Alkylation, allylic

Another synthetically useful reaction is catalytic allylic alkylation (Eq. 12.81). With this reaction, the X group can be a halogen, as well as other commonly available substrates such as acetate or carbamate. The synthetic utility derives mostly from stereochemical control, which is briefly introduced in the Connections highlight below. This reaction is widespread in organometallic chemistry and has been found to be catalyzed by a variety of metals, including nickel, palladium, platinum, rhodium, iron, ruthenium, molybdenum, and tungsten. 

CHAPTER 12 ORCANOTRANSITION METAL REACTION MECHANISMS AND CATALYSIS 

Catalytic cycle for allylic alkylations. In the box is shown the arrow pushing for a single resonance structure of the ir-allyl complex. 

Bayardon and Sinou have reported the synthesis of chiral bisoxazolines, which also proved to be active ligands in the asymmetric allylic alkylation of l,3-diphenylprop-2-enyl acetate, as well as cyclopropanation, allylic oxidations and Diels-Alder reactions. [62] The ligands do not have a fluorine content greater than 60 wt% and so are not entirely preferentially soluble in fluorous solvents, which may lead to a significant ligand loss in the reaction system and in fact, all recycling attempts were unsuccessful. However, the catalytic results achieved were comparable with those obtained with their non-fluorous analogues. 

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Allylation with allyl borates takes place smoothly under neutral conditions. Allylic alcohols are also used for allylation in the presence of boron oxide by in situ formation of allylic borates[125]. Similarly, arsenic oxide is used for allylation with allylic aleohols[126]. In addition, it was claimed that the allyl alkyl ethers 201. which are inert by themselves, can be used for the allylation in the presence of boron oxide[127]. 

Silyl ethers serve as preeursors of nucleophiles and liberate a nucleophilic alkoxide by desilylation with a chloride anion generated from CCI4 under the reaction conditions described before[124]. Rapid intramolecular stereoselective reaction of an alcohol with a vinyloxirane has been observed in dichloro-methane when an alkoxide is generated by desilylation of the silyl ether 340 with TBAF. The cis- and tru/u-pyranopyran systems 341 and 342 can be prepared selectively from the trans- and c/.y-epoxides 340, respectively. The reaction is applicable to the preparation of 1,2-diol systems[209]. The method is useful for the enantioselective synthesis of the AB ring fragment of gambier-toxin[210]. Similarly, tributyltin alkoxides as nucleophiles are used for the preparation of allyl alkyl ethers[211]. 

Silyl enol ethers are other ketone or aldehyde enolate equivalents and react with allyl carbonate to give allyl ketones or aldehydes 13,300. The transme-tallation of the 7r-allylpalladium methoxide, formed from allyl alkyl carbonate, with the silyl enol ether 464 forms the palladium enolate 465, which undergoes reductive elimination to afford the allyl ketone or aldehyde 466. For this reaction, neither fluoride anion nor a Lewis acid is necessary for the activation of silyl enol ethers. The reaction also proceed.s with metallic Pd supported on silica by a special method[301j. The ketene silyl acetal 467 derived from esters or lactones also reacts with allyl carbonates, affording allylated esters or lactones by using dppe as a ligand[302]... 

Allylic carbonates are better electrophdes than allylic acetates for the pallathirm-catalyzed allylic alkylation. Reaction of Eq. 5.54 shows the selective allylic alkylation of ct-nitro ester v/ith allylic carbonates v/ithont affecting allylic acetates. ... 

The starting illylic rutro compound is obtained by nitranon of 2-methylpropene with NO Subsequent Michael addition to methyl vinyl ketone followed by Pd-catalyzed allylic alkylation affords terpenoids... 

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. 

Additions of carbon nucleophiles to vinylepoxides are well documented and can be accomplished by several different techniques. Palladium-catalyzed allylic alkylation of these substrates with soft carbon nucleophiles (pKa 10-20) proceeds under neutral conditions and with excellent regioselectivities [103, 104]. The sul-fone 51, for example, was cyclized through the use of catalytic amounts of Pd(PPh3)4 and bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane (dppe) under high-dilution conditions to give macrocycle 52, an intermediate in a total synthesis of the antitumor agent roseophilin, in excellent yield (Scheme 9.26) [115, 116]. 

Two approaches for the synthesis of allyl(alkyl)- and allyl(aryl)tin halides are thermolysis of halo(alkyl)tin ethers derived from tertiary homoallylic alcohols, and transmetalation of other allylstannanes. For example, dibutyl(-2-propenyl)tin chloride has been prepared by healing dibutyl(di-2-propenyl)stannane with dibutyltin dichloride42, and by thermolysis of mixtures of 2,3-dimethyl-5-hexen-3-ol or 2-methyl-4-penten-2-ol and tetrabutyl-l,3-dichlorodistannox-ane39. Alternatively dibutyltin dichloride and (dibutyl)(dimethoxy)tin were mixed to provide (dibutyl)(methoxy)tin chloride which was heated with 2,2,3-trimethyl-5-hexen-3-ol40. 

Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation is a typical catalytic carbon-carbon bond forming reaction [ 126 -128]. The Pd-complex of the ligand (R)-3b bearing methyl, 2-biphenyl and cyclohexyl groups as the three substituents attached to the P-chirogenic phosphorus atom was found to be in situ an efficient catalyst in the asymmetric allylic alkylation of l-acetoxy-l,3-diphenylprop-2-en (4) with malonate derivatives in the presence of AT,0-bis(trimethylsilyl)acetamide (BSA) and potassium acetate, affording enantioselectivity up to 96% and quantitative... 

Scheme 30. Example of Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation...

