Copper catalysis vinylic substitution

Although the resulting vinylallenes 48 were usually obtained as mixtures of the E and Z isomers, complete stereoselection with regard to the vinylic double bond was achieved in some cases. In addition to enyne acetates, the corresponding oxiranes (e.g. 49) also participate in the 1,5-substitution (Scheme 2.18) and are transformed into synthetically interesting hydroxy-substituted vinylallenes (e.g. 50) [42], Moreover, these transformations can also be conducted under copper catalysis by simultaneous addition of the organolithium compound and the substrate to catalytic amounts of the cuprate (see Section 3.2.3). 

Among common carbon-carbon bond formation reactions involving carbanionic species, the nucleophilic substitution of alkyl halides with active methylene compounds in the presence of a base, e. g., malonic and acetoacetic ester syntheses, is one of the most well documented important methods in organic synthesis. Ketone enolates and protected ones such as vinyl silyl ethers are also versatile nucleophiles for the reaction with various electrophiles including alkyl halides. On the other hand, for the reaction of aryl halides with such nucleophiles to proceed, photostimulation or addition of transition metal catalysts or promoters is usually required, unless the halides are activated by strong electron-withdrawing substituents [7]. Of the metal species, palladium has proved to be especially useful, while copper may also be used in some reactions [81. Thus, aryl halides can react with a variety of substrates having acidic C-H bonds under palladium catalysis. 

Recently, Hiersemann reported the first catalytic enantioselective Claisen rearrangement (Scheme 2.4) [11]. The 2-alkoxycarbonyl-substituted allyl vinyl ethers 11 are reactive under the Lewis acid catalysis. Therefore, the Claisen rearrangements proceed catalytically [12]. Usually the Lewis-acid-catalyzed Claisen rearrangement does not proceed catalytically because of a higher affinity of the carbonyl product for the Lewis acids than the ether substrate. But this 2-alkoxycarbo-nyl-substituted substrate 11 can coordinate to metals in a bidentate fashion. This 2-alkoxycarbonyl substrate has higher affinity for Lewis acidic Cu complexes than the simple ether substrate. In this system, chiral copper (II) bisoxazoline Cu (box) complex 13 is effective for the enantioselective Claisen rearrangement. 

Due to sluggish reactivity of aryl and vinyl halides in nucleophiUc substitution reactions, the formation of sulfur-carbon(sp ) bonds is typically carried out using transition metal catalysis [22-27]. While the field is dominated by the use of palladium, copper, and nickel catalysts, considerable advances have been made using more abundant metal catalysts such as iron. Additionally, a number of transition metal-fiee approaches have been developed for the formation of sulfur-carbon(sp ) bonds. The following sections will highlight representative examples of C—S bond forming reactions. 

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