers, ketene acetals, and enamines through the Diels-Alder adducts 115, which simultaneously eliminated W(CO)6 and an alcohol or an amine at rt (Scheme 5.35). 

Ketene is known to be a very active acetylating agent. This reagent reacted with the complex, [(CH3)4N] [Cr(HO-A)2], in acetonitrile solution to produce the diester. However, ketene, which normally reacts with alcohols very quickly, reacted slowly in this case (Table I). In all ketene reactions a large excess of ketene was passed through the solution the critical factor determining yield appears to be the total time of refluxing. 

The methoxyketene 297, coordinated to Cr carbonyl, is formed from methoxy-carbene easily by insertion of CO under irradiation [90]. An ester is formed by the reaction of ketene with alcohol. The aminocarbene complex 298 was prepared from benzamide and converted to phenylalanine ester 300 under irradiation of sunlight in alcohol via ketene 299 [91]. The eight-membered lactone 304 was prepared in high yield by the reaction of the alkyne 301 having the OH group in a tether with Cr carbene without irradiation. The vinylcarbene 302 is formed at first and converted to the vinylketene intermediate 303 as expected. The keto lactone 304 is formed from 303 by intramolecular reaction with the OH group and hydrolysis [92],... 

Evans et al. recently reported the use of structurally well-defined Sn(II) Lewis acids for the enantioselective aldol addition reactions of a-heterosubstituted substrates [47]. These complexes are readily assembled from Sn(OTf)2 and C2-symmetric bis(oxazoline) ligands. The facile synthesis of these ligands commences with optically active 1,2-diamino alcohols, which are themselves readily available from the corresponding a-amino acids. The Sn(II)-bis(oxazoline) complexes were shown to function optimally as catalysts for enantioselective aldol addition reactions with aldehydes and ketone substrates that are suited to putatively chelate the Lewis acid. For example, use of 10 mol % Sn(II) catalyst, thioacetate, and thiopropionate derived silyl ketene acetals added at -78 °C in dichloromethane to glyoxaldehyde to give hydroxy diesters in superb yields, enantioselectivity, and diastereoselectivity (Eq. 27). The process represents an unusual example wherein 2,3-ant/-aldol adducts are obtained stereoselec-tively. 

Photochemical conversion of an amino(cyclopropyl)carbene (obtained from cyclopro-pyl(methoxy)carbene with optically pure D,i.-erythro amino alcohols) gave a cyclopropyl-substituted lactone, e.g. formation of 13, which upon hydrogenolysis gave a chiral cyclopropyl-glycine system.The reaction proceeds via a ketene complex. 

Photodriven reactions of Fischer carbenes with alcohols produces esters, the expected product from nucleophilic addition to ketenes. Hydroxycarbene complexes, generated in situ by protonation of the corresponding ate complex, produced a-hydroxyesters in modest yield (Table 15) [103]. Ketals,presumably formed by thermal decomposition of the carbenes, were major by-products. The discovery that amides were readily converted to aminocarbene complexes [104] resulted in an efficient approach to a-amino acids by photodriven reaction of these aminocarbenes with alcohols (Table 16) [105,106]. a-Alkylation of the (methyl)(dibenzylamino)carbene complex followed by photolysis produced a range of racemic alanine derivatives (Eq. 26). With chiral oxazolidine carbene complexes optically active amino acid derivatives were available (Eq. 27). Since both enantiomers of the optically active chromium aminocarbene are equally available, both the natural S and unnatural R amino acid derivatives are equally... 

Photolysis of hydroxy Fischer carbene complexes (96) (Scheme 20) in the presence of alcohols under several atmospheres of carbon monoxide gives low to moderate yields of a-hydoxy esters (97). It is proposed that the reactions proceed via ketenes formed from the liberated or complexed carbenes and CO. In some cases, acetals formed via thermal decomposition of the carbenes are the major products. Photolysis of iron porphyrin carbene complexes results in cleavage of the iron-carbon double bond, producing a four coordinate iron(II) porphyrin and the free carbene. The carbenes can be trapped in high yield with a variety of alkenes. 

When a conjugated ketene generated in situ adds to the Er(III) complex of amino alcohol 150, its conformation is fixed. The metal center also attracts an aldehyde to proceed with the hetero-Diels-Alder reaction." ... 

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