Allylic heteroatom-stabilized alkylation

Heteroatom-stabilized Carbanions. Heteroatom-stabilized and allylic carbanions serve as homoenolate anions and acyl anion equivalents, e.g. a-anions of protected cyanohydrins of aldehydes and Q ,/3-unsaturated aldehydes are intermediates in general syntheses of ketones and Q ,/3-unsaturated ketones (eq 36). Allylic anions of cyanohydrin ethers may be a-alkylated (eq 37) or, if warmed to —25°C, may undergo 1,3-silyl migration to cyanoenolates which may be trapped with TMSCl. Metalated Q -aminonitriles of aldehydes are used for the synthesis of ketones and enamines (eq 38). Similarly, allylic anions from 2-morpholino-3-alkenenitriles undergo predominantly a-C-alkyl-ation to give, after hydrolysis, a,/3-unsaturated ketones (eq 39). ... 

The regio- and diastereoselective rhodium-catalyzed sequential process, involving allylic alkylation of a stabilized carbon or heteroatom nucleophile 51, followed by a PK reaction, utilizing a single catalyst was also described (Scheme 11.14). Alkylation of an allylic carbonate 53 was accomplished in a regioselective manner at 30 °C using a j-acidic rhodium(I) catalyst under 1 atm CO. The resulting product 54 was then subjected in situ to an elevated reaction temperature to facilitate the PK transformation. 

Regio- and diastereoselective rhodium-catalyzed tandem allylic alkylation of 71 with stabilized carbon and heteroatom nucleophiles 72 followed by the PK annulation by the same catalyst was described by Evans and co-workers. Alkylation of an optically active allylic alcohol carbonate 71 proceeds in a regio- and stereospecific manner successfully at 30 °C by 7r-acidic Rh(i) catalysts (Equation (41)). The resultant product then undergoes the PKR with the aid of the pre-existing catalyst under GO pressure at elevated temperature. ... 

With anionic allylic sources, highly polar aprotic solvents increase the amount of lone pair alkylation because poor solvent stabilization of the anion leaves the heteroatom end less hindered by solvent. Conversely, groups bound to the heteroatom increase the steric hindrance about it, and therefore decrease the tendency toward heteroatom alkylation. For example, enamines (R2N-C=C) tend to alkylate on carbon rather than nitrogen (as shown in Section 8.4.5). 

The nucleophilicity of sulfur and its ability to stabilize a-carbanions provide sulfur compounds with unique opportunities for sigmatropic processes consecutive rearrangements are no exception. The formation of salt (140) via Sn2 alkylation of ( )-2-butenyl bromide (139) followed by deprotonation leads to the intermediate allyl vinyl ether (141) which, under the conditions of the deprotonation, undergoes a thio-Claisen rearrangement to afford thioamide (143 Scheme 10). Thermolysis of (143) at elevated temperature affords the Cope product (142) in addition to some of its deconjugated isomer. Several unique characteristics of the thio-Claisen sequence should be noted first, the heteroatom-allyl bond is made in the alkylation step, this connection teing not notrtudly practised in the parent Claisen reaction ... 

A large number of Pd-catalyzed reactions of allylic substrates involve the attack of a nucleophile to the 7 -allyl moiety in a Pd complex. C-nucleophiles such as malonates and other stabilized carbanions form the body of the so-called allylic alkylation reactions. Heteroatom-containing nucleophiles are also commonly used. They have been applied in selective allylic trasformations leading to functionalized compounds as well as in total synthesis. 

The regioselectivity (a vs. y) is controlledby many factors, such as the nature of the heteroatom, the base, the substituents bonded to the heteroatom, the electrophile, the solvent, and the reaction conditions. It has been proposed, as a rule of thumb, that for a given counter ion, e.g., lithium, anion-destabilizing substituents (e.g., OR, NR2) favor the attack by alkyl halides and protons at the y-position, while carbonyl compounds undergo reaction preferentially at the a-position. The complementary regioselectivity is encountered when anion-stabilizing substituents (e.g., SR, BR2) are bonded to the allyl moiety. A list of n-butyllithium/potassium ferf-butoxide metalated heterosubstituted alkenes is shown in Table 3. 

---