Aqueous lanthanide triflates

Scandium triflate [33] is a more active catalyst than the lanthanide triflates and the cycloadditions can also be carried out in aqueous media (Chapter 4). The catalyst is easily recovered from the aqueous layer after the reaction is completed, and can be reused. Some of the cycloadditions carried out in DCM and catalyzed by Sc(OTf)3 are summarized in Table 3.2. 

Interest in the aqueous medium spread quickly and many, sometimes surprising, discoveries were made [3]. Today pericyclic [4], condensation [5], oxidation [6] and reduction [7] reactions are routinely carried out in aqueous medium. The recent discovery of water-tolerant Lewis acids such as lanthanide triflates, Bi(OTf)j, Sc(OTf)j and Y(OTf)j has revolutionized organometallic chemistry [5a, 7]. 

Lanthanide triflates catalyze the Diels-Alder reaction of imines, generated from anilines and aldehydes, with both dienes and alkenes [26]. Thus N-benzyl-ideneaniline in the presence of Yb(OTf)3 (Scheme 6.16) reacts in organic solvent with open-chain dienes, such as Danishefsky s diene, to give tetrahy-dropyridine derivatives, while with cyclopentadiene and vinylethers and vinylthioethers it works like azadiene in both organic solvent and aqueous medium, affording tetrahydroquinoline derivatives. 

The lanthanide salts are unique among Lewis acids in that they can be effective as catalysts in aqueous solution.61 Silyl enol ethers react with formaldehyde and benzaldehyde in water-THF mixtures using lanthanide triflates such as Yb(03SCF3)3. The catalysis reflects the strong affinity of lanthanides for carbonyl oxygen, even in aqueous solution. 

The indium-mediated allylation of trifluoroacetaldehyde hydrate (R = H) or trifluoroacetaldehyde ethyl hemiacetal (R = Et) with an allyl bromide in water yielded a-trifluoromethylated alcohols (Eq. 8.56).135 Lanthanide triflate-promoted indium-mediated allylation of aminoaldehyde in aqueous media generated (i-airiinoalcohols stereoselectively.136 Indium-mediated intramolecular carbocyclization in aqueous media generated fused a-methylene-y-butyrolactones (Eq. 8.57).137 Forsythe and co-workers applied the indium-mediated allylation in the synthesis of an advanced intermediate for azaspiracids (Eq. 8.58).138 Other potentially reactive functionalities such as azide, enone, and ketone did not compete with aldehyde for the reaction with the in situ-generated organo-indium intermediate. 

Polar polyoxyethylene-polyoxypropylene (POEPOP) resin, deriva-tized with a 4-hydroxymethyl phenoxy linker, was used as a solid support for lanthanide triflate-catalyzed Mukaiyama-type solid-phase aldol reactions.282 The use of an aqueous solvent was found to be crucial. The reactions on an N-terminal peptide aldehyde substrate proceeded in very high yields. 

Kobayashi has found that scandium triflate, Sc(OTf)3,36 and lanthanide triflate, Ln(OTf)3, are stable and can be used as Lewis catalysts under aqueous conditions. Many other Lewis acids have also been reported to catalyze Diels-Alder reactions in aqueous media. For example, Engberts reported37 that the cyclization reaction in Eq. 12.7 in an aqueous solution containing 0.010 M Cu(N03)2 is 250,000 times faster than that in acetonitrile and about 1,000 times faster than that in water alone. Other salts, such as Co2+, Ni2+, and Zn2+, also catalyze the reaction, but not as effectively as Cu2+. However, water has no effect on the endo-exo selectivity for the Lewis-acid catalyzed reaction. 

As in the case of Diels-Alder reactions, aqueous aza-Diels-Alder reactions are also catalyzed by various Lewis acids such as lanthanide triflates.113 Lanthanide triflate-catalyzed imino Diels-Alder reactions of imines with dienes or alkenes were developed. Three-component aza-Diels-Alder reactions, starting from aldehyde, aniline, and Danishefsky s diene, took place smoothly under the influence of HBL4 in aqueous media to afford dihydro-4-pyridone derivatives in high yields (Eq. 12.46).114... 

