Alkenes nitroalkenes

The final class of reactions to be considered will be the [4 + 2]-cycloaddition reaction of nitroalkenes with alkenes which in principle can be considered as an inverse electron-demand hetero-Diels-Alder reaction. Domingo et al. have studied the influence of reactant polarity on the reaction course of this type of reactions using DFT calculation in order to understand the regio- and stereoselectivity for the reaction, and the role of Lewis acid catalysis [29]. The reaction of e.g. ni-troethene 15 with an electron-rich alkene 16 can take place in four different ways and the four different transition-state structures are depicted in Fig. 8.16. 

Nitro compounds have been converted into various cyclic compounds via cycloaddidon reactions. In particular, nitroalkenes have proved to be nsefid in Diels-Alder reactions. Under thermal conditions, they behave as electron-deficient alkenes ind react v/ith dienes to yield 3-nitrocy-clohexenes. Nitroalkenes c in also act as heterodienes ind react v/ith olefins in the presence of Lewis acids to yield cyclic alkyl nkronates, which undergo [3- 2 cycloaddidon. Nitro compounds are precursors for nitnie oxides, alkyl nitronates, and trialkylsilyl nitronates, which undergo [3- 2 cycloaddldon reacdons. Thus, nitro compounds play important roles in the chemistry of cycloaddidon reacdons. In this chapter, recent developments of cycloaddinon chemistry of nitro compotmds and their derivadves are summarized. 

The introducdon of heterodienes has extended the synthedc versatility of cyclokldmon teac-dons in organic synthesis. " Denmark and coworkers have developed the use of rutroalkenes as dienes in [4+2 cycloaddidon. Nitroalkenes react v/ith simple alkenes in the presence of SnCi, as a promoter. For example, the reacdon of tutrocyclohexene v/ith cyclopentene gives three products. The major product is ruiri-isoraer, which arises from an fixn approach of cyclopentene toward tutrocyclohexene fsee Eq. 8.94. ... 

Hetero Diels-Alder reacdons using nitroalkenes followed by 1,3-dipolar cycloaddidons provide a nsefid strategy for the constnicdon of polycychc heterocycles, which are found in naturM products. Denmark has coined the term tandem [4t-2 /[3t-2 cycloaddidon of nitroalkenes for this type of reacdon. The tandem [4-i-2 /[3-i-2 cycloaddidon can be classified into font famihes as shown in Scheme 8.31, where A and D mean an electron acceptor and electron donor, respecdvely. " In generril, electron-rich alkenes are favored as dienophdes in [4-i-2 cycloaddidons, whereas electron-deficient alkenes are preferred as dipolarophdes in [3-i-2 cycloaddidons. 

Dipolar [3 + 2] cycloadditions are one of the most important reactions for the formation of five-membered rings [68]. The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction is frequently utihzed to obtain highly substituted pyrroHdines starting from imines and alkenes. Imines 98, obtained from a-amino esters and nitroalkenes 99, are mixed together in an open vessel microwave reactor to undergo 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition to produce highly substituted nitroprolines esters 101 (Scheme 35) [69]. Imines derived from a-aminoesters are thermally isomerized by microwave irradiation to azomethine yhdes 100,... 

A second important reaction type considered in this chapter is conjugate addition, which involves addition of nucleophiles to electrophilic double or triple bonds. A crucial requirement for this reaction is an electron-withdrawing group (EWG) that can stabilize the negative charge on the intermediate. We focus on reactions between enolates and a,(3-unsaturated carbonyl compounds and other electrophilic alkenes such as nitroalkenes. 

Scheme 2.23 provides some examples of conjugate addition reactions. Entry 1 illustrates the tendency for reaction to proceed through the more stable enolate. Entries 2 to 5 are typical examples of addition of doubly stabilized enolates to electrophilic alkenes. Entries 6 to 8 are cases of addition of nitroalkanes. Nitroalkanes are comparable in acidity to (i-ketocslcrs (see Table 1.1) and are often excellent nucleophiles for conjugate addition. Note that in Entry 8 fluoride ion is used as the base. Entry 9 is a case of adding a zinc enolate (Reformatsky reagent) to a nitroalkene. Entry 10 shows an enamine as the carbon nucleophile. All of these reactions were done under equilibrating conditions. 

A convenient preparative method for conjugated nitroalkenes has been developed based on the reaction of nitrogen oxides. Nitric oxide (NO) is commercially available and used in the industry for the mass production of nitric acid. Nitric oxide is currently one of the most studied molecules in the fields of biochemistry, medicine, and environmental science.47 Thus, the reaction of NO with alkenes under aerobic conditions is of a renewed importance.48... 

