Allenyl electrophiles allenylation

Scheme 3.22. Tandem insertion of allenyl carbenoids and electrophiles into zirconacycles.

Moreover, propargyl oxiranes 202 were found to react with samarium diiodide and ketones to form a,a -dihydroxyallenes 203 with moderate to high anti-diastereo-selectivities (Scheme 2.62). Aurrecoechea and co-workers [99] reported this reductive coupling to proceed smoothly in the absence of a palladium catalyst, i.e. a direct electron transfer from the samarium(II) to the substrate has to take place in order to generate an allenyl/propargyl samarium intermediate of type 184/185, which is then regioselectively trapped by the electrophile. 

As shown in the previous sections, a (cr-allenyl)palladium species, which is formed from a propargyl electrophile and a Pd(0) catalyst, reacts with a hard carbon nucleophile in a manner analogous to the Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction to give a substituted allene. The results indicate that the reactivity of the (cj-allenyl)palladium species is similar to that of an alkenylpalladium intermediate. Indeed, it was found that the (cr-allenyl)palladium species reacted with olefins to give vinylallenes, a reaction process that is similar to that of the Heck reaction of alkenyl halides [54]. 

The Pd-catalyzed reaction of propargyl electrophiles with carbon monoxide is a convenient route to allenyl carboxylic acid derivatives. In 1986, Tsuji et al. reported the Pd-catalyzed decarboxylation-carbonylation of propargyl carbonates under a CO at-... 

Only a few examples exist describing the products from the allenylic/propargylic carbanion resulting from the deprotonation of 18 and reaction with other electrophiles instead of protons which lead to products analogous to 19 [48]. Thus, treating the propargyl compound 21 with tetrabutylammonium fluoride (TBAF) in the presence of benzaldehyde furnishes the C,C-connected compound 22 [41]. 

The attack of the nucleophile on the acceptor-substituted allene usually happens at the central sp-hybridized carbon atom. This holds true also if no nucleophilic addition but a nucleophilic substitution in terms of an SN2 reaction such as 181 — 182 occurs (Scheme 7.30) [245]. The addition of ethanol to the allene 183 is an exception [157]. In this case, the allene not only bears an acceptor but shows also the substructure of a vinyl ether. A change in the regioselectivity of the addition of nucleophilic compounds NuH to allenic esters can be effected by temporary introduction of a triphenylphosphonium group [246]. For instance, the ester 185 yields the phos-phonium salt 186, which may be converted further to the ether 187. Evidently, the triphenylphosphonium group induces an electrophilic character at the terminal carbon atom of 186 and this is used to produce 187, which is formally an abnormal product of the addition of methanol to the allene 185. This method of umpolung is also applicable to nucleophilic addition reactions to allenyl ketones in a modified procedure [246, 247]. 

Among the many useful electrophiles, carbonyl compounds and their derivatives lead to products of the highest value for synthetic endeavors. First experiments with aldehydes and ketones were performed by Hoff, Brandsma and Arens (Scheme 8.15) [12b]. The primary allenyl adducts 60, which are isolable in moderate to excellent yields [12b, 47], serve as starting materials for subsequent cyclizations (see Section 8.2.2.2). 

Allenyl ethers are useful key building blocks for the synthesis of a-methylene-y-butyrolactones [129, 130], The synthesis of the antileukemic botryodiplodin was accomplished with the crucial steps briefly presented in Scheme 8.56. Bromoallenyl ethers 225 were easily prepared by base-induced isomerization from the corresponding /3-bromoalkyl alkynyl ether compounds and then subjected to electrophilic bro-mination with NBS. The resulting acetals 226 were converted into 2-alkoxy-3-methy-lenetetrahydrofurans 227 by dehydrohalogenation of the alkenyl bromide unit to an alkyne and subsequent radical cyclization employing tributyltin hydride [130],... 

