Alkenes with cyclopropane ring

The types of cycloadditions discovered for enamines range through a regular sequence starting with divalent addition to form a cyclopropane ring, followed by 1,2 addition (i) of an alkene or an alkyne to form a cyclo-cyclobutane or a cyclobutene, then 1,3-dipolar addition with the enamine the dipolarophile 4), and finally a Diels-Alder type of reaction (5) with the enamine the dienophile. 

Non-heteroatom-stabilised Fischer carbene complexes also react with alkenes to give mixtures of olefin metathesis products and cyclopropane derivatives which are frequently the minor reaction products [19]. Furthermore, non-heteroatom-stabilised vinylcarbene complexes, generated in situ by reaction of an alkoxy- or aminocarbene complex with an alkyne, are able to react with different types of alkenes in an intramolecular or intermolecular process to produce bicyclic compounds containing a cyclopropane ring [20]. 

Cyclopropane ring cleavage is also observed in the case of zirconocene 2-alkene and j 2-imine complexes with adjacent cyclopropane rings to give t/3-allyl, /3-azaallyl, and t/ -enamine complexes [29]. 

Diols generally react with dichlorocarbene to produce a mixture of alkenes and chlorinated cyclopropanes or chloroalkanes, depending on the reaction conditions whereas, under phase-transfer catalysed conditions, the major products are the alkenes and epoxides produced by ring closure of the initial adduct (Scheme 7.20) [14]. When an excess of chloroform is used, further reaction of the alkenes with dichlorocarbene produces the cycloadducts. In addition to the formation of the alkene and epoxide, 1,2-dihydroxycyclooctane yields cyclooctanone, via a 1,2-hydride shift within the intermediate carbenium ion. 

One of the most efficient procedures for the synthesis of cyclopropanes is the reaction of alkenes with electrophilic carbene complexes. In this process up to three stereogenic centers can be generated in one step. Cyclopropanes are a key structural element encountered in many natural products with interesting biological activity. Further, by virtue of the ability of cyclopropanes to undergo ring-opening reactions these compounds can be valuable synthetic intermediates. 

The reaction of heteroatom-substituted alkenes with electrophilic carbene complexes can lead to the formation of highly reactive, donor-acceptor-substituted cyclopropanes. This type of cyclopropane usually undergoes ring fission and rearrangement reactions under milder conditions than do unsubstituted cyclopropanes (Figure 4.22). 

It is obvious from these trials that it is rather difficult to realize smooth transformation of alkynylcyclopropanes to cyclopentene derivatives. This difficulty presumably arises from the longer distance between the alkyne terminus and the cyclopropane ring compared with that between the latter and an alkene ter-... 

Substitution of the VCP is tolerated both on and adjacent to the cyclopropane ring. Diester-substituted and heteroatom (O, NTs) tethers are well tolerated. Reactions were conducted with 2-10 mol% catalyst at up to 0.20 M, as illustrated. Most importantly, reactions with the naphthalene catalyst were found to be more rapid than those with other catalysts. For example substrate 54 is readily converted in >99% yield to cycloadduct 55 in only 15 min at room temperature (entry 1). Complex 93 efficiently catalyzes the reactions of both alkynes and alkenes with VCPs, offering greater generahty than thus far observed with non-rhodium catalysts. This catalyst is particularly advantageous in the cases of substrates 100 and 102, for which the desired product is not formed cleanly with Wilkinson s catalyst due to product isomerization. 

From this compound as well as from other alkylcyclohexanes the yield of ring-opening products is relatively small, about = 0.1-0.4, and G = 0.3-1.6 [108,110] (Table 6), while usually the main decomposition process is the hydrogen formation, which leaves the cyclic structure intact. Here, and with the other alkylcyclohexanes and alkylcyclopentanes, the scission of the ring to smaller molecular mass alkenes and cyclopropane derivates was detected with very low yield. 

All-carbon ene reactions can go in reverse when ring-strain is released 6.24. This reaction is curious, because it could also be considered as a homologue of a [1,53-sigmatropic rearrangement—it is quite common to think of the chemistry of cyclopropanes as similar to that of alkenes. With heteroatoms in the chain it is possible to drive such reactions in reverse without having to release strain. Thus esters such as acetates and benzoates undergo a cyclic (3-elimination on pyrolysis. This type of elimination is known to be syn... 

The final carbocation may be discharged by loss of a proton (giving an alkene or sometimes a cyclopropane ring) or by quenching with a suitable nucleophile, especially water [Figure 2.5(c)]. 

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