Metal-catalyzed allylation

Allylic metal compounds useful for further transformations can be prepared by Pd-catalyzed reactions of allylic compounds with bimetallic reagents. By this transformation, umpolung of nucleophilic 7r-allylpalladium complexes to electrophilic allylmetal species can be accomplished. Transfer of an allyl moiety from Pd to Sn is a typical umpolung. 

The allyl group was used to protect the nitrogen in a /3-lactam synthesis, but was removed in a four-step sequence. Whether a transition-metal-catalyzed isomerization to the enamide followed by hydrolysis is an effective cleavage procedure remains to be tested and warrants further study. ... 

The 1,3-dipoles consist of elements from main groups IV, V, and VI. The parent 1,3-dipoles consist of elements from the second row and the central atom of the dipole is limited to N or O [10]. Thus, a limited number of structures can be formed by permutations of N, C, and O. If higher row elements are excluded twelve allyl anion type and six propargyl/allenyl anion type 1,3-dipoles can be obtained. However, metal-catalyzed asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions have only been explored for the five types of dipole shown in Scheme 6.2. 

The first, and so far only, metal-catalyzed asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of nitrile oxides with alkenes was reported by Ukaji et al. [76, 77]. Upon treatment of allyl alcohol 45 with diethylzinc and (l ,J )-diisopropyltartrate, followed by the addition of diethylzinc and substituted hydroximoyl chlorides 46, the isoxazolidines 47 are formed with impressive enantioselectivities of up to 96% ee (Scheme 6.33) [76]. 

The above described approach was extended to include the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of nitrones with allyl alcohol (Scheme 6.35) [78]. The zinc catalyst which is used in a stoichiometric amount is generated from allyl alcohol 45, Et2Zn, (R,J )-diisopropyltartrate (DIPT) and EtZnCl. Addition of the nitrone 52a leads to primarily tmns-53a which is obtained in a moderate yield, however, with high ee of up to 95%. Application of 52b as the nitrone in the reaction leads to higher yields of 53b (47-68%), high trans selectivities and up to 93% ee. Compared to other metal-catalyzed asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of... 

Zinc-tartrate complexes were applied for reactions of both nitrones and nitrile oxides with allyl alcohol and for both reaction types selectivities of more than 90% ee were obtained. Whereas the reactions of nitrones required a stoichiometric amount of the catalyst the nitrile oxide reactions could be performed in the presence of 20 mol% of the catalyst. This is the only example on a metal-catalyzed asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides. It should however be no-... 

Trost and co-workers have explored asymmetric transidon metal-catalyzed allylic alkyla-dons. Details on this subject have been well reviewed by Trost and others. With the use of asymmetric palladium-catalyzed desymmetrizadon of meso-2-ene-l,4-diols, cii -l,4-dibenzoy-loxy-2-cyclopentene can be converted to the enandometrically pure cii -4-rfirr-butoxycar-bamoyl-l-methoxycarbonyl-2-cyclopentene. The product is a usefid and general building block for synthesis of carbocyclic analogs of nucleosides as presented in Scheme 5.12. 

In addition to the applications reported in detail above, a number of other transition metal-catalyzed reactions in ionic liquids have been carried out with some success in recent years, illustrating the broad versatility of the methodology. Butadiene telomerization [34], olefin metathesis [110], carbonylation [111], allylic alkylation [112] and substitution [113], and Trost-Tsuji-coupling [114] are other examples of high value for synthetic chemists. 

Scheme 53 Transition metal catalyzed isomerization of allylic alcohols...

There are many other transition-metal catalyzed coupling reactions that are based on organic halides in aqueous media. One example is the coupling of terminal alkyne with aryl halides, the Sonogashira coupling, which has been discussed in detail in the chapter on alkynes (Chapter 4). An example is the condensation of 2-propynyl or allyl halides with simple acetylenes in the presence of copper salts. 

Asymmetric synthesis of tricyclic nitro ergoline synthon (up to 70% ee) is accomplished by intramolecular cyclization of nitro compound Pd(0)-catalyzed complexes with classical C2 symmetry diphosphanes.94 Palladium complexes of 4,5-dihydrooxazoles are better chiral ligands to promote asymmetric allylic alkylation than classical catalysts. For example, allylic substitution with nitromethane gives enantioselectivity exceeding 99% ee (Eq. 5.62).95 Phosphi-noxazolines can induce very high enatioselectivity in other transition metal-catalyzed reactions.96 Diastereo- and enantioselective allylation of substituted nitroalkanes has also been reported.9513... 

Recent trend in the synthesis of olefinic pheromones is the use of transition metal-catalyzed cross coupling reaction for carbon-carbon bond formation. Scheme 8 summarizes a synthesis of the termite trail marker pheromone, (3Z,6Z)-3,6-dodecadien- l-ol (2) by Oehlschlager [19]. The key-step is the palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling of allylic chloride A and alkenylalane B. 

Allylic C/H insertion accompanied by an allylic rearrangement has been observed for carbenoid reactions of ethyl diazoacetate with allylamines (Scheme 23)1S1). Apparently, metal-catalyzed isomerization 117 118 proceeds the C/H insertion process. Although mechanistic details have not yet been unraveled, T)3-allyl complexes... 