A very attractive method for the preparation of nitroalkenes, which is based on the reaction with NO, has been reported. Treatment of alkenes at ambient pressure of nitrogen monoxide (NO) at room temperature gives the corresponding nitroalkenes in fairly good yields along with P-nitroalcohols in a ratio of about 8 to 2. The nitroalcohol by-products are converted into the desired nitroalkenes by dehydration with acidic alumina in high total yield. This simple and convenient nitration procedure is applied successfully to the preparation of nitroalkenes derived from various terminal alkenes or styrenes (Eq. 2.27).53 This process is modified by the use of HY-zeolites instead of alumina. The lack of corrosiveness and the ability to regenerate and reuse the catalyst make this an attractive system (Eq. 2.28).54... 

Sonication of a chloroform solution containing the alkenes, NaNOz (10 equiv), Ce(NH4)2(N03)6 (2.0 equiv), and acetic acid (12 equiv) in a sealed tube at 25-73 °C provides an excellent way to prepare nitroalkenes. For example, cyclohexene is converted into 1-nitrocyclohexene in 96% yield by this method (Eq. 2.29).56 When the reaction is carried out in acetonitrile, the carbocation intermediates are trapped by acetonitrile to give nitroacetamides in good yield.57 Analogous nitro-acetamidation is possible by using nitronium tetrafluoroborate and acetonitrile (Eq. 2.30).58... 

Electrochemical oxidation of a mixture of alkenes, NaN02 and NaN03, in water is also a good method for the preparation of nitroalkenes.59... 

The regioselective addition of nitryl iodide to alkenes, followed by base-induced elimination, gives nitroalkenes. Nitryl iodide is generally prepared by the reaction of AgN02 and iodine. 

The synthetic applications of this reagent to the synthesis of nitroalkenes have been known since the 1960s.60 Nitration of alkenes with nitryl iodide, generated in situ from iodine and silver nitrite, is convenient for the synthesis of P-nitrostyrenes with various functional groups.61 This method is applied to the synthesis of ortho-methoxylated phenylisopropylamines, which are potent serotonine agonists (Eq. 2.31).62... 

Replacement of silver nitrite by inexpensive sodium or potassium nitrite enhances the utility of this process. Treatment of alkenes with sodium nitrite and iodine in ethyl acetate and water in the presence of ethylene glycol gives conjugated nitroalkenes in 49-82% yield.63 The method for generation of nitryl iodide is improved by the treatment of iodine with potassium nitrite complexed with 18-crown-6 in THF under sonication, as shown in Eq. 2.32s4... 

In 1978, Corey reported a general synthetic route for the conversion of alkenes to conjugated nitroalkenes via nitro-mercuration and demercuration.74 Since then, many chemists have used this method for the preparation of cyclic nitroalkenes such as 1-nitrocyclohexene. However, the use of mercury salts is not recommended even for the small-scale preparation of nitroalkenes. This reaction is not as clean as expected, and formidable efforts are required to remove the mercury in the waste. 

The synthesis of cyclic nitroalkenes via nitration of cycloalkenes is summarized in Table 2.2. Acyclic nitroalkenes are more readily prepared via the Henry reaction than by nitration of alkenes (see Section 3.2.1). 

The addition of alkoxides to 2-nitro-l-phenylthio-l-alkenes affords P-nitro-aldehyde acetals.276 The reaction of the same nitroalkenes with amines gives nitroenamines.270 They are important intermediates for organic synthesis and are generally prepared by the reaction of nitroalkanes with triethylorthoformate in the presence of alcohols or secondary amines.2"1 0 The methods of Eqs. 4.20 and 4.21 have some merits over the conventional methods, for variously substituted (3-nitro-aldehydes acetals or nitroenamines are readily prepared by these methods. 

The conversion of nitroalkanes to ketoximes can be achieved by the reduction with Zn in acetic acid,112 or Fe in acetic acid.113 Nitroalkenes are direcdy reduced into saturated ketoximes by these reagents, which are precursors for ketones (see Section 6.1.4 Nef reaction). Reduction of 3-O-ace-ty lated sugar 1 -nitro-1 -alkenes with Zn in acetic acid gives the corresponding 2,3-unsaturated sugar oximes in high yield, which is a versatile route to 2,3-unsaturated sugar derivatives (Eq. 6.58).114... 