In contrast to the rich chemistry of alkoxy- and aryloxyallenes, synthetic applications of nitrogen-substituted allenes are much less developed. Lithiation at the C-l position followed by addition of electrophiles can also be applied to nitrogen-containing allenes [10]. Some representative examples with dimethyl sulfide and carbonyl compounds are depicted in Scheme 8.73 [147, 157]. a-Hydroxy-substituted (benzotriazo-le) allenes 272 are accessible in a one-pot procedure described by Katritzky and Verin, who generated allenyl anion 271 and trapped it with carbonyl compounds to furnish products 272 [147]. The subsequent cyclization of 272 leading to dihydro-furan derivative 273 was achieved under similar conditions to those already mentioned for oxygen-substituted allenes. 

Another modification of the deprotonation/isomerization sequence starts with easily accessible 1-thio-substituted 1-propynes 303. Their deprotonation at the y-position generates allenyl anions that could be trapped regioselectively by different electrophiles R2X (Scheme 8.81) [167-169]. The resulting C-l-substituted allenyl sulfides 304 were obtained in high yields. 

These reactions are thought to proceed by initial formation of the lithio propargylic alcohol adduct, which undergoes a reversible Brook rearrangement (Eq. 9.14). The resulting propargyllithium species can equilibrate with the allenyl isomer and subsequent reaction with the alkyl iodide electrophile takes place at the allenic site. An intramolecular version of this alkylation reaction leads to cyclic allenylidene products (Eq. 9.15). 

B-Allenyl-9-BBN has also been shown to react cleanly and efficiently with other electrophiles [27]. Not surprisingly, aldehydes show the highest reactivity. In a competition experiment between benzaldehyde and acetophenone at -78 °C, the aldehyde adduct predominated by more than 30 l(Eq. 9.22). Competition experiments with other carbonyl compounds showed a similar bias for aldehyde adducts. 

Acid chlorides were also shown to be reactive electrophiles. B-Allenyl-9-BBN affords tertiary bis-homopropargylic alcohols in satisfactory yields upon reaction with acetyl or benzoyl chloride (Eq. 9.23). 

Electrophilic addition of PhI(OAc)2 to 1,2-allenyl ether led to the formation of 3-acetoxy-3-alkoxy-l-propyne [51]. 

Although the preparation of the substituted allene ether substrates for the Nazarov reaction is not the topic of this chapter, it is necessary to mention a few aspects of their synthesis. Lithioallene 1 (Eq. 13.13) can be trapped with chlorotri-methylsilane to give 35 [6]. Exposure of 35 to sec- or tert-butyllithium leads to allenyl-lithium 36, which can be trapped with alkyl halides or other electrophiles to give 37. Desilylation of 37 leads to 38. This is somewhat laborious, but it leads to allene 38 uncontaminated by propargyl ether 39. Exposure of 39 to n-butyllithium, followed by quenching with acid, typically produces mixtures of 38 and 39 that are difficult to separate. Fortunately, one need not prepare allenes 38 in order to access the C6-sub-... 

The reactivity of allenyl ketones is also manifested in the Hg(II)-catalyzed ipso substitution that converts 54 to spirodione 55 (Eq. 13.17) [19]. The reaction presumably involves activation of the allene by Hg(II), followed by intramolecular electrophilic attack on the aromatic ring. Hydrolytic cleavage of the metal from the intermediate product of the reaction, followed by rearrangement leads to the observed spirocyclic dione. 

As previously mentioned, allenes can only be obtained by 1,6-addition to acceptor-substituted enynes when the intermediate allenyl enolate reacts regioselectively with an electrophile at C-2 (or at the enolate oxygen atom to give an allenyl ketene acetal see Scheme 4.2). The regioselectivity of the simplest trapping reaction, the protonation, depends on the steric and electronic properties of the substrate, as well as the proton source. Whereas the allenyl enolates obtained from alkynyl enones 22 always provide conjugated dienones 23 by protonation at G-4 (possibly... 

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