Chiral phosphinous amides have been found to act as catalysts in enantio-selective allylic alkylation. Horoi has reported that the palladium-catalyzed reaction of ( )-l,3-diphenyl-2-propenyl acetate with the sodium enolate of dimethyl malonate in the presence of [PdCl(7i-allyl)]2 and the chiral ligands 45 gave 46 in 51-94% yields and up to 97% ee (Scheme 38). It is notorious that when the reaction is carried out with the chiral phosphinous amide (S)-45a, the product is also of (S) configuration, whereas by using (R)-45b the enantiomeric (R) product is obtained [165]. 

Phosphinous amides, based on proline and tetrahydroisoquinoline carboxylic acid, bearing a second donor center (50, Ar=Ph R =H, CH3,Tr, Ph R =H, CH3,Tr, Ph and 51, R =H,Tr R =H,Tr) (Scheme 40) have been developed for use in allylic alkylation and amination of substituted propenyl acetates, yielding the corresponding products in 87-98% (5-94% ee) and 29-97% (14-93% ee) respectively [55, 167]. With bidentate ligands of type 38 where R=(S)-PhMeCH, and with the bis(aminophosphanes) 52 (R=Ph) similar allylic alkylations have been also tested [168,169]. 

Trost et al. [36] showed, in an early report on the stoichiometric allylic alkylation of [Pd( /r -MeCHCHCHMe)Cl]2 118 with Na[CH(COOMe)2] in the presence of various chiral ligands, that sparteine would compete (amongst... 

The proposed catalytic cycle is shown in Scheme 31. Hence, FeCl2 is reduced by magnesium and subsequently coordinates both to the 1,3-diene and a-olefin (I III). The oxidative coupling of the coordinated 1,3-diene and a-olefin yields the allyl alkyl iron(II) complex IV. Subsequently, the 7i-a rearrangement takes place (IV V). The syn-p-hydride elimination (Hz) gives the hydride complex VI from which the C-Hz bond in the 1,4-addition product is formed via reductive elimination with regeneration of the active species II to complete the catalytic cycle. Deuteration experiments support this mechanistic scenario (Scheme 32). 

The protocol of the allylic alkylation, which proceeds most likely via a c-allyl-Fe-intermediate, could be further improved by replacing the phosphine ligand with an M-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) (Scheme 21) [66]. The addition of a ferf-butyl-substituted NHC ligand 86 allowed for full conversion in the exact stoichiometric reaction between allyl carbonate and pronucleophile. Various C-nucleophiles were allylated in good to excellent regioselectivities conserving the 71 bond geometry of enantiomerically enriched ( )- and (Z)-carbonates 87. Even chirality and prochirality transfer was observed (Scheme 21) [67]. 

Years earlier, Nicholas and Ladoulis had found another example of reactions catalyzed by Fe2(CO)9 127. They had shown that Fe2(CO)9 127 can be used as a catalyst for allylic alkylation of allylic acetates 129 by various malonate nucleophiles [109]. Although the regioselectivites were only moderately temperature-, solvent-, and substrate-dependent, further investigations concerned with the reaction mechanism and the catalytic species were undertaken [110]. Comparing stoichiometric reactions of cationic (ri -allyl)Fe(CO)4 and neutral (rj -crotyl ace-tate)Fe(CO)4 with different types of sodium malonates and the results of the Fe2(CO)9 127-catalyzed allylation they could show that these complexes are likely no reaction intermediates, because regioselectivites between stoichiometric and catalytic reactions differed. Examining the interaction of sodium dimethylmalonate 75 and Fe2(CO)9 127 they found some evidence for the involvement of a coordinated malonate species in the catalytic reactions. With an excess of malonate they... 

Scheme 34 Proposed mechanism for Fe2(CO)9 127-catalyzed allylic alkylation [110]...

Allylic alkylation of 3-acetoxy-l,3-diphenylpropene by sodium dimethytmalonate, catalysed by the Pd-allyl complex 115, bearing the non-symmetric phosphonium ylide NHC ligand (5 mol%), proceeds to completion with 100% regioselectivity. 

The Ag complex 121 in the presence of CuCl H O or CuCOTO CgHg catalyses the allylic alkylations of allyl phosphates by diaUcylzinc reagents with high enantiose-lectivity (Scheme 2.23). A copper complex 122 which is the precursor to the catalytic species was also isolated and structurally characterised (Figs. 2.21 and 2.22) [99]. 

Fig. 2.21 Chiral binap-based catalysts or catalyst precursors for the enantioselective allylic alkylation of aUylphosphates...

Fig. 2.22 Combination of chiral imidazolidin-2-ylidenes and biphenyl linkers in the chiral catalysts or catalyst precursors for the asymmetric allylic alkylations...

Allylic alkylations of cinnamyl carbonate by sodium malonate have been studied with a series of ruthenium catalysts, obtained from the azohum salts 126-128 and the ruthenium complex 129 (Scheme 2.25) in MeCN or THF to give moderate yields of mixtures of alkylated products in the allylic and ipi o-carbons (90 10 to 65 35). The observed regioselectivity is inferior to similar ruthenium systems with non-NHC co-ligands. The stereoelectronic factors which govern the observed regioselectivity were not apparent [102]. 

Scheme 2.27 Proposed mechanism to account for the observed regioselectivity in the allylic alkylations catalysed by Fe-NHC complexes. Other co-hgands on Fe are omitted for clarity...

In the present chapter, we focus on the catalyst nature in solution using well-defined metal NPs as catal 4 ic precursors it means, soluble (or dispersible) heterogeneous pre-catalysts, as stated by Finke [6]. Some experiments described in the literature concerning the distinction between homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts are discussed (see Section 3), followed by a particular case studied by us with regard to the catalyst nature in the allylic alkylation reaction, using preformed palladium NPs as catalytic precursors (see Section 4). 

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