Copper compounds palladium-catalyzed alkylation

The attachment of a C5-side chain by SN2-alkylation at the intended benzylic position with the protected ketoester 139 as the nucleophile proceeded reliably and in good yield to form the alkylated ketoester 140 [86]. The second chain could also be coupled very efficiently by reacting the vinylic bromide 140 in a palladium-catalyzed Stille reaction [106] (review [107]) with the allyl tin compound 141 to afford the dialkylated naphthoquinone 142 (Scheme 36). Halonaphthoquinones have previously been coupled in a palladium/copper-catalyzed reaction by Echavarren et al. [108]. 

The use of organozirconium compounds as carbanion equivalents is greatly facilitated by trans metallations to the more reactive aluminum [11,100], copper [104—106], nickel [96—98], and palladium [99] derivatives. Copper-catalyzed carbon—carbon bond-forming reactions of alkyl- and alkenylzirconocene compounds have been particularly well studied, and have found considerable application in organic synthesis [107,108]. 

The most conspicuous property of aliphatic amines, apart from their fishy smell, is their high basicity, which usually precludes N-alkylations under acidic reaction conditions (last reaction, Scheme 6.3). Hence, alkylation of amines with tertiary alkyl groups is not usually possible without the use of highly stabilized carbocations which can be formed under basic reaction conditions. Rare exceptions are N-alkyla-tions of amines via radicals (Scheme 4.2), copper-catalyzed propargylations (Scheme 6.3), and the addition of amines to some Michael acceptors and allyl palladium or iridium complexes. Better strategies for the preparation of tert-alkylamines include the addition of Grignard reagents to ketone-derived imines [13] or the reduction of tert-alkyl nitro compounds. 

The palladium(II)-catalyzed olefin carbonylation reaction was first reported more than 30 years ago in studies by Stille and co-workers and James et al. The reaction of carbon monoxide with cis- and tra 5-but-2-ene in methanol in the presence of palladium(II)-chloride and copper(II)-chloride yielded threo- and eryt/zro-3-methoxy-2-methyl-butanoate, respectively. The transformation that was based on the well-known Wacker process for oxidation of ethylene into acetaldehyde in water " is now broadly defined as the Pd(II)-catalyzed oxycarbonylation of the unsaturated carbon-carbon bonds. This domino reaction includes oxypalladation of alkenes, migratory insertion of carbon monoxide, and alkoxylation. Since the development of this process, several transformations mediated by palladium(II) compounds have been described. The direct oxidative bisfunctionalization of alkenes represents a powerful transformation in the field of chemical synthesis. Palladium(II)-promoted carbonylation of alkenes in the presence of water/alcohol may lead to alkyl carboxylic acids (hydrocarboxylation), diesters [bis(aIkoxycarbonyla-tion)], (3-alkoxy carboxylic acids (alkoxy-carboxylation), or (3-alkoxy esters (alkoxy-carbonylation or alkoxy-alkoxy-carbonylation). Particularly attractive features of these multitransformation processes include the following ... 

---