Allyl sulfoxide elimination

In addition to the synthetic applications related to the stereoselective or stereospecific syntheses of various systems, especially natural products, described in the previous subsection, a number of general synthetic uses of the reversible [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement of allylic sulfoxides are presented below. Several investigators110-113 have employed the allylic sulfenate-to-sulfoxide equilibrium in combination with the syn elimination of the latter as a method for the synthesis of conjugated dienes. For example, Reich and coworkers110,111 have reported a detailed study on the conversion of allylic alcohols to 1,3-dienes by sequential sulfenate sulfoxide rearrangement and syn elimination of the sulfoxide. This method of mild and efficient 1,4-dehydration of allylic alcohols has also been shown to proceed with overall cis stereochemistry in cyclic systems, as illustrated by equation 25. The reaction of trans-46 proceeds almost instantaneously at room temperature, while that of the cis-alcohol is much slower. This method has been subsequently applied for the synthesis of several natural products, such as the stereoselective transformation of the allylic alcohol 48 into the sex pheromone of the Red Bollworm Moth (49)112 and the conversion of isocodeine (50) into 6-demethoxythebaine (51)113. 

Because of the mildness of the procedure, this is probably the best means of accomplishing this conversion. See page 555 for another application of the selenoxide reaction. Allylic sulfoxides undergo 1,4 elimination to give dienes. 

Sulfoxide elimination in conjunction with [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement has been used to convert allylic alcohols to dienes. 

Scheme 4.56 Chiral allenes via elimination of chiral allylic sulfoxides.

Bromination of the enol ether product with two equivalents of bromine followed by dehydrobromination afforded the Z-bromoenol ether (Eq. 79) which could be converted to the zinc reagent and cross-coupled with aryl halides [242]. Dehydrobromination in the presence of thiophenol followed by bromination/dehydrobromination affords an enol thioether [243]. Oxidation to the sulfone, followed by exposure to triethylamine in ether, resulted in dehydrobromination to the unstable alkynyl sulfone which could be trapped with dienes in situ. Alternatively, dehydrobromination of the sulfide in the presence of allylic alcohols results in the formation of allyl vinyl ethers which undergo Claisen rearrangements [244]. Further oxidation followed by sulfoxide elimination results in highly unsaturated trifluoromethyl ketonic products (Eq. 80). 

A novel synthesis of allyl sulfoxides has been developed by the reaction of primary o -lithiosulfinyl carbanions with group 6 Fischer carbene complexes (Scheme 9).49 The Fischer carbene complex experiments involve a 1,2-addition of two molecules of sulfinyl carbanion to give an intermediate that, after a -elimination, furnishes the mentioned product. 

Claisen rearrangement of aUylic alcohols to ethyl dienoates. Claisen rearrangement of allylic alcohols with an orthoacetate is known to provide 2-carbon homologated y,8-unsaturated esters (6, 607-608). Reaction with the phenylsulfinylorthoacetate 1 is accompanied by an in situ sulfoxide elimination to provide 2-carbon homologated dienoate esters (equation I). This novel reagent was used to convert the... 

The Evans rearrangement can be driven to completion by the addition of a thiophile, such as trimethylphosphite (Scheme 26.19) 440 46 M This strategy allows the chemistry of the allyl phenyl sulfoxide, or other sulfur precursor, to be exploited before the allyl alcohol is unmasked.4 3 471 474 The addition of phenylsulfenyl chloride to an alkene, followed by the elimination of hydrogen chloride and subsequent rearrangement, provides a useful synthesis of allyl alcohols.473 475 The [2,3]-Evans sigmatropic rearrangement is concerted and allows for stereochemical transfer.476 477 The reverse reaction, formation of the allyl sulfoxide, results from the treatment of an allyl alcohol using a base followed by arylsulfenyl chloride to produce the allyl sulfoxide.478 479... 

A novel synthesis of a-unsaturated sulfines has been introduced by Bra-verman et al. [99]. Et3N or DABCO treatment of allylic and benzylic tri-chloromethyl sulfoxides triggered the elimination of chloroform and formation of the sulfines. It must be stressed that these sulfines are thermally relatively stable, and this stands in high contrast to the corresponding thio-carbonyl compounds unsaturated thioaldehydes cannot be monitored under the same experimental conditions and have to be used at very low temperature or trapped in situ. The first synthesis of thioacrolein S-oxide was achieved by flash vacuum thermolysis of an anthracene allyl sulfoxide [100], and both isomers in a (Z E) ratio of 78 22 were characterised by NMR spectroscopy at -60 °C. 

A useful synthesis of functionalized dienes from alkenes used the initial formation of a stable rr-allyl palladium complex, followed by reaction with a-sulfinyl ester enolate and pyrolytic sulfoxide elimination (Scheme 55). ... 

The role of allylic sulfoxides as homoaldol equivalents in the synthesis of ( )-allylic alcohols was summarized earlier. A more recent finding is that allylic sulfoxides are precursors for conjugated dienes (equation 70). The elimination is regioselective but stereorandom. The 2,3-rearrangement of propar-gylic sulfenates gives allenyl sulfoxides. Allenyl sulfoxides are valuable synthetic intermediates. They can be converted into stereochemically homogeneous allenes, e.g. (205 equation 71). ... 

A three-stage synthesis of allylic alcohols has been devised (Scheme 32)," which consists of (i) alkylation of a sulfone-stabilized allylic carbanion (ii) peroxy acid oxidation of the allylic sulfone to give a 2,3-epoxy sulfone and (iii) reductive elimination of the 2,3-epoxy sulfone to give the allylic alcohol. The overall strategy is similar to that of the Evans-Mislow allylic alcohol synthesis based on the 2,3-sig-matropic rearrangement of allylic sulfoxides. However, there are regiochemical advantages to the sul-... 

Allylic sulfoxides are known to equilibrate with their isomeric sulfenates via a 2,3-sigmatropic shift, which has been developed into a useful allylic alcohol synthesis when the unstable sulfenate is trapped (Scheme 14). However, this rearrangement is reversible and so need not necessarily interfere with pyrolytic elimination of the sulfoxide, e.g. the long-chain hydroxydiene (69) was obtained on pyrolysis of the sulfoxide (68 equation 32). A study of substitution effects on the relative rates of rearrangement... 

The oxidation of allylic sulfides with equivalent amounts of, for example, peroxyacids or sodium per-iodide leads to allylic sulfoxides. These sulfoxides do not usually eliminate sulfenic acid to provide... 

Blades, K., and Percy, J.M., A conjugate addition/sulfoxide elimination route to allylic difluorophosphonates, Tetrahedron Lett., 39, 9085, 1998. 

The allyl derivative (12) undergoes Cope rearrangement at 200° (8 hr.) to give (13) in 70% yield. This can be converted into the triene (14) by sulfoxide elimination. 

Periodate has been recommended for the oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides Elimination of sulfur dioxide from allylic sulfones provides a new method for lengthening carbon chains... 

The thermolysis of acyclic- and/or six- and larger ring sulfoxides to yield olefins and sulfenic acids is well documented . The formation of allylic sulfenic acids and thiosulfinates in the thermolysis of thiirane oxides containing hydrogen on the a-carbon of the ring substituent (which is syn to the S—O bond) has been discussed previously in terms of /i-elimination of hydrogen, which is facilitated by relief of strain in the three-membered ring (Section llI.C.l). 

Sulfoxides also undergo thermal elimination reactions. The elimination tends to give (3, y-unsaturation from (3-hydroxysulfoxides and can be used to prepare allylic alcohols. 

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