Alkylidene halides, reduction

Bond constructions similar to those just discussed can be achieved using an alkylidene malonate which is tethered to an alkyl bromide [72]. Of particular interest in this context is the controlled potential reductive cyclization of 263. As illustrated, the method provides a reasonably facile and modestly efficient entry to cyclobutanes 264. Presumably, the process is initiated by reduction of the alkylidene malonate rather than the alkyl halide, since alkyl bromides are more difficult to reduce. The same substrate, when reduced with L-Selectride undergoes conjugate addition of hydride and a subsequent cyclization leading to the five-membered ring 265. The latter transformation constitutes an example of a MIRC reaction [71-73], a process which is clearly complementary to the... 

The radical intermediates from Cr(II) reduction of alkyl halides can in principle be used synthetically, but have only seen limited attention to this point. co-Haloalkynes (bromides, iodides), in the presence of excess Cr(C104)2, undergo cyclization reactions to form exo-alkylidene cycloalkanes (equation 176)347. These reactions proceed by the radical cyclization of intermediate 42 onto the alkyne unit, which undergoes subsequent reduction by Cr(II) to give a hydrolytically unstable vinylchromium(III). Rings of four, five and six members can be formed. Alternatively, a-iodo esters undergo intramolecular atom transfer radical cyclizations onto alkynes or alkenes with catalytic or stoichiometric amounts of... 

Several other transannular lactonizations and reductions have been reported to proceed in high overall yields. Also other acid derivatives, such as amides and esters, cyclize to form lactones. Alkynoic acids have been lactonized to y-alkylidene-y-lactones in good yield, e.g. the conversion of (31) to (32 equation 29). Unfortunately the vinyl selenide product can isomerize from ( ) to (Z) in a secondary process. Analogous lactam formation is also known. Unsaturated amides, when cyclized with benzenese-lenenyl halides, produce good yields of lactams or iminolactones depending upon the alkene utilized. The amide (33) cyclizes to the iminolactone (34), producing a mixture of stereoisomers (65 35 Scheme 5). The amide (35) is cyclized to lactam (36) in moderate yield. 

Reduction of alkylidene malonates (60) in MeOH in an undivided cell using alkali metal halides as supporting electrolytes results in the unusual formation of 3,4-disubsti-tuted 1,1,2,2-cyclobutanetetracarboxylates, 61 [141]. Cyclobutane formation requires 4-7 F and is not a radical anion-catalyzed cycloaddition. The process was explained by the mechanism in Scheme 11, where the cyclization takes place by chemical oxidation of the... 

Not surprisingly, Ni(I)-catalyzed reductive cyclization of halides onto alkynes requires conditions similar to the Ni(I)-catalyzed reductive cyclization of halides onto alkenes. The alkynes are converted into alkylidene- or benzylidene-substituted five-mem-bered rings [234-236,243]. 

In contrast to allyl halides substituted with one ASG, the cyclopropanation reaction proceeds relatively smoothly when a second ASG is present. Generally, the best results are obtained with sodium borohydride, sodium cyanide, potassium cyanide, and the sodium salts of alcohols or thiols as the nucleophilic species (Table 22, entries 3-26). Even spiroalkanes can be synthesized with the nucleophiles described above (Table 23). Examples illustrating this route are the conversion of a tetracyclic enamino ester with potassium cyanide to the corresponding electrophilic cyclopropane 2, and the facile one-pot synthesis of 1,1 -bis(hydroxymethyl)cyclo-propanes 3 by reduction of halogenated alkylidene malonates with lithium aluminium hydride. ... 

Balme has reported a one-pot threecomponent alkene carboamination between propargylic amines, alkylidene malonates, and aryl halides [43]. For example, treatment of N-methyl propargylamine (2 equiv), dimethyl benzylidene malonate (2 equiv) and 1,4-diiodobenzene (1 equiv) with n-BuLi and a palladium catalyst provided 43 as a single diastereomer (Eq. (1.20)) [43a]. The formation of the C—N bond in this process does not appear to be metal catalyzed. Instead, initial conjugate addition of the nitrogen nucleophile to the activated alkene affords a malonate anion, which undergoes carbopalladation followed by reductive elimination to afford the pyrrolidine product. 

B.i.b. Alkynes Containing Proximate 1,3-Dicarbonyl Groups. 2-Propargyl-1,3-dicarbonyl compounds react with alkenyl triflates or alkenyl/aryl/heteroaryl halides to give 2,3,5-trisubstituted-furans (Scheme 4). The process probably proceeds through an oxypalladation step that involves a nucleophilic attack of a stabilized enolate across the activated carbon-carbon triple bond, reductive elimination of a palladium(0) species from the resultant oxypalladation adduct, and isomerization of the initially formed alkylidene derivative. 

This method is specific for metallacyclopentanes. The alkene-coupling process is favored by metal reduction. A typical synthetic strategy is the in situ reduction of a metal halide precursor in the presence of the alkene see, for example, the synthesis of 79 in Scheme 34.1 An alkylidene precursor may also lead to a metallacycle with elimination of the car-bene ligand as in the synthesis of 81, representing a deactivation pathway for alkene metathesis catalysts. Ilie two alkenes may be generated in situ in the coordination sphere by rearrangement processes, such as intramolecular hydrogen transfer from an alkyl-vinyl precursor. I ... 

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