Asymmetric 1,4-Diene Formation

One of the major advantages of the rhodium(I)-catalyzed Alder-ene reaction is that mild conditions are used to effect the cycloisomerization process thus increasing the likelihood of being able to facilitate an asymmetric reaction. In fact, Zhang has demonstrated convincingly that the Alder-ene reaction of enynes can indeed be performed with excellent enantioselectivity and with similar efficiency. These examples are highlighted below in chronological order. 

Highly functionalized tetrahydrofuran substrates were also prepared using the Rh(l)-BINAP conditions, producing products with enantioselectivities greater than 99%. The terminus of the alkyne was varied to afford ketones, esters, ethers, and even free alcohols under these conditions (Tab. 8.3 and Eq. 7). 

Functional groups were also placed on the allylic terminus these included a propargyl ether (Eq. 8), acetate, and ether (Eq. 9) that afforded unique products. With a free alcohol on the allylic terminus, the alkyne underwent the Alder-ene reaction, followed by tautomerization of the corresponding enol to give the aldehyde in a 98% yield and with 99% enantiomeric excess (Eq. 10). 

Ester-tethered enyne systems cycloisomerized to give lactone products (Eq. 11) [24]. Eor example, enyne 6 reacted under the Alder-ene conditions of [Rh(COD)Cl]2/BlNAP/ AgSbEg to give the corresponding lactone (Eq. 11). Once again free hydroxyl groups on the allylic terminus were incorporated into the cyclization precursors and subjected to the Alder-ene conditions, which led to the exclusive formation of the tautomerized products in good yields and enantioselectivities (Eq. 12). 

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The FMO coefficients also allow cpralitative prediction of the kinetically controlled regioselectivity, which needs to be considered for asymmetric dienes in combination with asymmetric dienophiles (A and B in Scheme 1.1). There is a preference for formation of a o-bond between the termini with the most extreme orbital coefficients ... 

Distinction between enantiodiscrimination by complexation and by alkylation of equilibrating intermediates is less clear in a number of related cases. It is likely that more than one type of chiral discrimination may be involved. For example, when a conformational ly flexible four-membered ring substrate is used for the same reaction, the enantioselectivity was only 56% ee (Eq. 8E.15) [175]. In this case, it has been proposed that equilibration via a tertiary e-palladium species may be possible, switching the origin of enantio-discrimination to the alkylation step. A more contrasting example involves the formation of an asymmetric diene via selective P-elimination of similar diastereomeric Jt-allyl intermediates (Eq. 8E.16). Evidence suggests that the enantio-determining elimination process occurs after the equilibration of the 7t-allyl intermediates [176]. 

Many types of rubber which resist ozone were obtained by copolymerization of ethylene and propylene with asymmetric dienes such as 1,4-hexadiene, dicyclopen-tadiene, or ethylidenenorbornene. The addition to the reaction mixture of a certain amount of diene allows preparation of a very stable polymer, because the formation of a linear polymer requires breaking of one double bond while the other bond is utilized to net the copolymer which takes place during the polymerization process. Vanadium... 

A further study of the ligand effect in the Ni-catalyzed addition of diaryl dichalco-genides to terminal alkynes revealed that, in several cases, a mixture of alkenes and 1,3-dienes was formed ( Scheme 3.74) [124], The most sdective reaction towards formation of dienes was observed with L = Cy2PhP and CysP. These ligands completely suppressed formation of alkenes and gave 75 25 ratio in favor of the asymmetric diene. 

To date, a single study pertaining to enantioselective yttrocene-catalyzed reductive diene cyclization is reported.36 Using the -symmetric yttrocene [(R,Y)-BnBpY-H]2, a range of 1,5- and 1,6-dienes are transformed to the corresponding cyclopentanes and cyclohexanes. In terms of asymmetric induction, the formation of cyclopentane 13b in 50% ee from 1,5-diene 13a represents the most favorable result (Scheme 10). 

As the examples in Scheme 2 illustrate, the emergence of catalytic RCM proved instrumental in rendering the Zr-catalyzed C-C bond-forming reaction a more viable method in asymmetric synthesis [5d]. Catalytic RCM of dienes 4 and 7, effected by 2 mol% of Ru catalyst la, leads to the formation of 5 and 8 in high yield. Subsequent Zr-catalyzed alkylation of the resulting heterocycles in the presence of 10 mol% 3b delivers unsaturated amides 6 and 9 in the optically pure form (>98% ee) and in 76% and 77% isolated yield, respectively (Scheme 2). 

Carbohydrates have found widespread use as chiral auxiliaries in asymmetric Diels-Al-der reactions156. A recent example is a study conducted by Ferreira and colleagues157 who used carbohydrate based chiral auxiliaries in the Lewis acid catalyzed Diels-Alder reactions of their acrylate esters 235 with cyclopentadiene (equation 66). Some representative results of their findings, including the ratios of products 236 and 237, have been summarized in Table 9. The formation of 236 as the main product when diethylaluminum chloride was used in dichloromethane (entry 3) was considered to be the result of an equilibrium between a bidentate and monodentate catalyst-dienophile complex. The bidentate complex would, upon attack by the diene, lead to 236, whereas the monodentate complex would afford 236 and 237 in approximately equal amounts. The reversal of selectivity on changing the solvent from dichloromethane to toluene (entry 2 vs 3) remained unexplained by the authors. 

In particular the synthetic approach to dihydrofurans (first equation in Figure 4.23) represents a useful alternative to other syntheses of these valuable intermediates, and has been used for the preparation of substituted pyrroles [1417], aflatoxin derivatives [1418], and other natural products [1419]. The reaction of vinylcarbene complexes with dienes can lead to the formation of cycloheptadienes by a formal [3 + 4] cycloaddition [1367] (Entries 9-12, Table 4.25). High asymmetric induction (up to 98% ee [1420]) can be attained using enantiomerically pure rhodium(II) carboxylates as catalysts. This observation suggests the reaction to proceed via divinylcyclopropanes, which undergo (concerted) Cope rearrangement to yield cycloheptadienes. 

Chiral alkenyl and cycloalkenyl oxiranes are valuable intermediates in organic synthesis [38]. Their asymmetric synthesis has been accomplished by several methods, including the epoxidation of allyl alcohols in combination with an oxidation and olefination [39a], the epoxidation of dienes [39b,c], the chloroallylation of aldehydes in combination with a 1,2-elimination [39f-h], and the reaction of S-ylides with aldehydes [39i]. Although these methods are efficient for the synthesis of alkenyl oxiranes, they are not well suited for cycloalkenyl oxiranes of the 56 type (Scheme 1.3.21). Therefore we had developed an interest in the asymmetric synthesis of the cycloalkenyl oxiranes 56 from the sulfonimidoyl-substituted homoallyl alcohols 7. It was speculated that the allylic sulfoximine group of 7 could be stereoselectively replaced by a Cl atom with formation of corresponding chlorohydrins 55 which upon base treatment should give the cycloalkenyl oxiranes 56. The feasibility of a Cl substitution of the sulfoximine group had been shown previously in the case of S-alkyl sulfoximines [40]. 

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