And the Simmons-Smith reaction

Site selectivity in a number of other concerted cycloadditions which are not [4 + 2] cycloadditions is also explained by frontier orbital control. Thus diphenylketene (332) reacts with isoprene (333) mostly at the more substituted double bond, and with cis-butadiene-l-nitrile (334) at the terminal double bond.263 Dichlorocarbene reacts at the terminal double bond of cycloheptatriene (335),264 and the Simmons-Smith reaction (336 + 337)265 also takes place at the site with the higher coefficients in the HOMO. 

This reaction is called the Smmons-Smith reaction and is one of the few methods avail able for the synthesis of cyclopropanes Mechanistically the Simmons-Smith reaction seems to proceed by a single step cycloaddition of a methylene (CH2) unit from lodomethylzmc iodide to the alkene... 

It is clear that free CH2 is not involved in the Simmons-Smith reaction, but there is substantial evidence to indicate that caibenes aie formed as intermediates in certain other reactions that convert alkenes to cyclopropanes. The most studied exanples of these reactions involve dichlorocaibene and dibromocaibene. 

These initial reports demonstrated that a catalytic asymmetric variant of the Simmons-Smith reaction could be developed. Although good yields and selectivities were obtained, the lack of a clear understanding of the origin of activation, the limited structural information on the active species and the absence of a stereochemical model made rational improvements difficult at best. The next... 

Because of the complexity of the pathway, the sensitivity of the reagents involved, the heterogeneous nature of the reaction, and the limitations of modern experimental techniques and instrumentation, it is not surprising that a compelling picture of the mechanism of the Simmons-Smith reaction has yet to emerge. In recent years, the application of computational techniques to the study of the mechanism has become important. Enabling theoretical advances, namely the implementation of density functional theory, have finally made this complex system amenable to calculation. These studies not only provide support for earlier conclusions regarding the reaction mechanism, but they have also opened new mechanistic possibilities to view. 

A carbene, R2C , is a neutral molecule containing a divalent carbon with only six valence electrons. Carbenes are highly reactive toward alkenes, adding to give cyclopropanes. Nonlialogenated cyclopropanes are best prepared by treatment of the alkene with CH212 and zinc-copper, a process called the Simmons-Smith reaction. 

The Simmons-Smith reaction has been used as the basis of a method for the indirect a methylation of a ketone. The ketone (illustrated for cyclohexanone) is first converted to an enol ether, an enamine (16-12) or silyl enol ether (12-22) and cyclopropanation via the Simmons-Smith reaction is followed by hydrolysis to give a methylated ketone. A related procedure using diethylzinc and diiodomethane allows ketones to be chain extended by one carbon. In another variation, phenols can be ortho methylated in one laboratory step, by treatment with Et2Zn and... 

Chemo- and stereoselective reduction of (56) to (55) is achieved In highest yield by sodium borohydride in ethanol. The isolated ketone is reduced more rapidly than the enone and (55) is the equatorial alcohol. Protection moves the double bond out of conjugation and even the distant OH group in (54) successfully controls the stereochemistry of the Simmons-Smith reaction. No cyclopropanation occurred unless the OH group was there. Synthesis ... 

A modified version of the Simmons-Smith reaction uses dibromomethane and in situ generation of the Cu-Zn couple.171 Sonication is used in this procedure to promote reaction at the metal surface. 

Several modifications of the Simmons-Smith procedure have been developed in which an electrophile or Lewis acid is included. Inclusion of acetyl chloride accelerates the reaction and permits the use of dibromomethane.174 Titanium tetrachloride has similar effects in the reactions of unfunctionalized alkenes.175 Reactivity can be enhanced by inclusion of a small amount of trimethylsilyl chloride.176 The Simmons-Smith reaction has also been found to be sensitive to the purity of the zinc used. Electrolytically prepared zinc is much more reactive than zinc prepared by metallurgic smelting, and this has been traced to small amounts of lead in the latter material. 

An unusual combination, namely a Michael addition and a Simmons-Smith reaction, has been elaborated by the group of Alexakis [112]. Using their protocol, 3/5-as well as 3/6-annulated systems can easily be obtained, which might be useful as precursors for the total syntheses of (-)-(S,S)-clavukerin A and (+)-(R,S)-iso-clavukerin, both isolated from Clavularia koellikeri [113]. 

Bernardi and co-workers investigated the mechanism of the Simmons-Smith reaction theoretically at the DFT (B3LYP) level of theory, using ClCH2ZnCl as a model system.95 Of the two available reaction channels (addition and insertion), the former process was found to have the lower activation energy (107.7 vs. 150.7 kj moP1), and this result correlates well with the exclusive cyclopropanation over the competing insertion reaction. 

The seemingly straightforward protonolysis of ZnMe2 with 2-(methylthio)ethanol in CH2C12 (Scheme 95) afforded [MeZn(/i3-OCH2CH2SMe)Zn(/i-Cl)Me]2 149.215 The presence of both methyl and chloride substituents on zinc suggests that the solvent (CH2C12) is involved in the reaction, which should call into question the use of dichloro-methane as solvent in the Simmons-Smith reaction. 

Among methods of preparing optically active cyclopropane compounds, the Simmons-Smith reaction, first reported in 1958, is of significance. This reaction refers to the cyclopropanation of alkene with a reagent prepared in situ from a zinc-copper alloy and diiodomethane. The reaction is stereospecific with respect to the geometry of the alkene and is generally free from side reactions in contrast to reactions involving free carbenes. 

In the Simmons-Smith reaction, the purpose of copper is simply to activate the Zn surface and has no other role. Iodomethyl zinc behaves as a weak nucleophile. As generally expected, the presence of an ally lie oxygen gives a large rate enhancement, and more remote neighboring oxygen atoms also influence the stereochemical course of the reaction. 

Diphenylcyclopropane has been prepared in 24% yield by the Simmons-Smith reaction,2 in 78% yield by treatment of 3,3-diphenylpropyltrimethylammonium iodide with sodium or potassium amide,3 in 61% yield by reaction of 1,1-diphenyl-ethylene with dimethylsulfonium methylide,4 and in unspecified yields from 1,1-diphenylethylene by reaction with diazomethane followed by pyrolysis of the resulting pyrazoline or by reaction with ethyl diazoacetate followed by distillation of the corresponding acid over calcium oxide.5... 

With the aid of density functional theory, the ZnCl2 acceleration of the Simmons-Smith reaction of ethylene and allyl alcohol has been investigated. A pathway involving direct Lewis acid acceleration of the leaving halogen atom (327) was found to be a more facile process than the more popular pathway involving 1,2-chlorine migration (328). 

The Simmons-Smith reaction " and its variants are widely used for the stereospecific synthesis of cyclopropane compounds. The methodology involves the use of copper-treated zinc metal (the zinc-copper couple) with diiodomethane to add methylene to a carbon-carbon double bond. Alternative use of diazomethane in catalytic reactions does not offer the same synthetic advantages and is usually avoided because of safety considerations. As significant as is the Simmons-Smith reaction for cyclopropane formation, its employment for organic synthesis was markedly advanced by the discovery that allylic and homoallylic hydroxyl groups accelerate and exert stereochemical control over cyclopropanation of alkenes (e.g, Eq. 21), and this acceleration has been explained by a transition state model... 

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