Conjugate addition reactions heteroatom-based

Other electrophiles which have been used include acetals, acid chlorides, and heteroatom-based electrophiles. A useful varient of the title compound is the more reactive 2,4-pentadienyltrim-ethylstannane (Table 1, entries 6 and 8). Lewis acid-catalyzed conjugate addition reactions have been observed with the tin analog, but are not observed with 2,4-pentadienyltri-methylsilane due to a competing Diels-Alder reaction (Table 1, entries 5 and 7). 

The conjugate addition of heteronucleophiles to activated alkenes has been used very often in organic synthesis to prepare compounds with heteroatoms [3 to various activating functional groups, e.g. ketones, esters, nitriles, sulfones, sulfoxides and nitro groups. As in the Michael reaction, a catalytic amount of a weak base is usually used in these reactions (with amines as nucleophiles, no additional base is added). 

The conjugate addition of oxygen nucleophiles to acceptor-substituted olefins is the oxa-Michael reaction (Scheme 15). The term is derived from heteroatom replacement nomenclature, meaning that oxygen takes the place of a CH2 unit (RCH2 RO ). Oxa-Michael reactions have been known for many years and are often catalyzed by bases or acids [7]. Catalysis by metals has been reported sporadically in the older literature, e.g. for the case of alcohol addition to vinyl ketones with a Nieuwland catalyst (HgO, BF3-OEt2, ROH) [75-77]. A patent describes a PdCl2-catalyzed addition of alcohols to acrolein or methacrolein [78]. 

When acid derivative 2 reacts with sulfuric acid, the oxygen atom is the base and the conjugate acid product of this acid-base reaction is oxocarbenium ion 3, which is resonance stabilized. When 2 is an acid chloride, anhydride, ester, or amide, a heteroatom is attached to the positive carbon in 3. As in Chapter 18 (Section 18.1), the acid-base reaction of the carbonyl unit in 2 to give 3 facilitates reactions with nucleophiles. The reaction of intermediate 3 with a nucleophile ( Y) gives tetrahedral intermediate 4 contrary to acyl addition, reaction 4 contains an X group that can function as a leaving group. Loss of X leads to the final product of this reaction 5. If the nucleophile ( Y) is hydroxide, compormd 5 is the carboxylic acid (X = OH). If the nucleophile Y is an alcohol, the product 5 is an ester, and if Y is an amine, the product 5 is an amide. This first reaction is therefore the acid-catalyzed acyl substitution reaction of acid derivatives. 

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