Copper catalysis rearrangements with

The reaction of crotyl bromide with ethyl diazoacetate once again reveals distinct differences between rhodium and copper catalysis. Whereas with copper catalysts, the products 125 and 126, expected from a [2,3] and a [1,2] rearrangement of an intermediary halonium ylide, are obtained by analogy with the crotyl chloride reaction 152a), the latter product is absent in the rhodium-catalyzed reaction at or below room temperature. Only when the temperature is raised to ca. 40 °C, 126 is found as well, together with a substantial amount of bromoacetate 128. It was assured that only a minor part of 126 arose from [2,3] rearrangement of an ylide derived from 3-bromo-l-butene which is in equilibrium with the isomeric crotyl bromide at 40 °C. 

Decomposition of l-diazo-4-arylbutan-2-ones offers a direct entry to bicyclo[5.3.0]decatrienones and the approach has been extensively used by Scott and coworkers to synthesize substituted azulenes.137 Respectable yields were obtained with copper catalysis,137 but a more recent study24 showed that rho-dium(ll) acetate was much more effective, generating bicyclo[5.3.0]decatrienones (154) under mild conditions in excess of 90% yield (Scheme 34). The cycloheptatrienes (154) were acid labile and on treatment with TFA rearranged cleanly to 2-tetralones (155), presumably via norcaradiene intermediates (156). Substituents on the aromatic ring exerted considerable effect on the course of the reaction. With m-methoxy-substituted systems the 2-tetralone was directly formed. Thus, it appeared that rearrangement of (156) to (154) was kinetically favored, but under acidic conditions or with appropriate functionality, equilibration to the 2-tetralone (155) occurred. 

Benzylmagnesium chloride reacts with methyl vinyl ketone to give a mixture of the 1,4-and 1,2-adducts in the ratio 4 1. Catalysis by copper(I) chloride does not dramatically increase this ratio. For 3-methoxybenzyl-magnesium chloride and the same ketone [Eq. (97)] the ratio of 1,4-adduct 1,2-adduct 1,4-ortho adduct is 2 1 8. Copper catalysis alters this ratio to 15 1 3. Thus copper compounds may be very effective (93) in circumventing the benzylic rearrangement. 

Surprisingly, a methylenecyclohexane-derived carbazate akin to (154) gave negligibly more equatorial (55%) than axial attack when treated under the same conditions. > en the rearrangement was initiated with 10 mol % Cu(acac)2, equatorial attack amounted to 65%. The first observation is clearly inconsistent with Evans reaction (154) -> (155). The copper catalysis of the second process suggests the existence of a synthetically unexplored second rearrangement mechanism through a carbenoid. 

Copper catalysis has also proved effective in the reaction of arylboronic acids with diphenyl selenides to give mixed arylphenyl selenides. An intramolecular, O Se, rearrangement, shown in Scheme 1, is involved in the conversion of phenols into selenophe-nols. Hydrolysis of the arylselenocarbamates yields the aryl selenols ... 

Products of a so-called vinylogous Wolff rearrangement (see Sect. 9) rather than products of intramolecular cyclopropanation are generally obtained from P,y-unsaturated diazoketones I93), the formation of tricyclo[2,1.0.02 5]pentan-3-ones from 2-diazo-l-(cyclopropene-3-yl)-l-ethanones being a notable exception (see Table 10 and reference 12)). The use of Cu(OTf), does not change this situation for diazoketone 185 in the presence of an alcoholl93). With Cu(OTf)2 in nitromethane, on the other hand, A3-hydrinden-2-one 186 is formed 160). As 186 also results from the BF3 Et20-catalyzed reaction in similar yield, proton catalysis in the Cu(OTf)2-catalyzed reaction cannot be excluded, but electrophilic attack of the metal carbene on the double bond (Scheme 26) is also possible. That Rh2(OAc)4 is less efficient for the production of 186, would support the latter explanation, as the rhodium carbenes rank as less electrophilic than copper carbenes. 

Enantioselective catalysis has also been used for the synthesis of optically active sulfimines [51]. By application of 5 mol % of the bisoxazoline-copper(I) catalyst 80, the sulfide 77 is oxidized catalytically to 78 which undergoes a [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement to give allyl amine 79 in 80% yield and with 58% ee (Eq. (20)). Other alkenes were found to give lower ee. 

The use of transition metal species can lower appreciably the decomposition temperature of ot-diazo-carbonyl compounds they can also alter the reactivity of the carbene intermediate (resulting from the initial nitrogen elimination see Section 3.9.2.1) by complex formation. Hence, the Wolff rearrangement may occur with difficulty or, usually, not at all. Thus, some copper species (excepting, for example, Cul), or Rh and Pd catalysts are inappropriate. Freshly prepared silver(I) oxide has been used most frequently, but silver salts (especially silver benzoate) are sometimes preferred.Silver-based catalysts are usually employed in combination with an alkaline reagent e.g. sodium carbonate or a tertiary amine). Even under silver catalysis competing reactions may be observed, and sometimes the products of Wolff rearrangement may not be obtained (see Section 3.9.2.3). 

---