Interaction of an electrophilic carbene or carbenoid with R—S—R compounds often results in the formation of sulfonium ylides. If the carbene substituents are suited to effectively stabilize a negative charge, these ylides are likely to be isolable otherwiese, their intermediary occurence may become evident from products of further transformation. Ando 152 b) has given an informative review on sulfonium ylide chemistry, including their formation by photochemical or copper-catalyzed decomposition of diazocarbonyl compounds. More recent examples, including the generation and reactions of ylides obtained by metal-catalyzed decomposition of diazo compounds in the presence of thiophenes (Sect. 4.2), allyl sulfides and allyl dithioketals (Sect. 2.3.4) have already been presented. 

Wilkinson s catalyst has also been utilized for the hydroboration of other alkenes. Sulfone derivatives of allyl alcohol can be hydroborated with HBcat and subsequently oxidized to give the secondary rather than primary alcohol. This reactivity proves to be independent of substituents on the sulfur atom.36 Similarly, thioalkenes undergo anti-Markovnikoff addition to afford a-thioboronate esters.37 The benefits of metal-catalyzed reactions come to the fore in the hydroboration of bromoalkenes (higher yields, shorter reaction times), although the benefits were less clear for the corresponding chloroalkenes (Table 3).38,39 Dienes can be hydroborated using both rhodium and palladium catalysts [Pd(PPh3)4] reacts readily with 1,3-dienes, but cyclic dienes are more active towards [Rh4(CO)i2].40... 

Another metal-catalyzed microwave-assisted transformation performed on a polymer support involves the asymmetric allylic malonate alkylation reaction shown in Scheme 12.4. The rapid molybdenum(0)-catalyzed process involving thermostable chiral ligands proceeded with 99% ee on a solid support. When TentaGel was used as as support, however, the yields after cleavage were low (8-34%) compared with the corresponding solution phase microwave-assisted process (monomode cavity) which generally proceeded in high yields (>85%) [30],... 

Metal-catalyzed C-H bond formation through isomerization, especially asymmetric variant of that, is highly useful in organic synthesis. The most successful example is no doubt the enantioselective isomerization of allylamines catalyzed by Rh(i)/TolBINAP complex, which was applied to the industrial synthesis of (—)-menthol. A highly enantioselective isomerization of allylic alcohols was also developed using Rh(l)/phosphaferrocene complex. Despite these successful examples, an enantioselective isomerization of unfunctionalized alkenes and metal-catalyzed isomerization of acetylenic triple bonds has not been extensively studied. Future developments of new catalysts and ligands for these reactions will enhance the synthetic utility of the metal-catalyzed isomerization reaction. 

Malacria and co-workers76 were the first to report the transition metal-catalyzed intramolecular cycloisomerization of allenynes in 1996. The cobalt-mediated process was presumed to proceed via a 7r-allyl intermediate (111, Scheme 22) following C-H activation. Alkyne insertion and reductive elimination give cross-conjugated triene 112 cobalt-catalyzed olefin isomerization of the Alder-ene product is presumed to be the mechanism by which 113 is formed. While exploring the cobalt(i)-catalyzed synthesis of steroidal skeletons, Malacria and co-workers77 observed the formation of Alder-ene product 115 from cis-114 (Equation (74)) in contrast, trans-114 underwent [2 + 2 + 2]-cyclization under identical conditions to form 116 (Equation (75)). 

Although transition metal-catalyzed allylic alkylation has become one of the most powerful methods in chemical synthesis, the formation of ether bonds using this process has been slow to evolve.119-121 The main reasons for this disparity are the lower nucleophilicity and higher basicity of oxygen nucleophiles, particularly those derived from aliphatic alcohols, compared to their carbon or nitrogen analogs. However, this notion has rapidly been revised, as recent advances in the O-allylation area have largely addressed the issue of the reactivity mismatch between the hard alkoxide and the soft 7r-allylmetal species to provide a considerable body of literature. 

Figure 4 Recently developed ligands for transition metal-catalyzed allylic etherification.

While the notion that the alkoxides derived from aliphatic alcohols are poor nucleophiles toward 7r-allylmetal complexes has prevailed over the years, much progress made in the recent past has rendered the transition metal-catalyzed allylic alkylation a powerful method for the O-allylation of aliphatic alcohols. In particular, owing to the facility of five- and six-membered ring formation, this process has found extensive utility in the synthesis of tetrahydrofurans (THFs) (Equation (29))150-156 and tetrahydropyrans (THPs).157-159 Of note was the simultaneous formation of two THP rings with high diastereoselectivity via a Pd-catalyzed double allylic etherification using 35 in a bidirectional synthetic approach to halichondrin B (Equation (30)).157 The related ligand 36 was used in the enantioselective cyclization of a Baylis-Hillman adduct with a primary alcohol (Equation (31)).159... 

An important variant for transition metal-catalyzed carbon-nitrogen bond formation is allylic substitution (for reviews, see1,la lh). Nucleophilic attack by an amine on an 7r-allyl intermediate, generated from either an allylic alcohol derivative,2 16,16a 16f an alkenyloxirane,17-19,19a-19d an alkenylaziridine19,19a 19d, or a propargyl alcohol derivative,21,21a 21d gives an allylic amine derivative. 

Silastannative cyclization of bis(diene) catalyzed by PdC cod) achieves formal 1,8-silastannative G-G bond formation (Equation (118)).125 Poor stereoselectivity at the allylic metal moieties (E/Z) is observed. 

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