Although Lewis acid-catalyzed-Diels-Alder reactions of enones are common, there are few reports on the catalysis of Diels-Alder reaction of nitroalkenes. The reaction of nitroalkenes with alkenes in the presence of Lewis acids undergoes a different course of reaction to give cyclic nitronates (see Section 8.3). Knochel reported an enhanced reactivity and selectivity of the intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction using silica gel as Lewis acid in hexane (Eq. 8.19).31... 

Alkyl and silyl nitronates are, in principle, /V-alkoxy and /V-silyloxynitrones, and they can react with alkenes in 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions to form /V-alkoxy- or /V-silyloxyisoxaz.olidine (see Scheme 8.25). The alkoxy and silyloxy groups can be eliminated from the adduct on heating or by acid treatment to form 2-isoxazolines. It should be noticed that isoxazolines are also obtained by the reaction of nitrile oxides with alkenes thus, nitronates can be considered as synthetic equivalents of nitrile oxides. Since the pioneering work by Torssell et al. on the development of silyl nitronates, this type of reaction has become a useful synthetic tool. Recent development for generation of cyclic nitronates by hetero Diels-Alder reactions of nitroalkenes is discussed in Section 8.3. 

Dipolar addition to nitroalkenes provides a useful strategy for synthesis of various heterocycles. The [3+2] reaction of azomethine ylides and alkenes is one of the most useful methods for the preparation of pyrolines. Stereocontrolled synthesis of highly substituted proline esters via [3+2] cycloaddition between IV-methylated azomethine ylides and nitroalkenes has been reported.147 The stereochemistry of 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides derived from aromatic aldehydes and L-proline alkyl esters with various nitroalkenes has been reported. Cyclic and acyclic nitroalkenes add to the anti form of the ylide in a highly regioselective manner to give pyrrolizidine derivatives.148... 

The simplest nitroalkene, nitroethene, undergoes Lewis acid-promoted [4+2] cycloaddition with chiral vinyl ethers to give cyclic nitronates with high diastereoselectivity. The resulting cyclic nitronates react with deficient alkenes to effect a face-selective [3+2] cycloaddition. A remote acetal center controls the stereochemistry of [3+2] cycloaddition. This strategy is applied to synthesis of the pyrrolizidine alkaloids (+)-macronecine and (+)-petasinecine (Scheme 8.33).165... 

Asymmetric tandem cycloaddition of a chiral carbohydrate nitroalkene with ethyl vinyl ether in the presence of electron-withdrawing alkenes produces a facile assembly of bicyclic systems, which can further be selectively cleaved to give homologated carbohydrates (Eq. 8.110).176... 

Dipolar cycloaddition reaction of azomethine ylides to alkynes or alkenes followed by oxidation is one of the standard methods for the preparation of pyrroles.54 Recently, this strategy has been used for the preparation of pyrroles with CF3 or Me3Si groups at the (3-positions.55 Addition of azomethine ylides to nitroalkenes followed by elimination of HN02 with base gives pyrroles in 96% yield (Eq. 10.48).56... 

Alkenes. See also Nitroalkene reduction alkane reduction, 32-45... 

Individual aspects of nitrile oxide cycloaddition reactions were the subjects of some reviews (161 — 164). These aspects are as follows preparation of 5-hetero-substituted 4-methylene-4,5-dihydroisoxazoles by nitrile oxide cycloadditions to properly chosen dipolarophiles and reactivity of these isoxazolines (161), 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of isothiazol-3(2//)-one 1,1-dioxides, 3-alkoxy- and 3-(dialkylamino)isothiazole 1,1-dioxides with nitrile oxides (162), preparation of 4,5-dihydroisoxazoles via cycloaddition reactions of nitrile oxides with alkenes and subsequent conversion to a, 3-unsaturated ketones (163), and [2 + 3] cycloaddition reactions of nitroalkenes with aromatic nitrile oxides (164). 

Initially, a complex of nitroalkene (42) with LA (A) is reversibly formed. The efficient concentration of the latter is determined by the reaction conditions and the nature of heterodiene (42) and LA. This complex acts as a Michael substrate and adds alkene (43) to give bipolar adduct B, which undergoes cycliza-tion to give cationic intermediate C. The latter eliminates LA to yield target nitronate (35). In the case of nonconcerted cycloaddition, ionic intermediate B can undergo different isomerization reactions, some of which are considered below. The stereoselectivity of the process depends on the reactive conformation... 

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