Application to Tandem and Cascade Radical Reactions

The increasing popularity of radical reactions is certainly due to the so-called tandem or cascade reaction , i.e., the ability of forming and breaking several bonds in a one-pot procedure. Again, the concepts of disciplined processes and predictability are applied in these successful strategies, which show the elegance and power of the synthetic plan based on radical reactions. 

Two examples of three-components coupling reaction are shown in Reactions (7.77) and (7.78) [27,87]. These radical chain reactions proceeded by the addition of an alkyl or vinyl radical onto carbon monoxide, generating an acyl radical intermediate, which, in turn, can further react with electron-deficient olefins to lead, after reduction, to a formal double alkylation of carbon monoxide. These three-components coupling reactions require the generation of four highly disciplined radical species, which have specific functions during the chain reaction. 

The field of alkyl radical macrocyclization reactions was further augmented with an n + 1) strategy, which incorporates a CO unit in the macrocycle [93], Thus, in the presence of highly diluted (0.005-0.01 M) (TMS)3SiH, co-iodoacrylates underwent an efficient three-step radical chain reaction to generate 10- to 17-membered macrocycles in 28-78% yields, respectively (Reaction 7.82). 

Free-radical reaction of vinyl iodides having dienoate function in the presence of (TMS)3SiH and AIBN in refluxing benzene caused a tandem cyclization reaction to produce (4 - -1) and (4 - - 2) annulated compounds [94]. Reaction (7.83) shows the transformation resulted from a tandem 5-exo, 6-endo cyclization to give the isoindole skeleton where the stereogenic centres were highly controlled, whereas Reaction (7.84) proceeded via a tandem 6-exo, 5-exo cyclization to furnish a (4 -b 1) cycloadduct. 

Novel bridged spirolactones have been synthesized via tandem radical cycli-zations of enol ether radical. In Reaction (7.85) the first 5-exo spirocyclization is followed by a 6-endo cyclization to give the bridged derivative as a single diastereoisomer [96]. 

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