Aqueous aza-Diels-Alder reactions of chiral aldehydes, prepared from carbohydrates and with benzylamine hydrochloride and cyclopentadiene, were promoted by lanthanide triflates (Eq. 12.65).137 The nitrogen-containing heterocyclic products were further transformed into aza sugars, which are potential inhibitors against glycoprocessing enzymes. 

Another example of the use of Lewis acids in organic reactions in water is the lan-thanide(III) triflate catalysed aza-Diels-Alder reaction, exemplified in Scheme 14. In this reaction the hetero-dienophile is formed in situ from a primary ammonium hydrochloride and a carbonyl compound followed by the actual Diels-Alder reaction288,289. This type of reaction proceeds readily in aqueous media290-296, and a dramatic increase in the yield upon addition of lanthanide triflates was observed288,289. The exact role of the catalyst, however, is not entirely clear. Although it was suggested that the catalyst binds to the dienophile, other mechanisms, such as simple proton catalysis, are also plausible. Moreover, these reactions are further complicated since they are often heterogeneous. 

As mentioned earlier (Section 1.5) another example of novel catalysis in an aqueous medium is the use of lanthanide triflates as water-tolerant Lewis acid catalysts for a variety of organic transformations in water [39]. 

Sc(OTf)3 and lanthanide triflates, particularly Yb(TOTf)3 have been shown to catalyze a variety of reactions in aqueous/organic cosolvent mixtures [145, 146]. 

The lanthanide triflate remains in the aqueous phase and can be re-used after concentration. From a green chemistry viewpoint it would be more attractive to perform the reactions in water as the only solvent. This was achieved by adding the surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS 20 mol%) to the aqueous solution of e.g. Sc(OTf)3 (10 mol%) [145]. A further extension of this concept resulted in the development of lanthanide salts of dodecyl sulfate, so-called Lewis acid-surfactant combined catalysts (LASC) which combine the Lewis acidity of the cation with the surfactant properties of the anion [148]. These LASCs, e.g. Sc(DS)3, exhibited much higher activities in water than in organic solvents. They were shown to catalyze a variety of reactions, such as Michael additions and a three component a-aminophosphonate synthesis (see Fig. 2.44) in water [145]. 

Although Lewis add-catalyzed carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions are now of great interest in organic synthesis, these reactions must be conducted under strictly anhydrous conditions, because most Lewis adds react immediately with water rather than the substrates, and are decomposed or deactivated. Sc(OTf)3, however, was found to be stable in water, and effectively activated carbonyl and related compounds as a Lewis add in water. Although it had already been found that lanthanide triflates (Ln(OTf)3 Ln = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu) and yttrium triflate (Y(OTf)3) are stable in water and can act as Lewis acid catalysts in aqueous media [3], Sc(OTf)3 occasionally has even better properties even than Ln(OTf)3. Sc(OTf)3, moreover, worked well as a Lewis acid catalyst in several organic solvents, and chiral scandium triflates have also been developed. 

Lanthanide Triflate-Promoted Reactions in Aqueous Media [2]... 

Table 14-1. Lanthanide triflate-catalyzed aldol reactions in aqueous media.

While continuous use of LnfOTOs is possible, it is also easy to recover Ln(OTf)3 compounds themselves. Lanthanide triflates are more soluble in water than in organic solvents such as dichloromethane. Almost 100% of Ln(OTl)3 was quite easily recovered from the aqueous layer after the reaction was completed and could be reused. The reactions are usually quenched with water and the products are extracted with an organic solvent (for example, dichloromethane). The lanthanide triflate is in the aqueous layer and removal of the water is all that is required to give the catalyst which can be used in the next reaction (Scheme 14-1). It is noteworthy that lanthanide triflates are expected to solve some severe environmental problems induced by Lewis acid-promoted reactions in industry chemistry [20]. 

