Carbanions, -sigmatropic rearrangements

Well known carbanionic sigmatropic rearrangements, applied to mixed P and S compounds, regio- and/or stereoselectively lead to new (a-sulfanylalkyl) or P-sulfanylaryl) phosphonates, phosphine oxides, or phosphorodiamidates. In these difunctional compounds, chirality can be either introduced on the phosphorus, on the a-carbon, or on the sulfur atom. 

Thia-[2,3]-Wittig sigmatropic rearrangement of lithiated carbanions 47, obtained by deprotonation of the S-allylic sulfides 46, affords the thiols 48 or their alkylated derivatives 49. The corresponding sulfonium ylides 51, prepared by deprotonation of the sulfonium salts 50 also undergoes a [2,3]-sigmatropic shift leading to the same sulfides 49 [36,38] (Scheme 13). As far as stereochemistry is concerned, with crotyl (R R =H,R =Me) and cinnamyl (R, R =H,R =Ph) derivatives, it has been shown that the diastereoselectivity depends on the nature of the R substituent and on the use of a carbanion or an ylide as intermediate. 

Subsequently, Kametani and coworkers observed a similar allylic sulfoxide-sulfenate-sulfoxide rearrangement. These authors reported the exceptionally facile ringopening reaction of condensed cyclobutenes facilitated by arylsulfinyl carbanion substituents. For example, treatment of sulfoxide 68 with butyllithium in tetrahydrofuran at — 30°C for 10 min, followed by normal workup, results in the formation of product 71, which can be explained by the intervention of a double [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement of the initial product 69 via 70 (equation 32). A similar double [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement of 1,4-pentadienylic sulfoxides has also been reported by Sammes and coworkers. ... 

Deprotonation of allylic aryl sulfoxides leads to allylic carbanions which react with aldehyde electrophiles at the carbon atom a and also y to sulfur . With benzaldehyde at — 10 °C y-alkylation predominates , whereas with aliphatic aldehydes at — 78 °C in the presence of HMPA a-alkylation predominates . When the a-alkylated products, which themselves are allylic sulfoxides, undergo 2,3-sigmatropic rearrangement, the rearranged compounds (i.e., allylic sulfenate esters) can be trapped with thiophiles to produce overall ( )-l,4-dihydroxyalkenes (equation 24). When a-substituted aldehydes are used as electrophiles, formation of syn-diols 27 occurs in 40-67% yields with diastereoselectivities ranging from 2-28 1 (equation 24) . ... 

The rearrangements of allylic sulfoxides, selenoxides, and amine oxides are an example of the first type. Allylic sulfonium ylides and ammonium ylides also undergo [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangements. Rearrangements of carbanions of allylic ethers are the major example of the anionic type. These reactions are considered in the following sections. 

Synthetically valuable [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangements include those of allyl sulfonium and ammonium ylides and a -carbanions of allyl vinyl ethers. 

When we come to use the Woodward-Hoffmann rules on these [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangements, we find something new. We have a K bond and a o bond and a carbanion. How are we to represent a carbanion (or a carbocation) that is just a p orbital on an atom The new symbol we use for a simple p orbital is to. A carbanion is an component and a carbocation is an m0 component as it has zero electrons. If the two new bonds are formed to the same lobe of the p orbital of the carbanion, we have an m2s component but, if they are formed to different lobes, we have an m2a component. 

The ability of sulfur to stabilize carbanions is exemplified in the following cases. The pentadienyldi-thiocarbamate (144 Scheme 11) can be alkylated at the methylene group to afford the methylated product (145). At 110 C, the dithiocarbamate unit walks its way to the other end of the pentadienyl chain via tandem [3,3] sigmatropic rearrangements. The formation of (14d) is thermodynamically controlled as the more-substituted pentadienyl unit is formed. Dithiocarbamate (146) can be alkylated and eventually transformed into sulfur-free products the sequence giving (148) from (146) is but one of these processes. 

Blechert has developed an interesting synthesis of 2-substituted indoles which involves the conjugate addition of V-phenylhydroxylamine salts (or V-phenylnitrones) to electron-deficient allenes, followed by carbanion-accelerated hetero-Cc rearrangement of the Michael adduct. For exanple, addition of the hydroxylamine salt (46) to the allenyl sulfone (47) produces the anion (48), which undergoes rapid 3.3-sigmatropic rearrangement to afford the -keto sulfone (49). Cyclization to the indole proceeds smoothly upon exposure to formic acid (Scheme 3). 

Finally, no examples of carbanion-accelerated 1,3-sigmatropic rearrangements appear to have been observed to date, although Okamura and coworkers have reported a transformation which may involve a sulfinyl carbanion accelerated 1,5-hydrogen shift. ... 

A difference in the behaviour of bispropargyl ethers 304 appears when butyl-lithium is used as thesigmatropic rearrangement of the intermediate carbanion 305 occurs giving the alcohols 306. 

The first asymmetric synthesis of an a-mercapto y-unsaturated phosphonate (203) using the readily available chiral dimenthylphosphonyl ester group and a carbanionic [2,3] sigmatropic rearrangement was achieved. Absolute configuration of the newly formed chiral centre of nonracemic thiol (203) was determined. 

On the other hand the inherent a-selectivity of allylsulfur carbanions can sometimes be transformed to a y-reactivity by a sigmatropic rearrangement, earning in addition the stereoselectivity typical for such reactions (see Section 4.S.2.3). Due to their significance in synthesis a lot of work has been done on reactions of heteroatom-substituted allyl anions with special emphasis on their use as homoenolate anion equivalents. The more recent developments, with the possibility of introducing diastereoselectivity, will be discussed later in Section 4.S.3.2.I. 

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