Anion mediated alkylation

There are only a few reports on chiral phase transfer mediated alkylations". This approach, which seems to offer excellent opportunities for simple asymmetric procedures, has been demonstrated in the catalytic, enantioselective alkylation of racemic 6,7-dichloro-5-methoxy-2-phenyl-l-indanone (1) to form ( + )-indacrinone (4)100. /V-[4-(tnfluoromethyl)phenylmethyl]cinchoninium bromide (2) is one of the most effective catalysts for this reaction. The choice of reaction variables is very important and reaction conditions have been selected which afford very high asymmetric induction (92% cc). A transition state model 3 based on ion pairing between the indanone anion and the benzylcinchoninium cation has been proposed 10°. 

Several research groups ha ve been involved in the study of ET reactions from an electrochemically generated aromatic radical anion to alkyl halides in order to describe the dichotomy between ET and polar substitution (SN2). The mechanism for indirect reduction of alkyl halides by aromatic mediators has been described in several papers. For all aliphatic alkyl halides and most benzylic halides the cleavage of the carbon-halogen bond takes place concertedly with the... 

A formally electrophilic substitution at the 4-position of pyrylium ions with a substitution pattern like 16 can be achieved using benzotriazole(Bt)-mediated methodology (Katritzky [3]). Pyrylium salts 16 are readily converted to 4-Bt-substituted 4//-pyranes 17 by addition of Bt-Na. Subsequent deprotonation, trapping of the Bt-stabilized anion by alkylation (to give 18) and acid cleavage of the benzotriazole moiety in 18 affords the 4-substituted pyrylium ions 19 [4] ... 

The intramolecular Sn2 reaction of aUcoxide anions to alkyl haUdes or its equivalents is one of the fundamental methods for the synthesis of tetrahydropyrans (Scheme 1). The 1,5-diol should be prepared stereoselectively in both sites and one of the diols should be protected or tosylated. The stereochemistry of the product corresponds to that of the starting 1,5-diols. Williams used this method in the total synthesis of leucascandrolide A (Sect. 3.3.7), and Pattenden employed Lewis acid mediated ring-opening of epoxy alcohol in the total synthesis of phorboxazole [ 10,11 ]. 

M-substituted 2-pyridones can be prepared by N-alkylation, under basic conditions (pfCa of the amide proton is 11). The resulting anion can then react on either nitrogen or oxygen depending on the conditions employed [24-27]. Also, several direct methods for the construction of N-substituted 2-pyridones have been reported. Two such examples can be seen in Scheme 3 where the first example (a) is an intramolecular Dieckmann-type condensation [28] and the second (b) is a metal-mediated [2 -I- 2 + 2] reaction between alkynes with isocyanates [29,30]. 

The ratio ARH/ARj (monoalkylation/dialkylation) should depend principally on the electrophilic capability of RX. Thus it has been shown that in the case of t-butyl halides (due to the chemical and electrochemical stability of t-butyl free radical) the yield of mono alkylation is often good. Naturally, aryl sulphones may also be employed in the role of RX-type compounds. Indeed, the t-butylation of pyrene can be performed when reduced cathodically in the presence of CgHjSOjBu-t. Other alkylation reactions are also possible with sulphones possessing an ArS02 moiety bound to a tertiary carbon. In contrast, coupling reactions via redox catalysis do not occur in a good yield with primary and secondary sulphones. This is probably due to the disappearance of the mediator anion radical due to proton transfer from the acidic sulphone. 

A radical initiator based on the oxidation adduct of an alkyl-9-BBN (47) has been utilized to produce poly(methylmethacrylate) (48) (Fig. 31) from methylmethacrylate monomer by a living anionic polymerization route that does not require the mediation of a metal catalyst. The relatively broad molecular weight distribution (PDI = (MJM ) 2.5) compared with those in living anionic polymerization cases was attributed to the slow initiation of the polymerization.69 A similar radical polymerization route aided by 47 was utilized in the synthesis of functionalized syndiotactic polystyrene (PS) polymers by the copolymerization of styrene.70 The borane groups in the functionalized syndiotactic polystyrenes were transformed into free-radical initiators for the in situ free-radical graft polymerization to prepare s-PS-g-PMMA graft copolymers. 

