Alkenes Simmons-Smith cyclopropanation

Dihalocydopropanes readily undergo reductive dehalogenation under a variety of conditions. Suitable choice of reagents and reaction conditions will allow the synthesis of monohalocyclopropanes or the parent cyclopropanes.19 " The ease of reduction follows the expected order I > Br > Cl > F. In general, complete reduction of dibromo and dichloro compounds is accomplished by alkali metal in alcohol,99-102 liquid ammonia103 or tetrahydrofuran (equations 28 and 29).104 The dihalocydopropanes can be reduced conveniently with LAH (equation 30).105 LAH reduction is particularly suited for difluoro compounds which are resistant to dissolving metal reductions.19 106 It is noteworthy that the sequence of dihalocar-bene addition to an alkene followed by the reduction of the dihalocyclopropyl compounds (equation 31) provides a convenient and powerful alternative to Simmons-Smith cyclopropanation, which is not always reliable. 

Besides serving as a useful tool for resolution, the sulfoximine addition adduct can be utilized to direct such reactions as the Simmons-Smith cyclopropanation and 0s04 addition to an alkene. ... 

The lactone-directed intramolecular Diels-Alder cycloaddition was the key step in D.F. Taber s synthesis of trans-dihydroconfertifolin. During the endgame, the Simmons-Smith cyclopropanation was utiiized to install the gem-dimethyl group at C4. The trisubstituted alkene was cyclopropanated in excellent yield and the resulting cyclopropane was subjected to catalytic hydrogenation. 

Further improvement of the Simmons-Smith cyclopropanation reaction is the use of trialkyl-aluminum to generate the cyclopropanating intermediate by reaction with dihaloalkanes. The reaction can be carried out under mild conditions and in nonpolar solvents and is stereospecific with respect to alkene substituents. This reaction is shown mechanistically for the generalized formation of 27, Specific examples are the formation of cw-1 -methyl-2-pentylcyclo-propane (28) from (Z)-oct-2-ene, and the formation of decylcyclopropane(93%), bicyclo[6.1.0] nonane (75%) and 1-phenyl-l-(trimethylsiloxy)cyclopropane (86%). 

The first examples of the enantioselective Simmons-Smith cyclopropanations mediated by a chiral catalyst are very recent. Scheme 6.33 shows three catalysts for the cyclopropanation of rrans-cinnamyl alcohol. The most selective appears to be Charette s dioxaborolane (Scheme 6.33c, [120-122], which also affords the highest yield of product, although this procedure is only suitable for small scale.With other olefins, such as cis and trans disubstituted alkenes and P,P-trisubstituted alkenes, the yields are nearly as good and the enantioselectivities are 96-97%. An important finding in this study [120] was that, in addition to the Lewis acid (boron) that binds the alcohol, a second atom to chelate the zinc is also necessary. In the... 

The first reaction is a variation on Simmons-Smith cyclopropanation. Though strictly a carbenoid rather than a carbene, it delivers a CH2 group from an organozinc compound bound to an oxygen atom, in this case the OMe group. Only that alkene reacts. 

Three- and four-membered rings are versatile intermediates for further transformation. Tsutomu Katsuki of Kyushu University developed Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2008, 47, 2450) an elegant Al(salalen) catalyst for the enantioselective Simmons-Smith cyclopropanation of allylic alcohols such as 3. Kazuaki Ishihara of Nagoya University found J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007,129, 8930) chiral amine salts that effected enantioselective 2-1-2 cycloaddition of a-acyloxyacroleins such as 5 to alkenes to give the cyclobutane 7 with high enantio- and diastereocontrol. 

Simmons-Smith reagent Named after the duPont chemists who discovered that diiodo-mechane would react with an active zinc-copper couple in ether to give a reagent with molecular formula ICHiZnl. The reagent adds stereospecifically cis- to alkenes to give cyclopropanes in high yields. 

This reaction is called the Smmons-Smith reaction and is one of the few methods avail able for the synthesis of cyclopropanes Mechanistically the Simmons-Smith reaction seems to proceed by a single step cycloaddition of a methylene (CH2) unit from lodomethylzmc iodide to the alkene... 

Simmons-Smith reaction (Section 14 12) Reaction of an alkene with lodomethylzmc iodide to form a cyclopropane denvative... 

It is clear that free CH2 is not involved in the Simmons-Smith reaction, but there is substantial evidence to indicate that caibenes aie formed as intermediates in certain other reactions that convert alkenes to cyclopropanes. The most studied exanples of these reactions involve dichlorocaibene and dibromocaibene. 

Without question, the most powerful method for cyclopropane formation by methylene transfer is the well-known Simmons-Smith reaction [6]. In 1958, Simmons and Smith reported that the action of a zinc-copper couple on diiodomethane generates a species that can transform a wide variety of alkenes into the corresponding cyclopropanes (Scheme 3.3) [7]. 

By application of the Simmons-Smith reaction it is possible to synthesize a cyclopropane from an alkene by formal addition of carbene to the carbon-carbon double bond, without a free carbene being present in the reaction mixture the... 

A carbene, R2C , is a neutral molecule containing a divalent carbon with only six valence electrons. Carbenes are highly reactive toward alkenes, adding to give cyclopropanes. Nonlialogenated cyclopropanes are best prepared by treatment of the alkene with CH212 and zinc-copper, a process called the Simmons-Smith reaction. 

Simmons-Smith reaction (Section 7.6) The reaction of an alkene with CH2l2 and Zn—Cu to yield a cyclopropane. 

Cyclopropanation with Halomethylzinc Reagents. A very effective means for conversion of alkenes to cyclopropanes by transfer of a CH2 unit involves reaction with methylene iodide and a zinc-copper couple, referred to as the Simmons-Smith reagent.169 The reactive species is iodomethylzinc iodide.170 The transfer of methylene occurs stereospecifically. Free CH2 is not an intermediate. Entries 1 to 3 in Scheme 10.9 are typical examples. 

Among methods of preparing optically active cyclopropane compounds, the Simmons-Smith reaction, first reported in 1958, is of significance. This reaction refers to the cyclopropanation of alkene with a reagent prepared in situ from a zinc-copper alloy and diiodomethane. The reaction is stereospecific with respect to the geometry of the alkene and is generally free from side reactions in contrast to reactions involving free carbenes. 

The transition metal-catalyzed cyclopropanation of alkenes with diazomethane is a valuable alternative to Simmons-Smith methodology [645]. Because of the mild reaction conditions under which this reaction takes place, diazomethane is the reagent of choice if sensitive olefins are to be cyclopropanated [646-648]. 

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