Kobayashi et al. discovered that Yb(OTf)3 and other lanthanide triflates (l,ri(() lf)(, Ln=La, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Dy, Ho, and Er) are excellent catalysts of hydroxymefhylation of propiophenone TMS enolate with aqueous formaldehyde solution at room temperature (Scheme 10.22) [70, 71]. The Yb(OTf) j-catalyzed hydroxymefhylation of a variety of SEE, including sterically hindered compounds, proceeds regiospecifically in high yield. In addition, almost 100% of Yb(OHf). is quite easily recovered from fhe aqueous layer and can be reused. Yb(OTf)3 also has high catalytic activity in fhe aqueous aldol reaction of other aldehydes. Interestingly, the catalytic activity is rather low in the absence of water. In aqueous media water would coordinate to ytterbium to form active ytterbium cations. 

Lanthanide triflates and Sc(OTf)3 effectively catalyze conjugate addition of SEE, KSA, and ketene silyl thioacetals under mild conditions (0°C to room temperature, 1-10 mol% catalyst) (Scheme 10.86) [69, 238]. After an aqueous work-up these Lewis acids can be recovered almost quantitatively from the aqueous layer and can be re-used without reduction of fheir catalytic activity. Eu(fod)3 also is effective in not only aldol reactions but also Michael addition of KSA [239]. The Eu(fod)3-catalyzed addition of KSA is highly chemoselective for enones in the presence of ketones. 

Allylation using allylic organostannane can be performed in aqueous media catalyzed by water-tolerant Lewis acids such as scandium and lanthanide triflates... 

In a related reaction, aqueous allylation of imines has been reported by Bel-luci and co-workers using allyltributylstannane under lanthanide triflate catalysis [130]. Alternatively, the reaction can be performed without catalysis directly with the formaldehyde-generated immonium salts in aqueous media to give, in excellent yields, bis-homoallylamines and tertiary homoallylamines with primary and secondary amines, respectively [131]. These homoallylic amines were also prepared by Sc(OTf)3-catalyzed three-component reactions of aldehydes, amines and allyltributylstannane in micellar systems [132]. 

The demand for environmentally friendly chemistry and its widespread applicability have made water an increasingly popnlar solvent for organic transformations. Mixtures of water and other solvents snch as tetrahydrofnran are now commonly anployed for a number of organic transformations. For instance, the Lewis acid catalysed aldol reaction of silyl enol ethers, commonly known as the Mnkaiyama aldol reaction, which was firstly reported in the early seventies, can be carried ont in snch media. With titanium tetrachloride as the catalyst this reaction proceeds regioselectively in high yields, but the reaction has to be carried ont strictly nnder non-aqneons conditions in order to prevent decomposition of the catalyst and hydrolysis of the sUyl enol ethCTS. In the absence of the catalyst it was observed that water had a beneficial influence on this process (Table 4, entry D) . Nevertheless, the yields in the nncatalysed version WCTe still unsatisfactory. Improved results were obtained with water-tolerant Lewis acids. The first reported example for Lewis acid catalysis in aqueous media is the hydroxymethylation of silyl enol ethers with commercial formaldehyde solution using lanthanide trillates. In the meantime, the influence of several lanthanide triflates in cross-aldol reactions of various aldehydes was examined " " ". The reactions were most effectively carried out in 1 9 mixtures of water and tetrahydrofnran with 5-10% Yb(OTf)3, which can be reused after completion of the reaction (Table 19, entry A). Although the realization of this reaction is quite simple, the choice of the solvent is crucial (Table 20). 

Additives that can be added to aqueous reactions include Lewis acids, which have roles as catalysts in organic transformations, mainly in Diels-Alder reactions [24]. A number of Lewis acids which can be used in water have been described, such as nitrates, for example, Cu(N03)2 and Zn2 +, Ni2 +, Co2+ analogs [25], lanthanide triflates, Ln(OTf)3 [26], and others, including indium trichloride [27]. Increased yields and product selectivities have been observed in several systems. A typical example is the three-component hetero-Diels-Alder reaction catalyzed by lanthanide triflate (Equation 4.14). Lanthanide triflates were used in the pH range 5-7, and when no Ln (OTf)3 was added, the product was isolated in only 4% yield however, with added lanthanide catalyst the yield was increased to 64% [28]. 

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