A fourfold anionic sequence which is not initiated by a Michael but an aldol reaction has been reported by the group of Suginome and Ito (Scheme 2.129) [295]. In this approach, the borylallylsilane 2-573 reacts selectively in the presence of TiCl4 with two different aldehydes which are added sequentially to the reaction mixture. First, a Lewis acid-mediated allylation of the aldehyde with 2-573 takes place to form a homoallylic alcohol which reacts with the second aldehyde under formation of the oxenium ion 2-574. The sequence is terminated by a Prins-type cyclization of 2-574 and an intramolecular Friedel-Crafts alkylation of the intermediate 2-575 with formation of the fraws-1,2-be rizoxadeca lines 2-576 as single diastereomers. 

Other liquid-ligand two-phase reactions mediated by polyethers include anion promoted C-alkylations, oxidations, and (borohydride) reductions. In such cases, the organic substrate and a catalytic amount of polyether in an organic phase are shaken with a saturated aqueous solution of the required anionic reagent. 

In a reducing environment, conditions may allow for the same type of mechanism to occur, but with the radical anion of the spin trap as the intermediate. Actually, the possibility of radical ion-mediated spin trapping was first discussed in a study of a reductive system, namely in the search for radical intermediates in the reaction between alkanethiolates and alkyl halides conducted in the presence of TBN [2] (Crozet et al., 1975). TBN is known to trap primary radicals with formation of nitroxides (attack of R at N), and it was therefore anomalous to find alkoxyaminyl radicals (attack of R at O) in the above reaction. It was suggested that the alkanethiolate or some other reductant reduces TBN to its radical anion, which attacks the alkyl halide via oxygen in an SN2 fashion, as in equations (8) and (9) (see p. 129). 

As indicated in Chapter 8, the production of alkanes, as by-products, frequently accompanies the two-phase metal carbonyl promoted carbonylation of haloalkanes. In the case of the cobalt carbonyl mediated reactions, it has been assumed that both the reductive dehalogenation reactions and the carbonylation reactions proceed via a common initial nucleophilic substitution reaction and that a base-catalysed anionic (or radical) cleavage of the metal-alkyl bond is in competition with the carbonylation step [l]. Although such a mechanism is not entirely satisfactory, there is no evidence for any other intermediate metal carbonyl species. 

Lund and coworkers [131] pioneered the use of aromatic anion radicals as mediators in a study of the catalytic reduction of bromobenzene by the electrogenerated anion radical of chrysene. Other early investigations involved the catalytic reduction of 1-bromo- and 1-chlorobutane by the anion radicals of trans-stilhene and anthracene [132], of 1-chlorohexane and 6-chloro-l-hexene by the naphthalene anion radical [133], and of 1-chlorooctane by the phenanthrene anion radical [134]. Simonet and coworkers [135] pointed out that a catalytically formed alkyl radical can react with an aromatic anion radical to form an alkylated aromatic hydrocarbon. Additional, comparatively recent work has centered on electron transfer between aromatic anion radicals and l,2-dichloro-l,2-diphenylethane [136], on reductive coupling of tert-butyl bromide with azobenzene, quinoxaline, and anthracene [137], and on the reactions of aromatic anion radicals with substituted benzyl chlorides [138], with... 

Other disulfones like (32) and (33) were studied (see Ref [6]). They exhibit surprisingly stable anion radicals (and even a stable dianion with (32)). Such charged species could be used as redox mediators, tiowever, reduction of alkyl halides RX by (33) did not permit the formation of alkylated products presumably because of the strong steric strain induced by alkylation of the corresponding carbon atoms in the cyclobutene ring. 

Lipases, which are noted for their tolerance of organic solvents, were obvious candidates for biocatalysis in ionic liquids. Indeed, stable microbial lipases, such as CaLB [8, 54, 55, 56] and Pseudomonas cepacia lipase (PcL) [28, 55, 57] were cat-alytically active in the ionic liquids of the l-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium and 1-alkylpyridinium families, in combination with anions such as [BF4], [PF6], [TfO] and [ Tf2N]. Early results were not always consistent, which may be caused by impurities that result from the preparation of the ionic liquid. Lipase-mediated transesterification reactions (Figure 10.3) in these ionic liquids proceeded with an efficiency comparable to that in tert-butyl alcohol [8], dioxane [57], or toluene... 

More recently, radical additions to fluoroethenes have attracted attention. Eguchi et al. [125] applied the Barton decarboxylation procedure to add a range of alkyl radicals to l,l-dichloro-2,2-difluoroethene. Addition was regioselective and the terminal carbon could be hydrolysed to a carboxyl group with silver(I) mediation (Eq. 39). The fluoroalkene is effectively an equivalent for either difluoroacetyl anion or cation synthons, because the adding radical can be approached from either polarity manifold. 

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