Carbonyls oxetane formation with olefins

The photocycloaddition of a carbonyl compound to an olefin with the formation of an oxetane 3 was first observed by Paterno and Chieffi in 1909.1 They reported obtaining a compound in good yield from the irradiation of benzophenone in a petroleum mixture rich in 2-methyl-2-butene, for which they proposed the oxetane structure. Although Paterno and Chieffi had suggested the correct structure, it was not until 1954 that Buchi and his collaborators reinvestigated this reaction and... 

The photocycloaddition of carbonyl compounds to unsymmetrical olefins (electron rich) can give two products however, usually one predominates. For example, the photocycloaddition of benzophenone to isobutylene gives a mixture of the two oxetanes 30 and 31 in the ratio of 9 1.17 This ratio is consistent with the preferential formation and/or closure of the intermediate 30a relative to 31a. The diradical 30a is more stable than 3la since a tertiary radical is more stable than a primary radical by about 8 kcal.62 Many of the examples listed in Section VII are consistent with this apparent generalization there are, however, exceptions. 

One important reaction which competes with photocycloaddition is hydrogen abstraction. The n,ir state can both abstract hydrogen from, and add to olefins. If the starting olefin or carbonyl compound has easily abstractable hydrogens, this competing reaction can become so important that oxetane formation is excluded. 

The simple diastereoselectivity of the photocycloaddition of electronically excited carbonyl compounds with electron rich olefins was studied as a function of the substituent size—at identical starting conditions ignoring the electronic state involved in the reaction mechanism [123], The [2+2] photocycloaddition of 2,3-dihydrofuran with different aldehydes in the nonpolar solvent benzene resulted in oxetanes 118 with high regioselectivity and suprising simple diastereoselectivites the addition to acetaldehyde resulted in 45 55 mixture of endo and exo diastereoisomer, with increasing the size of the ot-carbonyl substituent (Me, Et, i-Bu, t-Bu), the simple diastereoselectivity increased with preferential formation of the endo stereoisomer (Sch. 37). 

Figure 7.40. Frontier orbitals for oxetane formation. Interaction of one of the half-filled carbonyl orbitals with the LUMO of electron-poor olefins (left) and with the HOMO of electron-rich olefins (right).

Finally, Figure 7.40 permits the conclusion that oxetane formation can be considered to be either a nucleophilic attack by a ketone on an electron-poor olefin or an electrophilic attack by a ketone on an electron-rich olefin, corresponding to the predominant interaction of a half-filled carbonyl orbital either with the empty jc MO or with the doubly filled ji MO of the olefin. 

Oxetane Formation. Reactions of carbonyl compounds such as ketones and aldehydes with electron-rich olefins results in the formation of oxetanes. The oxetane formation involves the addition of the carbonyl oxygen to the olefinic n -system to produce a biradical intermediate, which then undergoes spin inversion to produce the oxetane (Hor-spool, 1976). Typical examples of oxetane formation include the photoreaction of furan compounds with aldehyde or alkene compounds as shown in Scheme 4 (Cantrell, 1977 Whipple and Evanega, 1968). 

It is also worthwhile comparing the intramolecular photochemical cycloaddition reactions of ethylenic aldehydes and ketones with free radical intramolecular additions. For instance, irradiation of 5-hexen-2-one (470) (Scheme 161) in the gas phase gives the oxetane 471 as only cyclized product, as expected from the known photochemical intermolecular reaction between olefins and ketones. If the irradiation is conducted in solution 470 gives 471 (26%) and 472 (18%). With other y,< -unsaturated ketones, the bicyclic compound analogous to 472 may become the major product. With 2-allylcyclanones such as 473 (Scheme 161) bicyclic compounds are obtained (80% yield) as a mixture of 474 and 475, with 475 being the major product, but such compounds are difficult to isolate. " In the same manner, selective irradiation of the carbonyl group of 2-acyl-2,3-dihydro-4/f-pyrans (476) leads exclusively (23% yield) to exo-brevicomin (477) (a sex attractant), neither oxetane formation nor Norrish type II reaction being observed. The formation of the compounds 472, 475, and 477 which was considered as unexpected... 

