Benzylic halides, alkylation coupling

Tosylates and other sulfonates and sulfates couple with Grignard reagents, most often those prepared from aryl or benzylic halides.Alkyl sulfates and sulfonates generally make better substrates in reactions with Grignard reagents than the corresponding halides (10-57). The method is useful for primary and secondary R. 

Oxidative addition [1, 38] of 1-alkenyl, i-alkynyl, allyl, benzyl, and aiyl halides to a palladium(O) complex affords a stable rra .s-<7-palladium(II) complex (11). The reaction proceeds with complete retention of configuration for alkenyl halides and with inversion for allylic and benzylic halides. Alkyl halides having /3-hydrogens are rarely useful because the oxidative addition step is very slow and may compete with /3-hydride elimination from the a-organopalladium(II) species. However, it has been recently shown that iodoalkanes undergo the cross-coupling reaction with organoboron compounds (Section 2.4.5). 

Experimental tests of the theoretical predictions have involved the electrochemical reduction of alkyl and benzyl halides as well as their reduction by homogeneous electron donors.22,29-31 In the first case, AG° = E - rx r.+x=f where E is the electrode potential and rx r.+x=f is the standard potential of the RX/R + XT couple. In the homogeneous case, AG° = E q — rx r-+xt> where E Q is the standard potential of the outer-sphere electron donor or acceptor couple P/Q, and + stands for a reduction and — for an oxidation. 

Catalytic processes based on the use of electrogenerated nickel(O) bipyridine complexes have been a prominent theme in the laboratories of Nedelec, Perichon, and Troupel some of the more recent work has involved the following (1) cross-coupling of aryl halides with ethyl chloroacetate [143], with activated olefins [144], and with activated alkyl halides [145], (2) coupling of organic halides with carbon monoxide to form ketones [146], (3) coupling of a-chloroketones with aryl halides to give O -arylated ketones [147], and (4) formation of ketones via reduction of a mixture of a benzyl or alkyl halide with a metal carbonyl [148]. 

The possibility that substitution results from halogen-atom transfer to the nucleophile, thus generating an alkyl radical that could then couple with its reduced or oxidized form, has been mentioned earlier in the reaction of iron(i) and iron(o) porphyrins with aliphatic halides. This mechanism has been extensively investigated in two cases, namely the oxidative addition of various aliphatic and benzylic halides to cobalt(n) and chromiumfn) complexes. 

The insight that zinc ester enolates can be prepared prior to the addition of the electrophile has largely expanded the scope of the Reformatsky reaction.1-3 Substrates such as azomethines that quaternize in the presence of a-halo-esters do react without incident under these two-step conditions.23 The same holds true for acyl halides which readily decompose on exposure to zinc dust, but react properly with preformed zinc ester enolates in the presence of catalytic amounts of Pd(0) complexes.24 Alkylations of Reformatsky reagents are usually difficult to achieve and proceed only with the most reactive agents such as methyl iodide or benzyl halides.25 However, zinc ester enolates can be cross-coupled with aryl- and alkenyl halides or -triflates, respectively, in the presence of transition metal catalysts in a Negishi-type reaction.26 Table 14.2 compiles a few selected examples of Reformatsky reactions with electrophiles other than aldehydes or ketones.27... 

Arylmethyl(homobenzyl)ethylsulfonium salts are appropriate substrates for Suzuki-type coupling reactions. In this reaction, performed on a polymer-bound sulfonium tetrafluoroborate, the benzyl fragment on the sulfur atom was transferred to the boronic acid residue. The sulfonium salt was prepared from an al-kylthiol resin by alkylation with a substituted benzyl halide to give thioether 98 and subsequent alkylation with triethyloxonium tetrafluoroborate. Reaction with a boronic acid derivative yielded diaryl methanes 99 [94] (Scheme 6.1.22). 

Acid chlorides also couple smoothly with lower-order zinc cyanocuprates (equation 59) to give ketones in high yields. Although most acid chloride substrates employed have been simple ones, alkenes, benzylic and alkyl chloride functional groups have been present in the acyl halide without incident25. 

Incorporation of a benzylic halide into the structure of the alternate-substrate lactone (12-4) led to the bifunctional lactones (13-1, Table 2.13), and (13-2), which showed rapid and irreversible inactivation of a-chymotrypsin and PPE [178]. It was postulated that the intermediate acyl-enzyme formed from attack of Ser-195 on the lactone carbonyl dehydrohalogenated to form a reactive quinone methide that coupled with His-57. If this mechanism were followed, then lactone (13-2) would be an example of a mechanism-activated inhibitor. However, lactone (13-2) is sufficiently reactive as an alkylating agent to directly couple with imidazole while the lactone ring is intact. Because of this, it is not clear, from the published data, whether acylation of Ser-195 precedes alkylation, a prerequisite for this compound to be confirmed as a mechanism-activated inhibitor. Interestingly, the corresponding coumarin (13-3) was both less potent and only provided partial inactivation of a-chymotrypsin [179, 180]. It was shown that the lactone linkage in this coumarin was stable in the presence of a-chymotrypsin and that the modified enzyme retained its intact active-site. These facts led to the postulate that, like the action of phenacyl bromides or benzyl bromides on a-chymotrypsin, the partial inactivation by (13-3) involves alkylation of Met-192 [179]. 

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