Aromatic compounds from aryl alkenes

The catalytic enantioselective addition of aromatic C - H bonds to alkenes would provide a simple and attractive method for the formation of optically active aryl substituted compounds from easily available starting materials. The first catalytic, highly enantioselective Michael addition of indoles was reported by Jorgensen and coworkers. The reactions used a,fl-unsaturated a-ketoesters and alkylidene malonates as Michael acceptors catalyzed by the chiral bisoxazoline (BOX)-metal(II) complexes as described in Scheme 27 [98,99]. 

For the preparation of conjugated alkynes, one can alkenylate or arylate alkynes according to Section 13.3.4. Alternatively, metallated alkenes or metallated aromatic compounds also may be alkynylated, but this option will not be pursued further. We merely mention in passing that bromoalkynes and iodoalkynes are suitable alkynylat-ing agents and that these can be obtained in a one-step reaction from terminal alkynes ... 

The formal addition of perfluorinated pyridine, pyrimidine, pyridazine or of pentafluorobenzo-nitrile to fluorinated acetylenes in the presence of cesium fluoride in sulfolane leads to fluorinated aryl-substituted alkenes. " In the first reaction step fluoride ion adds to the fluorinated acetylene to give a vinyl carbanion, which substitutes, in a second step, a fluoride ion from the perfluorinated aromatic compound. Some examples of this type of reaction are shown by the formation of... 

Alkenyl and aryl derivatives of transition metals are generally more stable than the corresponding alkyl derivatives. This has been attributed to the unsaturated groups being able to accept charge from the metal via tt orbitals. This process should be enhanced by the introduction of fluorine or fluorocarbon groups into the alkene or aromatic compound. 

The palladium(II)-assisted alkenylation of aromatic compounds has also been applied to the synthesis of heterocycles. A novel synthesis of pyrido[3,4-d] pyrimidines, pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidines and quinazolines was developed by Hirota et al. [18] employing the palladium(ll)-promoted oxidative coupling of uracil derivatives and alkenes. l,3-Dimethyluracil-6-carboxaldehyde dimethylhydrazone (22), 6-dimethylaminomethylenamino-l,3-dimethyluracil (24) and ( )-6-(2-dimethylaminovinyl) uracil (26) all reacted with methyl acrylate in the presence of stoichiometric Pd(OAc)2, producing pyrido[3,4-ii]pyrimidine 23, pyrido[2,3-if]pyrimidine 25 and quinazoline 27, each apparently arising from direct arylation, 6ti electrocycliza-tion, and elimination of dimethylamine, in 67%, 89% and 64% yields respectively (Scheme 9.3). 

The chemistry of benzene and its derivatives is quite different from that of alkenes and alkynes, but even though we do not study the chemistry of arenes until Chapters 21 and 22, we will show structural formulas of compounds containing aryl groups before then. The three double bonds in a six-membered ring create a special stabilization called aromaticity, which lowers the reactivity of benzene relative to other alkenes. What you need to remember at this point is that an aryl group is not chemically reactive under any of the conditions we describe in Chapters 6 through 20. 

Many natural products are formed from the shikimate pathway. Most can be recognized by the aromatic ring joined to a three-carbon atom side chain. Two simple examples are coumarin, responsible for the smell of mown grass and hay, and umbelliferone, which occurs in many plants and is used in suntan oils as it absorbs UV light strongly. These compounds have the same aryl-C3 structure as Phe and Tyr, but they have an extra oxygen atom attached to the benzene ring and an alkene in the C3 side chain. 

The photolytic cleavage of alkyl aryl sulfoxides has been shown to occur via initial C—S bond homolysis, in accordance with the common mechanistic assumption. Secondary and tertiary alkyl groups show high chemoselectivity for alkyl C—S cleavage. Uniquely, alkene products have been isolated, formed by disproportionation of the initial alkyl radical, with the formation of benzaldehyde and racemization of primary alkyl compounds. An investigation into the photochemical conversion of N-propylsulfobenzoic imides into amides in various solvents revealed a solvent dependence of the observed mechanism. In ethanol, sulfur dioxide extension forms a biradical which abstracts a hydrogen atom from the solvent, whereas in aromatic solvents biradical formation by a single electron transfer is implicated. The photolysis and thermolysis of l,9-bis(alkylthio)dibenzothiophenes and /7-aminophenyl disulfide have been studied. 

There is direct evidence, from ir and nmr spectra, that the fert-butyl cation is quantitatively formed when ferf-butyl chloride reacts with AICI3 in anhydrous liquid HCl. In the case of alkenes, Markovnikov s rule (p. 1019) is followed. Carbocation formation is particularly easy from some reagents, because of the stability of the cations. Triphenylmethyl chloride and 1-chloroadamantane alkylate activated aromatic rings (e.g., phenols, amines) with no catalyst or solvent. Ions as stable as this are less reactive than other carbocations and often attack only active substrates. The tropylium ion, for example, alkylates anisole, but not benzene. It was noted on p. 476 that relatively stable vinylic cations can be generated from certain vinylic compounds. These have been used to introduce vinylic groups into aryl substrates. Lewis acids, such as BF3 or AIEta, can also be used to alkylation of aromatic rings with alkene units. 

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