Enol ethers aldol reactions

A useful catalyst for asymmetric aldol additions is prepared in situ from mono-0> 2,6-diisopropoxybenzoyl)tartaric acid and BH3 -THF complex in propionitrile solution at 0 C. Aldol reactions of ketone enol silyl ethers with aldehydes were promoted by 20 mol % of this catalyst solution. The relative stereochemistry of the major adducts was assigned as Fischer- /ir o, and predominant /i -face attack of enol ethers at the aldehyde carbonyl carbon atom was found with the (/ ,/ ) nantiomer of the tartaric acid catalyst (K. Furuta, 1991). 

The fluoride anion has a pronounced catalytic effect on the aldol reaction between enol silyl ethers and carbonyl compounds [13] This reacbon proceeds at low temperature under the influence of catalytic amounts (5-10 mol %) of tetra-butylammonium fluoride, giving the aldol silyl ethers in high yields (equation 11). 

For some condensations with silylated substrates as starting compounds, trimethylsilyl inflate can be used as a catalyst [103, 104, 105] Atypical example of such a reaction is the aldol type condensation of silyl enol ethers and acetals catalyzed by 1-5 mol% of trimethylsilyl inflate [103] (equation 53)... 

By using the directed aldol reaction, unsymmetrical ketones can be made to react regioselectively. After conversion into an appropriate enol derivative (e.g. trimethylsilyl enol ether 8) the ketone reacts at the desired a-carbon. 

For example in the so-called Mukaiyama aldol reaction of an aldehyde R -CHO and a trimethylsilyl enol ether 8, which is catalyzed by Lewis acids, the required asymmetric environment in the carbon-carbon bond forming step can be created by employing an asymmetric Lewis acid L in catalytic amounts. 

Mukaiyama aldol reactions have been reported, usually using chiral additives although chiral auxiliaries have also been used. This reaction can also be run with the aldehyde or ketone in the form of its acetal R R C(OR )2> in which case the product is the ether R COCHR2CR R OR instead of 27. Enol acetates and enol ethers also give this product when treated with acetals and TiCLi or a similar catalyst. When the catalyst is dibutyltin bis(triflate), Bu2Sn(OTf)2, aldehydes react, but not their acetals, while acetals of ketones react, but not the ketones themselves. 

Wiles, C., Watts, P., Haswell, S. J., PoMBO-ViLiAR, E., The aldol reaction of silyl enol ethers within a micro reactor. 

Reducing the processing time is a driver for micro channel processing of aldol reactions [15]. Using reactive reactants such silyl enol ethers, this can be accomplished. 

Figure 4.85 Flow configuration for the aldol reaction of silyl enol ethers in a mixing-tee chip micro reactor [15],...

In 1991, Kobayashi el al. prepared novel chiral S/N ligands for the tin-mediated aldol reaction of silyl enol ethers with aldehydes. As an example, the reaction of benzaldehyde afforded the expected syn aldol product as the major product with a good yield and an enantioselectivity of up to 92% ee (Scheme 10.26). Moreover, other aldehydes such as substituted benzaldehydes or aliphatic unsaturated aldehydes were converted into their corresponding aldol products with enantioselectivities of more than 90% ee. It was checked that the corresponding diamine ligands provided less active complexes for the same reactions. 

The enolates of other carbonyl compounds can be used in mixed aldol reactions. Extensive use has been made of the enolates of esters, thiol esters, amides, and imides, including several that serve as chiral auxiliaries. The methods for formation of these enolates are similar to those for ketones. Lithium, boron, titanium, and tin derivatives have all been widely used. The silyl ethers of ester enolates, which are called silyl ketene acetals, show reactivity that is analogous to silyl enol ethers and are covalent equivalents of ester enolates. The silyl thioketene acetal derivatives of thiol esters are also useful. The reactions of these enolate equivalents are discussed in Section 2.1.4. 

The Mukaiyama aldol reaction refers to Lewis acid-catalyzed aldol addition reactions of silyl enol ethers, silyl ketene acetals, and similar enolate equivalents,48 Silyl enol ethers are not sufficiently nucleophilic to react directly with aldehydes or ketones. However, Lewis acids cause reaction to occur by coordination at the carbonyl oxygen, activating the carbonyl group to nucleophilic attack. 

Scheme 2.2 illustrates several examples of the Mukaiyama aldol reaction. Entries 1 to 3 are cases of addition reactions with silyl enol ethers as the nucleophile and TiCl4 as the Lewis acid. Entry 2 demonstrates steric approach control with respect to the silyl enol ether, but in this case the relative configuration of the hydroxyl group was not assigned. Entry 4 shows a fully substituted silyl enol ether. The favored product places the larger C(2) substituent syn to the hydroxy group. Entry 5 uses a silyl ketene thioacetal. This reaction proceeds through an open TS and favors the anti product. 

Enantioselective Catalysis of the Aldol Addition Reaction. There are also several catalysts that can effect enantioselective aldol addition. The reactions generally involve enolate equivalents, such as silyl enol ethers, that are unreactive toward the carbonyl component alone, but can react when activated by a Lewis acid. The tryptophan-based oxazaborolidinone 15 has proven to be a useful catalyst.148... 

The crossed aldol reaction of silyl enol ethers with carbonyl compounds (Mukaiyama-aldol) was studied by Lubineau and co-workers... 

More recently, asymmetric Mannich-type reactions have been studied in aqueous conditions. Barbas and co-worker reported a direct amino acid catalyzed asymmetric aldol and Mannich-type reactions that can tolerate small amounts of water (<4 vol%).53 Kobayashi found that a diastereo- and enantioselective Mannich-type reaction of a hydrazono ester with silyl enol ethers in aqueous media has been successfully achieved with ZnF2, a chiral diamine ligand, and trifluoromethanesul-fonic acid (Eq. 11.31).54 The diastereoselective Mannich-type reaction... 

This reaction sequence of conjugate reduction followed by aldol reaction is known as the reductive aldol reaction. In certain instances, reductive elimination from the M-TM-enolate species may occur to furnish M-enolate, which itself may participate in the aldol reaction (Scheme 3). This detour may be described as the background path or stepwise path in one-pot. Indeed, it has been reported that certain cationic Rh complexes such as [Rh(COD)(DPPB)] (COD = 1,5-cyclooctadiene, DPPB = diphenylphosphinobutane) catalyze the aldol reactions of silyl enol ethers and carbonyl compounds by serving as Lewis acids [5-8]. 

Another attractive domino approach starts with an aldol reaction of preformed enol ethers and carbonyl compounds as the first step. Rychnovsky and coworkers have found that unsaturated enol ethers such as 2-237 react with different aldehydes 2-238 in the presence of TiBr4. The process consists of an aldol and a Prins-type reaction to give 4-bromotetrahydropyrans 2-239 in good yields, and allows the formation of two new C-C-bonds, one ring and three new stereogenic centers (Scheme 2.56) [131]. In the reaction, only two diastereomers out of eight possible isomers were formed whereby the intermediate carbocation is quenched with a bromide. 

Under classical Mukaiyama conditions, silyl enol ether 2-372 and the Michael acceptors 2-373 and 2-374 underwent a twofold 1,4-addition to form an enolate in which an ideal set-up exists for an intramolecular aldol reaction. This led to 2-375 with the desired structural core of 2-376 in an overall yield of 42%. 

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