Alkenes, reductive coupling radicals

A much more highly diastereoselective process results when alkenic 3-keto ester and 3-ketoamide substrates can be utilized in the ketone-alkene reductive coupling process. Both electron deficient and unactivated alkenes can be utilized in the reaction (equations 65 and 66). In such examples, one can take advantage of chelation to control the relative stereochemistry about the developing hydroxy and car-boxylate stereocenters. Favorable secondary orbital interactions between the developing methylene radical center and the alkyl group of the ketyl,and/or electrostatic interactions in the transition state account for stereochemical control at the third stereocenter. 

Photo-addition of alkenes to A methylnaphthalene dicarboxamides in benzene has been studied. The structure of the arene moiety in the imide was important in determining the reaction path. Mainly cyclobutane and oxetan formation occurred. The dicarboximide (342) undergoes photochemical cyclization with incorporation of methanol to yield the two products (343) and (344) in 55 and 16% respectively. This type of cyclization appears to be quite general for such systems and is also reported for the imides (345) and (346). A variety of products resulting from aminolysis, reduction, and radical coupling is produced on irradiation of the phthalimide (347) in diethylamine. ... 

Organic fluorine compounds and methods for their preparation are the central topic of the next four procedures. Much of the synthetic versatility of methyl phenyl sulfone is embodied in FLUOROMETHYL PHENYL SULFONE and the fluoro Pummerer reaction of methyl phenyl sulfoxide with DAST is a key step in its preparation. The utility of this fluoromethyl sulfone in the preparation of fluoroalkenes Is demonstrated in a companion procedure for Z-[2-(FLUOROMETHYLENE) CYCLOHEXYL]BENZENE, a procedure with several prominent stereoselective features. Geminal difluoroalkenes are featured in the following procedure. (3,3 DIFLUOROALLYL)TRIMETHYLSILANE is prepared by a method in which the radical addition of dibromodifluoromethane to alkenes and the selective reduction of a-bromoalkylsilanes are key steps. A procedure for nucleophilic introduction of the trifluoromethyl group completes this set. The key reagent, (TRIFLUOROMETHYL)-TRIMETHYLSILANE is obtained by reductive coupling of TMS chloride and bromotrifluoromethane. Liberation of a CF3- equivalent with fluoride ion in the presence of cyclohexanone affords 1-TRIFLUOROMETHYL-1-CYCLOHEXANOL. 

The reductive coupling of ketones or aldehydes with electrophilic alkenes such as conjugated esters (Scheme 52) has been described independently by Inanaga et al. [38] and Fukuzawa et al. [123,124]. The reaction was performed in THF either in the presence of HMPA [38] or an alcohol [123,124]. The mechanistic aspects of this reaction have been discussed [ 124]. Presumably, the ketyl radical or its protonated form adds to ethyl acrylate with formation of the C-C bond. An efficient enantioselective synthesis of v-butyrolactones has been derived by using AT-methylephedrinyl acrylate or crotonate [125]. One example (synthesis of 33) is indicated in Scheme 52. 

Iron porphyrins containing vinyl ligands have also been prepared by hydromet-allation of alkynes with Fe(TPP)CI and NaBH4 in toluene/methanol. Reactions with hex-2-yne and hex-3-yne are shown in Scheme 4. with the former giving two isomers. Insertion of an alkyne into an Fe(III) hydride intermediate, Fe(TPP)H, formed from Fe(TPP)Cl with NaBH4, has been proposed for these reactions. " In superficially similar chemistry, Fe(TPP)CI (present in 10 mol%) catalyzes the reduction of alkenes and alkynes with 200 mol% NaBH4 in anaerobic benzene/ethanol. For example, styrene is reduced to 2,3-diphenylbutane and ethylbenzene. Addition of a radical trap decreases the yield of the coupled product, 2,3-diphenylbutane. Both Fe(lll) and Fe(II) alkyls, Fe(TPP)CH(Me)Ph and [Fe(TPP)CH(Me)Ph] , were propo.sed as intermediates, but were not observed directly. ... 

Radical anions resulting from cathodic reductions of molecules react with electrophilic centers. As an example (Scheme 8), the reduction of compounds in which a double bond is not conjugated with a carbonyl group, involves an intramolecular coupling reaction of radical anion with alkene [12]. 

Scheme 6.33 illustrates an example of some zinc-induced three-component coupling reactions of alkyl iodides, electron-deficient alkenes, and carbonyl compounds [51]. In this instance, the isopropyl radical is generated by a one-electron reduction of isopropyl iodide followed by elimination of iodide ion. The resulting radical then adds to acrylonitrile to form an a-cyano alkyl radical, which is con-... 

The Cp2TiCl/H20 combination can also be used for the chemoselective reduction of aromatic ketones. The reaction discriminates between ketones and alkenes, between ketones and esters and, remarkably, between conjugated and non-conjugated ketones [80]. There is strong evidence that this reduction proceeds via ketyl-type radicals, which are finally reduced by H-atom transfer from 42 [81]. Under dry conditions, titanium-promoted ketyl radicals from aromatic ketones can be used for intermolecular and intramolecular cross-coupling of ketones [82], Thus, depending on whether water is added or not, complementary and versatile synthetic procedure protocols are available. 

---