Allylic Titanium Reagents

There exist three distinct classes of allylic titanium reagents which have been used in carbonyl addition reactions (Chart 10-7). The structures of these species have not been established, but can be inferred from the reaction products and related titanium species. The / -triheterosubstituted reagents are preparatively the most important and are easily prepared from allylic magnesium or lithium reagents. 2-Alkenyltitanium(IV) derivatives 265 are monomeric and fluxional at temperatures as low as -100 C [169]. Thus all configurations are labile, except in 

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The deprotonations are complete within a few hours at -78 °C and afford the lithium car-benoid sparteine complexes (5)-l-(-)-3 with excellent enantioselectivities. [6-12] Whereas sparteine complexes of lithiated secondary allyl and primary alkyl carbamates are configurationally stable below -30 °C, those of primary allyl carbamates such as 4 (-)-3 are not configurationally stable even at -70 °C. It is, however, possible to use these reagents in synthesis, since the preferential crystallization of the S diastereomer in pentane/cyclohexane drives the equilibrium completely to one side. After a low-temperature transmetalation of (5 )-4-(-)-3 with an excess of tetraisopropo-xytitanium, the allylic titanium reagent (Ji)-S is obtained with inversion of configuration. The addition of various aldehydes to (R)-5 furnishes homoaldol adducts of type 6 with... 

The reaction is limited to allylic alcohols other types of alkenes do not or not efficiently enough bind to the titanium. The catalytically active chiral species can be regenerated by reaction with excess allylic alcohol and oxidant however the titanium reagent is often employed in equimolar amount. 

Reagents of type 1 are the most important and exhibit the highest reactivity towards carbonyl compounds. The reactivity can be further tuned by altering the substitution on titanium. Reagents of type 2 show lower reactivity, but higher selectivities, but have, so far, only been used occasionally (Section 1.3.3.3.8.2.1.2.). Reagents of type 3, derived from chiral alcohols, accomplish efficient enantioselective allyl transfer (Section 1.3.3.3.8.2,3.3.). 

The corresponding zirconium allyl derivatives have also been investigated6,7, but, in general, do not have any particular advantages over the titanium reagents. In addition, the starting materials are often more expensive and more difficult to purify. 

The Lewis acid mediated addition of allylic tin reagents to nitroalkenes has been reported. The condensation reaction of tributyl[(Z)-2-butenyl]tin(IV) with (E)-(2-nitroethenyl)benzene or (L)-l-nitropropene catalyzed by titanium(IV) chloride proceeded with modest anti diastereoselectivity. Poorer diastereoselection resulted when diethyl ether aluminum trichloride complex was employed as the Lewis acid 18. 

Because in the case of a sterically crowded imidazolide the formation of a carbinol is more difficult, reaction with the titanium reagent or the corresponding Grignard compound produces the allyl ketone in about the same yield [96]... 

The titanium reagent 1 reacts with allyl alcohol derivatives, such as halides, acetates, carbonates, phosphates, or sulfonates to afford allyltitanium complexes of the type (r 1-al-lyl)TiX(OiPr)2, as shown in Eq. 9.21 [42], As a variety of allylic alcohols are easily obtained,... 

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. 

A method using dual activation has been developed in which a Lewis acid activates the aldehyde with concomitant nucleophilic activation of the allylic silicon reagent with fluoride anion. Thus, by using a BINOL-based titanium... 

Catalytic asymmetric epoxidation.1 Addition of heat-activated, powdered 3-5 A molecular sieves to the asymmetric epoxidation of allylic alcohols increases the rate and, more importantly, permits use of catalytic amounts of titanium reagent and the tartrate ester. However, it is still important to use at least a 10% excess of the tartrate ester over Ti(0-i-Pr)4 a 20% excess is usually advisable. In general, 5% of Ti(0-i-Pr)4 and 7.5% of the tartrate ester is used for the catalytic epoxidation. 

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