Alkene epoxidation mechanistic hypothesis

As mentioned in the previous section, the Peterson reaction proceeds by an irreversible addition of the silyl-substituted carbanion to a carbonyl. It has generally been assumed that an intermediate p-oxidosi-lane is formed and then eliminated. In support of this mechanistic hypothesis, if an anion-stabilizing group is not present in the silyl anion, the p-hydroxysilanes can be isolated fixrm the reaction, and elimination to the alkene carried out in a separate step. Recent studies by Hudrlik indicate that, in analogy to the Wittig reaction, an oxasiletane (304) may be formed directly by simultaneous C—C and Si—O bond formation (Scheme 43). The p-hyd xysilanes were synthesized by addition to the silyl epoxide. When the base-induced elimination was carried out, dramatically different ratios of cis- to rranr-alkenes were obtained than from the direct Peterson alkenation. While conclusions of the mechanism in general await further study, the Peterson alkenation may prove to be more closely allied with the Wittig reaction than with -elimination reactions. 

FIGURE 2.6 Mechanistic hypothesis for terminal alkene epoxidation with hydrogen peroxide mediated by lb on the basis of the results of reaction-progress kinetic analysis and P and F NMR studies. 

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