Allyl additions allyltitanium reagents

Only few allyltitanium reagents bearing a removable chiral auxiliary at the allylic residue are known. The outstanding example is a metalated 1-alkyl-2-imidazolinone14, derived from (—)-ephedrine, representing a valuable homoenolate reagent. After deprotonation by butyllithium, metal exchange with chlorotris(diethylamino)titanium, and aldehyde or ketone addition, the homoaldol adducts are formed with 94 to 98% diastereoselectivity. 

Alkylidenecydopropane derivatives can readily be prepared by the reaction of 1 with vinylcyclopropyl carbonates and subsequent trapping of the resulting allyltitaniums with aldehydes or ketones (Eq. 9.24) [44], It should be noted that, in this case, the carbon—carbon bond formation occurs at the less substituted allylic terminus, and not at the more substituted end of the titanium reagent, the latter being the position at which addition to substituted allyltitanium reagents is usually observed. 

Generation and Reaction of Allyltitanium Reagents (Section 9.3) 2-(4-Bromophenyl)-l-phenyl-3-buten-l-ol [42] To a solution of l-(4-bromophenyl)allyl ethyl carbonate (285 mg, 1.0 mmol) and Ti(OiPr)4 (0.296 mL, 1.0 mmol) in diethyl ether (5 mL) was added iPrMgBr (1.20 m in diethyl ether, 2.0 mmol) at 50 °C. The resulting yellow solution was stirred at —50 to —40 °C for 1.5 h, in the course of which it became brown. Benzaldehyde (74.3 mg, 0.70 mmol) was then added at —40 °C and the mixture was allowed to warm to 0 °C over a period of 30 min. After the addition of aqueous 1 n HC1 (5 mL) at this temperature, the mixture was allowed to warm to ambient temperature. The organic layer was separated and the aqueous layer was extracted with diethyl ether (10 mL). The combined organic layers were washed with saturated aqueous NaHC03 solution (5 mL), dried over... 

The lithiation of ethyl allyl sulfide followed by transmetallation with titanium isopropoxide engenders an allyltitanium reagent formulated as (26 Scheme 8). This and related reagents add to aldehydes or ketones to afford hydroxy sulfides, which are converted to epoxides as shown. The power of this method for the stereoselective generation of even trisubstituted epoxides is evident from Scheme 8 and equation (18). Reagent (26a), prepared as shown in Scheme 8a, undergoes addition to ketone (26b) to afford product exclusively resulting from chelation-controlled diastereofacial addition (as a mixture of epimers at the position shown). ... 

The chiral allyltitanium reagents prepared from the reaction of allyl Grignard or lithium reagents with chiral titanium complexes have been used stoichiomet-rically for the allylic addition to aldehydes with excellent enantioselectivities [71] (Scheme 14.16). Various applications of this methodology in the synthesis of natural products have been reviewed in several articles [72]. 

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