Another photoreaction between ketones and olefins or dienes, which has often been connected to the involvement of exciplexes, is the Patemo-Biichi reaction [4,5], i.e., the photocycloaddition of C=C double bonds to carbonyl C=0 bonds under formation of oxetanes [17,78,207-217], Especially for electron-rich olefins such as ethyl vinyl ether or 1,2-diethoxyethylene, intermediary exciplexes have often been postulated [212], with the consequence of a diminished legioselectivity and stereospecificity for oxetane formation. On the other hand, electron-deficient olefins such as a,P-unsaturated nitriles react with a high legioselectivity and stereospedlicity due to a well defined transition state, which is based on the electronic leqniranents of n,7t -excited ketones [17]. 

The photocycloaddition of triplet benzophenone to norbornene was originally reported by Scharf and Korte. The photoproduct 101 that is formed in high exo-selectivity could be thermally cleaved to the 5,e-unsaturated ketone 102, an appHcation of the carbonyl-olefin metathesis (COM) concept. The 1,4-biradical formed in the interaction of norbornene with o-dibenzoyl-benzene was trapped in an intramolecular fashion by the second carbonyl moiety. A highly regioselective reaction of triplet benzophenone was reported with 5-methylenenorborn-2-ene, with preferential attack toward the exo CC double bond. A number of publications have discussed the photocycloaddition reactions of triplet carbonyl compounds to norbornadiene and quadricyclane, as weU as the competition between the Paterno-Biichi reaction and the sensitized norbornadiene/quadricyclane interconversion. Oxetane formation has also been reported for the photoreaction of biacetyl and para-quinones with benzvalene. ... 

The scope of the Patemo-Buchi cycloaddition has been widely expanded for the oxetane synthesis from enone and quinone acceptors with a variety of olefins, stilbenes, acetylenes, etc. For example, an intense dark-red solution is obtained from an equimolar solution of tetrachlorobenzoquinone (CA) and stilbene owing to the spontaneous formation of 1 1 electron donor/acceptor complexes.55 A selective photoirradiation of either the charge-transfer absorption band of the [D, A] complex or the specific irradiation of the carbonyl acceptor (i.e., CA) leads to the formation of the same oxetane regioisomers in identical molar ratios56 (equation 27). 

The conditions for the photocycloaddition (discussed in detail in a later section of this review) can be relatively mild. There is usually a small probability of the oxetane being destroyed in dark reactions which would probably preclude isolation after preparation by any method. One mode of decomposition of oxetanes is fragmentation, either back to the starting materials or to the other possible carbonyl compound and olefin. For example, the oxetane from 4,4 -dimethoxybenzophenone and isobutylene forms readily and is easily detected and characterized by infrared and NMR spectroscopy. All efforts to purify it, however, have led to its decomposition into formaldehyde and the diarylethy-lene.17 37 In some cases, as with fluorenone and isobutylene37 or 2-methyl-2-butene,25b the oxetane is apparently too unstable for detection, but the presence of the olefin 96 attests to its formation. 

Synthetic application of Paterno-Bilchi reaction of simple dienes with carbonyl compounds is rare. While seemingly an extension of the photocycloaddition of olefins and carbonyl compounds, the reaction between dienes and carbonyls is often complicated by the fact that triplet excited states of carbonyl compounds are quenched by dienes, although the formation of oxetanes can be observed during these reactions. Recall also that the photosensitized dimerization of diene triplet excited states is also a well known reaction vide infra), these two observations would seem to naturally limit the synthetic potential of this process. Kubota and coworkers found that irradiation of propanal in the presence of 1,3-cyclohexadiene produced oxetanes 164a and 164b in a 4 1 ratio (Scheme 37). ... 

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