Functionalised alkenes

The cycloaddition of alkynes and alkenes to nitrile oxides has been used in the synthesis of functionalised azepine systems <96JHC259>, <96T5739>. The concomitantly formed isoxazole (dihydroisoxazole) ring is cleaved by reduction in the usual way. Other routes to 1-benzazepines include intramolecular amidoalkylation <96SC2241> and intramolecular palladium-catalysed aryl amination and aryl amidation <96T7525>. Spiro-substituted 2-benzazepines have been prepared by phenolic oxidation (Scheme 5) <96JOC5857> and the same method has been applied to the synthesis of dibenzazepines <96CC1481>. 

It might seem that allylic functionalisation can be used only on terminal alkenes such as (26) or trisubstituted alkenes, such as (31) when the orientation of addition is unambiguous. 

The Mizoroki-Heck reaction is a metal catalysed transformation that involves the reaction of a non-functionalised olefin with an aryl or alkenyl group to yield a more substituted aUcene [11,12]. The reaction mechanism is described as a sequence of oxidative addition of the catalytic active species to an aryl halide, coordination of the alkene and migratory insertion, P-hydride elimination, and final reductive elimination of the hydride, facilitated by a base, to regenerate the active species and complete the catalytic cycle (Scheme 6.5). 

This review focuses on the cross-metathesis reactions of functionalised alkenes catalysed by well-defined metal carbene complexes. The cross- and self-metath-esis reactions of unfunctionalised alkenes are of limited use to the synthetic organic chemist and therefore outside the scope of this review. Similarly, ill-defined multicomponent catalyst systems, which generally have very limited functional group tolerance, will only be included as a brief introduction to the subject area. 

Although the bulk of this review is concerned with well-defined metal carbene catalysts, it is important to note the contributions made to cross-metathesis chemistry by ill-defined or multicomponent catalysts. A brief discussion of the cross-metathesis reactions of functionalised alkenes using catalysts of this type will therefore be included here [1]. 

Unsaturated esters and silanes are not the only functionalised alkenes to have been employed as cross-metathesis substrates unsaturated alkyl chlorides [9], silylethers [10] and nitriles have all participated in metathesis reactions utilising... 

Prior to the first examples of the cross-metathesis of functionalised alkenes using these catalysts, however, was a report on the use of a lesser known tungsten complex 5 [18,19]. 

Cross-metathesis with small, functionalised, alkyl-substituted alkenes generally gave lower yields (34-73%) of the desired products, as predominantly their trans stereoisomers (2.5 1—5 1) [29] (for example Eq. 13). 

The first published report on the use of this catalyst for the cross-metathesis of functionalised acyclic alkenes was by Blechert and co-workers towards the end of 1996 [37]. This report was also noteworthy for its use of polymer-bound alkenes in the cross-metathesis reaction. Tritylpolystyrene-bound AT-Boc N-al-lylglycinol 18 was successfully cross-metathesised with both unfunctionalised alkenes and unsaturated esters (Eq. 17) (Table 1). 

Applications of the cross-metathesis reaction in more diverse areas of organic chemistry are beginning to appear in the literature. For example, the use of alkene metathesis in solution-phase combinatorial synthesis was recently reported by Boger and co-workers [45]. They assembled a chemical library of 600 compounds 27 (including cisttrans isomers) in which the final reaction was the metathesis of a mixture of 24 oo-alkene carboxamides 26 (prepared from six ami-nodiacetamides, with differing amide groups, each functionalised with four to-alkene carboxylic acids) (Eq.27). 

Alkene cross-metathesis has also been recently used for the modification of silsesquioxanes and spherosilicates, by Feher and co-workers [46]. Reaction of vinylsilsesquioxane 28 with a variety of simple functionalised alkenes, in the presence of Schrock s molybdenum catalyst 3, gave complete conversion of the starting material and very good isolated yields of the desired products (75— 100%) (for example Eq. 28). 

The report by Basset and co-workers on the metathesis of sulphur-containing alkenes using a tungsten alkylidene complex, mentioned previously for the acyclic cross-metathesis reaction (see Sect. 2.2), also contained early examples of ring-opening cross-metathesis of functionalised alkenes [20]. Allyl methyl sulphide was reacted with norbornene in the presence of the tungsten catalyst 5, to yield the desired ring-opened diene 35 (Eq. 29). 

In 1995 the first examples of ring-opening cross-metathesis reactions for the preparation of functionalised monomeric products using the Grubbs ruthenium vinylalkylidene catalyst 4 were published by Snapper and co-workers [47]. Reaction of a variety of symmetrical cyclobutenes with simple terminal alkenes... 

Successful ring-opening cross-metathesis with symmetrical internal acyclic alkenes was, however, achieved by Blechert and Schneider [49]. Reaction of a variety of functionalised norbornene derivatives with fraws-hex-3-ene in the presence of the ruthenium vinylalkylidene catalyst 4 yielded the ring-opened products as predominantly trans-trans isomers (for example Eq. 33). 

For the cross-metathesis of functionalised alkenes the ill-defined classical catalyst systems currently offer very few advantages (cost and heterogeneous catalysis) over the more functional group tolerant Schrock and Grubbs alkylidene... 

Abstract The use of Co building block in presence of water or an alcohol to functionalise alkenes by hydroxycarbonylation or alkoxycarbonylation reactions is reviewed in this chapter. The hydroxyl groups can be present in the substrate itself so cascade reactions can occur. Palladium precursors are largely involved in these reactions and this analysis of the literature focuses on the mechanisms involving Pd(0), Pd(H)(X)L2, PdX2 and an oxidant like CuCl systems. Introduction of chiral L or L2 ligands or even the presence of chiral carbon atoms in the substrate lead to asymmetric carbonylation reactions. 

Another group of bicyclic aliphatic phosphines has been introduced by Sasol [15], Their ligands are based on addition of PH3 to limonene (the R-enantiomer). A mixture of two diastereomeric compounds is obtained due to the two configurations of the methyl group at the C-4 position (Figure 7.9). The Lim-H compounds obtained can be functionalised at the phosphorus atom with the usual radical reactions with alkenes or substitution reactions of their conjugate bases formed after treatment with BuLi with electrophiles. 

Palladium salts will attack C-H bonds in functionalised aromatics such as acetoaniline to form palladium-carbon bonds that subsequently undergo insertion of alkenes [31], (3-Hydride elimination gave styryl derivatives and palladium hydride, which requires re-oxidation of palladium by benzoquinone. The reaction can be regarded as a combined Murai reaction (C-H activation, if electrophilic) and a Heck reaction (arylalkene formation), notably without the production of salts as the cross-coupling reactions do. An example is shown in Figure 19.15. 

Of the numerous catalytic asymmetric methods developed for the functionalisation of alkenes, epoxidation has emerged as one of the most versatile and reliable methods... 

The desired spiroacetal 36 was converted to the TBS ether and the terminal alkene moiety was elaborated to the corresponding ethyl ketone in four steps, to provide the fully-functionalised CD-spiroacetal ketone 5, now ready for aldol union with the AB-spiroacetal aldehyde 4. This route was found to be highly scalable, enabling production of multi-gram quantities of the desired C16-C28 fragment 5 with little need to repeat the synthetic sequence. 

The most abundant oligomer is the pentamer. These perfluorinated olefins are not reactive since the double bond is internal in the chain. However, the ICI Company [64] functionalises these alkenes by adding phenol onto the perfluorinated olefins ... 

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