Aldol reaction of ketone enolates

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). 

Michael additions followed by further Michael additions have become popular reactions and are usually referred to as Michael Michael Induced Ring Closure (MIM1RC) reactions. A three component Michael-Michael-aldol reaction of ketone enolates with acrylates can be achieved, resulting in the formation of six-membered ring compounds with good efficiency and high diastereoselectivites319. 

From these and many related examples the following generalizations can be made about kinetic stereoselection in aldol additions of lithium enolates. (1) The chair TS model provides a basis for analyzing the stereoselectivity observed in aldol reactions of ketone enolates having one bulky substituent. The preference is Z-enolate syn aldol /(-enolate anti aldol. (2) When the enolate has no bulky substituent, stereoselectivity is low. (3) Z-Enolates are more stereoselective than /(-enolates. Table 2.1 gives some illustrative data. 

Summary of the Relationship between Diastereoselectivity and the Transition Structure. In this section we considered simple diastereoselection in aldol reactions of ketone enolates. Numerous observations on the reactions of enolates of ketones and related compounds are consistent with the general concept of a chairlike TS.35 These reactions show a consistent E - anti Z - syn relationship. Noncyclic TSs have more variable diastereoselectivity. The prediction or interpretation of the specific ratio of syn and anti product from any given reaction requires assessment of several variables (1) What is the stereochemical composition of the enolate (2) Does the Lewis acid promote tight coordination with both the carbonyl and enolate oxygen atoms and thereby favor a cyclic TS (3) Does the TS have a chairlike conformation (4) Are there additional Lewis base coordination sites in either reactant that can lead to reaction through a chelated TS Another factor comes into play if either the aldehyde or the enolate, or both, are chiral. In that case, facial selectivity becomes an issue and this is considered in Section 2.1.5. 

By analogy with previous results with enol silyl ethers of ketones, non-substituted silyl ketene acetals result in less stereoregulation. Propionate-derived silyl ketene acetals, on the other hand, result in a high level of asymmetric induction. Reactions with aliphatic aldehydes, however, result in slightly reduced optical yield. With phenyl ester-derived silyl ketene acetals, erythro adducts predominate, but selectivities are usually moderate compared with the reactions of ketone silyl enol ethers. Exceptions are a, 8-unsaturated aldehydes, for which diastereo- and enantioselectivity are excellent. The observed erythro selectivity and re-face attack of nucleophiles on the carbonyl carbon of aldehydes are consistent with the aforementioned aldol reactions of ketone enol silyl ethers [47]. 

Mahrwald reported aldol reactions of ketone enolates with aldehydes in which the reaction was conducted with equimolar amounts of titanium(IV) alkoxides and a-hydroxy acids [54]. This provided aldol products with high syn diastereoselectivity, as shown in Table 2.27. Among a variety of alkoxides and a-hydroxy acids examined, the use of Ti(Ot-Bu)2-BINOL and (R)-mandelic acid resulted in high syn diastereoselectivity and aldol products were obtained in enantiomerically enriched form. 

Aldol reactions of a-substituted iron-acetyl enolates such as 1 generate a stcrcogenic center at the a-carbon, which engenders the possibility of two diastereomeric aldol adducts 2 and 3 on reaction with symmetrical ketones, and the possibility of four diastereomeric aldol adducts 4, 5, 6, and 7 on reaction with aldehydes or unsymmetrical ketones. The following sections describe the asymmetric aldol reactions of chiral enolate species such as 1. 

The first element of stereocontrol in aldol addition reactions of ketone enolates is the enolate structure. Most enolates can exist as two stereoisomers. In Section 1.1.2, we discussed the factors that influence enolate composition. The enolate formed from 2,2-dimethyl-3-pentanone under kinetically controlled conditions is the Z-isomer.5 When it reacts with benzaldehyde only the syn aldol is formed.4 The product stereochemistry is correctly predicted if the TS has a conformation with the phenyl substituent in an equatorial position. 

Shibasaki et al. also developed catalytic reactions of copper, some of which can be applied to catalytic asymmetric reactions. Catalytic aldol reactions of silicon enolates to ketones proceed using catalytic amounts of CuF (2.5 mol%) and a stoichiometric amount of (EtO)3SiF (120 mol%) (Scheme 104).500 Enantioselective alkenylation catalyzed by a complex derived from CuF and a chiral diphosphine ligand 237 is shown in Scheme 105.501 Catalytic cyanomethyla-tion by using TMSCH2CN was also reported, as shown in Scheme 106.502... 

Next to phosphoramides, Denmark reported an axially chiral A -oxide to catalyze the asymmetric aldol reaction of trichlorosilyl enol ethers with ketones [99]. Hashimoto reported an aldol reaction with 3 mol% of another axially chiral A -oxide [100] which gave good yields and enantioselectivities. 

Substituted, 2,3-disubstituted, and 2,3-annulated thiophenes can be prepared by reactions of ketone enolates with carbonodithioic acid O-ethyl 5-(2-oxoethyl)ester. Hydrolysis of the resulting aldols, intramolecular addition of thiol group to the carbonyl group, and elimination of two molecules of water lead to the thiophenes (116) (Scheme 38) (92HCA907). 

Figure 8C.7. Transition states of Mukaiyama-type aldol reaction of ketone silyl enol ethers.

BINOL-derived titanium complex was found to serve as an efficient catalyst for the Mukaiyama-type aldol reaction of ketone silyl enol ethers with good control of both absolute and relative stereochemistry (Scheme 8C.24) [57]. It is surprising, however, that the aldol products were obtained in the silyl enol ether (ene product) form, with high syn-diastereoselec-tivity from either geometrical isomer of the starting silyl enol ethers. 

