Carbanions nitro-stabilized

The utilization of carbanions stabilized by various electron-withdrawing groups to effect carbon-carbon bond formation occupies a central position in organic synthesis. This chapter focuses on the reactions of nitro-stabilized carbanions (nitronate anions or their equivalents) with aldehydes and ketones. This route for the coupling of a carbonyl and a nitroalkane component, leading to vicinal nitro alcohols, was discovered in 1895 by Henry and is currently known as the Henry or nitroaldol reaction. 

Such carbanions are stabilized by resonance involving the nitro group ... 

Enolates of aldehydes, ketones, and esters and the carbanions of nitriles and nitro compounds, as well as phosphorus- and sulfur-stabilized carbanions and ylides, undergo the reaction. The synthetic applications of this group of reactions will be discussed in detail in Chapter 2 of Part B. In this section, we will discuss the fundamental mechanistic aspects of the reaction of ketone enolates with aldehydes md ketones. 

The nucleophilic substitution of the nitro group in nitro-arene complexes works almost as well as that of Cl" and such substitutions were achieved by Chowdhurry et al. with O, S, and N nucleophiles and with stabilized carbanions [97,98] Eq. (28) and Table 8. 

A carbanion can be a good leaving group in SNl-type solvolyses when the anion is highly stabilized by strong electron-withdrawing substituents. Mitsuhashi reported some examples of such reactions for substrates which eject an anion stabilized by cyano (and nitro) groups [81] (Mitsuhashi, 1986), [82] (Mitsuhashi and Hirota, 1990) and [83] (Hirota and Mitsuhashi,... 

Additions of stabilized carbanions to imines and hydrazones, respectively, have been used to initiate domino 1,2-addition/cyclization reactions. Thus, as described by Benetti and coworkers, 2-subshtuted 3-nitropyrrolidines are accessible via a nitro-Mannich (aza-Henry)/SN-type process [165]. Enders research group established a 1,2-addition/lactamization sequence using their well-known SAMP/ RAMP-hydrazones 2-308 and lithiated o-toluamides 2-307 as substrates to afford the lactams 2-309 in excellent diastereoselectivity (Scheme 2.72) [166]. These compounds can be further transformed into valuable, almost enantiopure, dihydro-2H-isoquinolin-l-ones, as well as dihydro- and tetrahydroisoquinolines. 

SRN I reactions using related p-nitrophenyl or p-nitrocumyl systems41 as reductive alkylating agents have been studied by Komblum and co-workers these are well summarized in the reviews.39 At the same time, Russell discovered the S l reaction of geminal halonitroalkanes with stabilized carbanions (see Eq. 5.25).42 The products are readily converted into alkenes via elimination of nitro groups (see Section 7.3). 

When oc,a-dinitro compounds are employed, the nitro group is displaced by various stabilized carbanions as shown in Eqs. 7.2-7.5.4... 

The ortho-ring junction that converts the triphenylmethyl structure into that of the ion LX increases the stability of the carbanion but decreases that of the carbonium ion. It will be recalled that this structural modification of the triphenylcarbonium ion had about the same effect as the introduction of one to two nitro groups. 

A recent paper (199 3)195 is devoted largely to the behaviour of cyano carbanions. It is concluded that the stabilization of carbanions by CN does not actually involve considerable transfer of 7r charge from the carbanionic carbon to CN. This does not, however, appear to have any implications for the explanation of stabilization of carbanions by the nitro group in terms of delocalization. 

In organic chemistry this stabilizing effect is well known the stability of carbanions is known to be enhanced by nitro groups. The stability of the cyclopentadienide anion is increased by complexing with a typical Lewis acid so that it becomes less reactive. For example, ferrocene is not ionized in nitromethane solution. Addition of a Lewis acid such as aluminum chloride facilitates the occurrence of intramolecular race-mization (75) a process which is believed to involve ionic intermediates [16). This belief is supported by kinetic evidence and the failure of the reaction to occur in nearly inert solvents like methylene chloride and in those of high donidty. Whereas the former do not support the solvation of the cation formed in the process of ionization, the latter will react preferentially with the Lewis acid, which is then no longer available for the stabilization of the carbanion. 

As noted in Section 4.3.3, solvation has marked effects on the stability of nitro-substituted carbanions. 

Backwall and coworkers have extensively studied the stereochemistry of nucleophilic additions on 7r-alkenic and ir-allylic palladium(II) complexes. They concluded that nucleophiles which preferentially undergo a trans external attack are hard bases such as amines, water, alcohols, acetate and stabilized carbanions such as /3-diketonates. In contrast, soft bases are nonstabilized carbanions such as methyl or phenyl groups and undergo a cis internal nucleophilic attack at the coordinated substrate.398,399 The pseudocyclic alkylperoxypalladation procedure occurring in the ketonization of terminal alkenes by [RCC PdOOBu1], complexes (see Section 61.3.2.2.2)42 belongs to internal cis addition processes, as well as the oxidation of complexed alkenes by coordinated nitro ligands (vide in/ra).396,397... 

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