Selenium—carbon bonds reactions with

Selenoaldehydes 104, like thioaldehydes, have also been generated in situ from acetals and then directly trapped with dienes, thus offering a useful one-pot procedure for preparing cyclic seleno-compounds [103,104], The construction of a carbon-selenium double bond was achieved by reacting acetal derivatives with dimethylaluminum selenide (Equation 2.30). Cycloadditions of seleno aldehydes occur even at 0 °C. In these reactions, however, the carbon-selenium bond formed by the nucleophilic attack of the electronegative selenium atom in 105 to the aluminum-coordinated acetal carbon, may require a high reaction temperature [103], The cycloaddition with cyclopentadiene preferentially gave the kinetically favorable endo isomer. 

A carbon-selenium bond can also be formed [106] by Diels-Alder reaction of the transient selenonitroso species 106 generated by phenylsulfinylselenylchlor-ide reacting with amines or trimethylsilylated amines. Selenonitroso compounds 106 were trapped with 2,3-dimethylbutadiene to afford 1,2-selenazine derivatives 107 (Scheme 2.44) in low yield. 1,2- Selenazines are interesting compounds which are quite unstable (2-3 h), except for the one having an... 

Another example of the resin-capture-release technique which should see widespread applications in the future is the selenium-mediated functionalization of organic compounds. Polymer-supported selenium-derived reagents [34] are very versatile because a rich chemistry around the carbon-selenium bond has been established in solution and the difficulties arising from the odor and the toxicity of low-molecular weight selenium compounds can be avoided. Thus, reagent 26 (X = Cl) was first prepared by Michels, Kato and Heitz [35] and was employed in reactions with carbonyl compounds. This treatment yielded polymer-bound a-seleno intermediates, which were set free back into solution as enones from hydrogen peroxide induced elimination. Recently, new selenium-based functionalized polymers 26 (X = Br)-28 were developed, which have been utilized in syntheses according to Scheme 11 (refer also to Scheme 3) [36],... 

Cyclizations by formation of carbon—selenium bonds represent a modern method with a high synthetic potential in the chemistry of cyclophanes. Selenocyanates such as 16 are accessible usually in excellent yields through the reaction of bromides with KSeCN [27], The reaction with benzylic bromides under reductive conditions using the dilution principle results in good to excellent yields of [3.3]di-selenacyclophanes which can be deselenized photochemically, pyrolytically (without previous oxidation), or by reaction with arynes, Stevens rearrangement and subsequent reaction with Raney nickel. [2.2]Metacyclophane (18), for example, is accessible in 47% total yield by using this sequence of reactions starting with... 

Addition Reactions with Formation of Carbon-Suifur or Carbon-Selenium Bonds... 

Such a propensity of the carbon-selenium bond to be transformed into a carbon-lithium bond on reaction with butyllithiums has in fact been used successfully for the synthesis of various a-selenoalkylmetals from phenyl and methyl selenoacetals. It has inter alias been used for the synthesis of those a-selenoalkylmetals which bear two alkyl groups on the carbanionie center and which are expected to be the less stabilized ones 3 9,11 I2,. It also permits the selective synthesis of a-lithioseleno-acetals from selenoorthoesters8 9t 12). 

The reaction occurs quite instantaneously at —78 °C with n-BuLi86) or tert-BuLi 35,99 jn tHF, or with /m-BuLi in ether87. The availability of selenocyclo-propyllithiyms in the last solvent is particularly important since, for example, their nucleophilicity towards carbonyl compounds is enhanced under these conditions 871 (vide infra). However in this solvent sec- or tert-BuLi must be used 87) in place of -BuLi in order to obtain quantitative cleavage of the carbon-selenium bond. For example, l,l-bis(methylseleno)cyclopropane is recovered unchanged after addition of n-BuLi in ether at —78 °C or —40 DC. However, l,l-bis(phenylseleno)-cyclopropane is more reactive since, under these conditions, 35% of 1-lithio-l-phenylseleno cyclopropane is produced ". ... 

Other important cycloelimination procedures correspond to an elimination of H2O from cyclic ketones. Thus, the a-hydrogen atoms of semicarbazones of cyclic ketones are removed by oxidative cyclization with thionyl chloride or selenium dioxide (Scheme 8-7). The 1,2,3-thiadiazoles (71) or 1,2,3-selenadiazoles (72) which result from these reactions can be cleaved in a second step to yield cyclic alkynes (Scheme 8-8) [28]. Several fragmentation conditions are known, among them thermal decomposition and base-induced cleavage. The mechanism of these reactions has been studied in detaU [29]. It has been noted that the crucial step is the cleavage of the carbon-sulfur or carbon-selenium bond, as in this step the geometrical strain is introduced into the system. Clearly, due to the weakness of the C —Se... 

It is interesting to note that the latter result is exceptional since l,l-bis(phenyl-seleno)cyclopropane is the only selenoacetal derived from ketones to be at least partially cleaved under these conditions and even the homologous cyclobutyl derivative is inert under these conditions. This may be due to the extra stabilization introduced by the cyclopropyl ring. The case of 2-decy 1-1,1-bis(methylseleno)cyclo-propane merits further comment. It is difficult to assess whether the cleavage of the carbon-selenium bond occurs on the methylseleno moiety cis or tram to the alkyl group, since this organometallic leads to a mixture of the two possible stereoisomers on further reaction with electrophiles (Scheme 16). 

Addition Reactions with Formation of Carbon-Nitrogen Bonds Addition Reactions with Formation of Carbon-Sulfiir or Carbon-Selenium Bonds Addition Reactions with Formation of Carbon-Halogen Bonds Cleavage Reactions... 

Selenium dioxide is also an oxygen donor to alkenes. In this case, however, the initial reaction of the double bond is with the selenium center followed by two pericyclic steps. After hydrolysis of the organo-selenium intermediate, the result is a hydroxylation at the allylic carbon position65. Thus, limonene (2) yields racemic p-mentha-l,8(9)-dien-4-ol66. The high toxicity of selenium intermediates and prevalence of many rearrangements has limited the widespread use of the reagent in synthesis. 

While carbon and oxygen radicals add irreversibly to carbon-carbon double bonds, the fragmentation reaction is rapid (and often reversible) for elements like tin, sulfur, selenium and the halogens (Scheme 36). This elimination reaction can be very useful in synthesis if the eliminated radical Y- can either directly or indirectly react with a radical precursor to propagate a chain. Given this prerequisite, an addition chain can be devised with either an allylic or a vinylic precursor, as illustrated in Scheme 37. Carbon radicals are generated by the direct or indirect reaction with Y- and are removed by the -elimination of Y-. Selectivity is determined by the concentration of the alkene acceptor and the rate of -elimination... 

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