Aldehydes intermolecular pinacol coupling reactions

As expected with a reagent that is csq)able of generating ketyls, intermolecular pinacolic coupling reactions can also be carried out with considerable efficiency using Smh. Treatment of aldehydes or... 

Shikonin. Torii has accomplished an efficient intermolecular pinacol coupling reaction, en route to the total synthesis of shikonin, a compound with antiinflammatory, antibacterial, and antitumor activity (Eq. 3.11) [29], Because the aromatic aldehyde possessed a substituent capable of chelating to vanadium, Torii anticipated, based on precedent, that selective cross-coupling would be possible. The pinacol reaction proceeded in 73% yield and with good diastereoselectivity (5.5 1). 

From a synthetic standpoint the intermolecular pinacolic coupling reaction is limited because only homocoupling reactions are generally practical. Cross-coupling reactions mediated by SmF are restricted to specialized, matched partners [35]. Thus a-dicarbonyl compounds can be heterocoupled with aldehydes, providing facile entry to 2,3-dihydroxy ketones. Although selectivities vary, in some cases the diastereoselectivity of the process can be quite high (Eq. 25). 

In 1999, Cozzi and Umani-Ronchi described a diastereoselective intermolecular pinacol coupling of aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes in the presence of a catalytic quantity of TiCl4(THF)2/Schiff base (Eq. 3.38) [60]. Manganese is employed as the stoichiometric reductant with the Cozzi/Umani-Ronchi system, zinc generally affords a lower yield of the diol. The reaction is believed to proceed via a pathway analogous to that illustrated in Fig. 3-5. The observations of Cozzi and Umani-Ronchi that the Schiff base affects reaction diastereoselectivity and increases the reaction rate bode well for studies of asymmetric variants. In an initial investigation, these workers obtained 10% ee in a reductive dimerization of benzaldehyde (Eq. 3.39). 

The ketyl radical anion intermediates can be exploited in carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions. Intermolecular and intramolecular pinacol couplings between the carbonyl groups of ketones and aldehydes are well known (Chapter 5, Section 5.1), as are intermolecular and intramolecular carbonyl-alkene couplings (Chapter 5, Section 5.2). 

Niobium. Szymoniak has developed a niobium-based method for the pinacol coupling of aliphatic aldehydes, aromatic aldehydes, and aromatic ketones (Eq. 3.18) [37]. In the presence of NbCl3, intermolecular couplings proceed with consistently high diastereoselectivity. In many cases, the diol forms an acetal with the remaining aldehyde, and this is isolated at the end of the reaction. The stereoselection of... 

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