Alkylation Lewis Acid Activated

Intramolecular addition of trialkylboranes to imines and related compounds have been reported and the main results are part of review articles [94, 95]. Addition of ethyl radicals generated from Et3B to aldimines affords the desired addition product in fair to good yield but low diaster control (Scheme 40, Eq. 40a) [96]. Similar reactions with aldoxime ethers [97], aldehyde hydrazones [97], and N-sulfonylaldimines [98] are reported. Radical addition to ketimines has been recently reported (Eq. 40b) [99]. Addition of triethylborane to 2H-azirine-3-carboxylate derivatives is reported [100]. Very recently, Somfai has extended this reaction to the addition of different alkyl radicals generated from trialkylboranes to a chiral ester of 2ff-azirine-3-carboxylate under Lewis acid activation with CuCl (Eq. 40c) [101]. 

The 1 1 adducts of various carboxylic acids and styrene, vinyl ethers, and isobutene have been isolated and used as initiators in the presence of Lewis acid activators. The polymerization rates correlate with the basicity of the leaving groups. However, isobutene polymerizes =103 times slower when initiated by pivalates and isobutyrates in the presence of BC13 than when initiated by acetates, even though they have similar pKa values [106]. Coordination of the covalent adducts with BC13 is evidently hindered when the alkyl substituents are bulkier. More detailed studies on vinyl ether polymerizations using a series of substituted benzoates demonstrate that the pKa values of the parent acid affects both the initiation rate and dynamics of ionization, and therefore the ability to prepare well-defined polymers [107]. 

Allylstannanes can be employed as nucleophiles and they add efficiently to Lewis acid-activated aldehydes (Sch. 33) [68]. The chiral reagent 137 activates alkyl aldehydes towards allylation no enantioselectivity for the alcohol 138 was observed. 

Nucleophilic addition to less reactive ketone carbonyls by Lewis acid activation is also possible. Evans and co-workers have reported enol silane addition to pyruvate esters mediated by chiral copper Lewis acids (Sch. 36) [72]. The aldol reactions proceed with high facial selectivity to provide the tertiary alcohol products 153. The chemical efficiency is, however, reduced when a bulky alkyl group is present at the ketone carbonyl. Addition of more functionalized enol silanes (155) to keto esters enables the establishment of two contiguous chiral centers, a substitution pattern present in a variety of natural products. The stereochemistry of the major product is syn, irrespective of the enol silane geometry. Once again, bidentate coordination of the substrate to the Lewis acid was essential for obtaining high selectivity. 

About 15 years ago, Aube et al. reported that alkyl azides undergo Lewis acid-mediated reactions with ketones 76 to give the corresponding lactams 78 via 77 (Azido-Schmidt reaction Scheme 14A) [44-48]. However, this reaction pathway does not proceed when a,/3-unsaturated ketones are used. It was recently shown that Lewis acid-activated enones like 79 undergo a [3-P2] cycloaddition with alkylazides, likely via an 1,2,3-triazoline intermediate 80, to give the corresponding enaminone 80 (Scheme 14B) [49]. 

The Houben-Hoesch reaction proceeds via a straightforward electrophilic aromatic substitution mechanism. Following protonation or Lewis acid activation of the alkyl nitrile, nucleophilic attack by the electron-rich pyrrole selectively at C(2) produces the resonance stabilized intermediate 1. Elimination of H" reestablishes the aromaticity of the pyrrole, resulting in imine 2, which is rapidly hydrolyzed to produce the ketone 3. ... 

In 1999, Jacobsen reported on a catalytic asymmetric conjugated addition of hydrazoic acid to unsaturated imide derivatives (Equation 4.1). This breakthrough was possible through the use of aluminium salen azide complex 1 as catalyst. The reaction proceeded in excellent yields and enantioselectivities for alkyl substituted acceptors. Two mechanisms were proposed for this reaction activation of the azide as an aluminium azide as shown by Chung and co-workers or Lewis acid activation of the imide. The first-order dependence of the rate law on catalyst 1 indicated that dual activation was improbable. In 2005, Jacobsen reported on the extension of this methodology to ,j8-unsaturated ketones. 

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