Alkenes selenium reagents

This reaction depends upon the facile solvolysis of (J-haloselenides and the facile oxidative elimination of a selenoxide, which was discussed in Section 6.6.3. An alternative method, which is experimentally simpler, involves reaction of alkenes with a mixture of diphenyl diselenide and phenylseleninic acid.189 The two selenium reagents generate an electrophilic selenium species, phenylselenenic acid, PhSeOH. 

Recently, the semi-synthesis of Vancomycin (48) on solid supports was accomplished using an allylic linker (Scheme 3.2) [123, 124]. Polymer-bound chiral electrophilic selenium reagents have been developed and applied to stereoselective se-lenylation reactions of various alkenes (Tab. 3.9) [125]. 

Reactions leading to the formation of alkenic or a,/3-unsaturated bonds are very important in synthesis. This type of functionality is synthetically versatile, and of wide utility in the carbohydrate field. The use of sulfur reagents for conversion of sugar epoxides on vicinal disulfonates into al-kenes is well established97a 97b, and subsequent work with selenium reagents provided essentially comparable results. Thus, treatment of methyl 2,3-anhydro-4,6-0-benzylidene-a-D-mannopyranoside (219) with potassium selenocyanate in aqueous 2-methoxymethanol afforded methyl 4,6-0-benzylidene-2,3-dideoxy-a-D-ery/firo-hex-2-enopyranoside (220).27 Similarly, treatment of 5,6-anhydro-l,2-0-isopropylidene-a-D-glucofuranose (221) with potassium selenocyanate in methanol at room temperature... 

There have been many studies on the use of chiral electrophilic selenium reagents for stereoselective additions to alkenes <1998JA3376, B-1999MI35, 1999T1, 2000AGE3740> with notable diastereoselectivity in some cases. 

As discussed in Section 1.07.6.4, addition of electrophilic selenium reagents to alkenes, which is suggested to lead to seleniranium ion intermediates, has been extensively studied. Some recent examples are also illustrated in that section. 

Very recently, using polystyrene beads, the preparation of some polymer-sup-ported selenium reagents has been described by Nicolaou [28]. Polymer-bound selenium bromide and selenium phthahmide act as efficient selenenylating agents of alkenes. In view of their versatility and ease of handhng these reagents can find useful applications in sohd phase and combinatorial synthesis. 

Synthesis of furans with chiral substituents with high diastereoselectivity was achieved by using an optically active electrophilic selenium reagent via a carboselenenylation reaction of simple aryl-conjugated alkenes <05AG(E)3588>. 

Selenium dioxide is a useful reagent for allylic oxidation of alkenes. The products can include enones, allylic alcohols, or allylic esters, depending on the reaction conditions. The mechanism consists of three essential steps (a) an electrophilic ene reaction with Se02, (b) a [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement that restores the original location of the double bond, and (c) solvolysis of the resulting selenium ester.183... 

The equivalent to allylic oxidation of alkenes, but with allylic transposition of the carbon-carbon double bond, can be carried out by an indirect oxidative process involving addition of an electrophilic arylselenenyl reagent, followed by oxidative elimination of selenium. In one procedure, addition of an arylselenenyl halide is followed by solvolysis and oxidative elimination. 

Selenium dioxide is also an oxygen donor to alkenes. In this case, however, the initial reaction of the double bond is with the selenium center followed by two pericyclic steps. After hydrolysis of the organo-selenium intermediate, the result is a hydroxylation at the allylic carbon position65. Thus, limonene (2) yields racemic p-mentha-l,8(9)-dien-4-ol66. The high toxicity of selenium intermediates and prevalence of many rearrangements has limited the widespread use of the reagent in synthesis. 

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