This procedure illustrates a general method for the preparation of crossed aldols. The aldol reaction between various silyl enol ethers and carbonyl compounds proceeds smoothly according to the same procedure (see Table I). Sllyl enol ethers react with aldehydes at -78°C, and with ketones near 0°C. Note that the aldol reaction of sllyl enol ethers with ketones affords good yields of crossed aldols which are generally difficult to prepare using lithium or boron enolates. Lewis acids such as tin tetrachloride and boron trifluoride etherate also promote the reaction however, titanium tetrachloride is generally the most effective catalyst. 

The use of Lewis acid drastically changes the regioselectivity. The highly enantioselective and O-selective nitroso aldol reactions of tin enolates with nitrosobenzene have been developed with the use of (i )-BINAP-silver complexes as catalysts. AgOTf and AgCICL complexes are optimal in the O-selective nitroso aldol reaction in both asymmetric induction (up to 97% ee) and regioselection (0/N= > 99/1), affording amino-oxy ketone. The product can be transformed to a-hydroxy ketone without any loss of enantioselectivity (Equation (71)).224... 

We have talked mainly about aldol reactions of ketones (as the enolate component). Esters usually form the trans lithium enolates quite stereoselectively. You might therefore imagine that their aldol reactions would be stereoselective for the anti product. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and even pure frans-enolate gives about a 1 1 mixture of syn and anti aldols. 

The blend SnC -ZnCli is an effective catalyst in the aldol reaction of silyl enol ethers with aldehydes (Eq. 87), acetals (Eq. 88), or ketones [122]. Product antilsyn ratios vary (32 69 to 89 11). The blend also catalyzes the Michael addition of silyl enol ethers with a,/3-unsaturated ketones (Eq. 89), yielding alkylation products (84-100 %) with anti selectivity antilsyn = 55 45 to 87 23). 

Although both aldehydes and ketones also participate in the directed aldol reaction, the former are generally more reactive, as is exemplified in Eq. (6) [45]. Thus, the aldol reaction of an enol silyl ether with an aldehyde could be performed in the presence of a ketone. Equation (6) also demonstrates that the base (LDA)-mediated aldol reaction and the Mukaiyama-type reaction took place at the different position in a complementary manner to give the isomeric aldols. 

Table 1. Aldol reactions of the enol silyl ethers of aldehydes and ketones.

Several examples of Sc(OTf)3-catalyzed aldol reactions of silyl enolates with aldehydes were been examined. Silyl enolates derived from ketones, thioesters, and esters reacted smoothly with different types of aldehyde in the presence of 5 mol % Sc(OTf)3 to afford the aldol adducts in high yields. Sc(OTf)3 was also found to be an effective catalyst in aldol-type reactions of silyl enolates with acetals. The reactions proceeded smoothly at -78 °C or room temperature to give the corresponding aldol-typc adducts in high )delds without side-reaction products. It should be noted that aldehydes were more reactive than acetals. For example, while 3-phenylpropionalde-hyde reacted with the ketene silyl acetal of methyl isobutyrate at -78 °C to give the aldol adduct in 80 % yield, no aldol-type adduct was obtained at -78 °C in the reaction of the same ketene silyl acetal with 3-phenylpropionaldehyde dimethyl acetal. The acetal reacted with the ketene silyl acetal at 0 °C to room temperature to give the... 

In the middle of the 198O s some silyl enolates derived from homochiral esters were reported to enable highly enantioselective synthesis of aldols [106]. Later, Oppolzer et al. disclosed the utility of camphor sultam as a chiral auxiliary for asymmetric aldol reactions [107]. Braun et al. have recently achieved high levels of asymmetric induction in the aldol reaction of ketones with homochiral silyl enolate 43 (Scheme 10.38) [108]. 

Other than for the cyclic or /-alkyl ketones we met at the beginning of the chapter, controlling aldol reactions of ketones has been more difficult. Evans boron enolates work well in some cases and it is fortunate that the Z enolates are preferentially formed as these react stereoselectively with aldehydes to give syn aldols whereas the E enolates show poor stereoselectivity. Thus the symmetrical ketone 1 gives almost exclusively (>97 3) the Z boron enolate 27 and hence syn aldol 28 with the enolisable aldehyde n-PrCHO.8... 

The aldol reactions of rhodium enolates have limited synthetic utility when employed stoichiometri-cally. 0-Bound rhodium enolates of ketones, e.g. (36), have been prepared in high yield by reaction of preformed potassium enolates with carbonyldi(trimethylphosphine)ihodium(I) chloride or fluoride. However, the basic nature of these particular enolates restricts their aldol reactions to nonenolizable aldehydes. 

If rhodium enolates are used in a catalytic cycle they can promote aldol reactions under reasonably mild conditions. For example, the aldol reactions of trimethylsilyl enol ethers and ketene silyl acetals (37) with aldehydes can be catalyzed by various rhodium(I) complexes, under essentially neutral conditions, to give p-trimethylsiloxy ketones and esters (38 equation 14 and Table 6). The study of Matsuda and coworkers suggests that use of the rhodium complex Rlu(CO)i2 (39 at 2 mol %) in benzene at 100 C gives best results for the formation of adduct (38 Table 6, entries 1-7). There is negligible diastereoselectivity in most cases. Various cationic ihodium complexes such as (40) also catalyze the reaction. Reetz and Vougioukas have found that this aldol reaction proceeds well with the more reactive ketene silyl acetals, (37) for R = OMe or OEt, in CH2CI2 at room temperature (Table 6, entries 8-13). The intermediacy of an ti -O-bound rhodium enolate, such as (41), in the catalytic cycle is like-... 

Table 7 Aldol Reactions of Ketone Cerium Enolates with Aldehydes and Ketones (Scheme 5) ...

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