Copper organozincs

An organozinc compound that occupies a special niche in organic synthesis is iodo-methylzinc iodide (ICH2ZnI). It is prepared by the reaction of zinc-copper couple [Zn(Cu), zinc that has had its surface activated with a little copper] with diiodomethane in diethyl ether. 

Organozinc copper reagents have very broad synthetic potential and a number of typical expetimenlal procedures have recently been puhliidaed [99,100],... 

Copper-catalyzed Enantioselective Conjugate Addition Reactions of Organozinc Reagents... 

By reaction of zinc-copper couple with diiodomethane 2 an organozinc species 4 is formed, similar to a Grignard reagent. Its structure cannot be fully described by a single structural formula. The actual structure depends on the reaction conditions—e.g. the solvent used this corresponds to the Schlenk equilibrium as it is observed with the Grignard reaction ... 

Scheme 2.30 Copper-catalysed asymmetric conjugate addition of organozincs to enones...

Lack of cooling during preparation of the Simmons-Smith organozinc reagent caused the reaction to erupt. The possibly pyrophoric nature of organozinc compounds and the presence of ether presents a severe fire hazard [1]. An alternative, safer method of activating the zinc for the reaction involves use of ultrasonic irradiation rather than the copper-zinc couple [2]. 

The presence of Cu(i) or Cu(n) salts in the aforementioned reactions is critical. It is believed that organozinc reagents undergo transmetallation with copper species to yield more reactive complexes.301 A proposed301 catalytic cycle (Scheme 118) suggests that the alkyl group transferred to the enone from the copper metal in a bimetallic intermediate 207. 

Feringa, B. L. Naasz, R. Imbos, R. Arnold, L. A. Copper-catalyzed Enantioselective Conjugate Addition Reactions of Organozinc Reagents. In Modem Organocopper Chemistry Krause, N. Ed. Wiley-VCH GmbH Weinheim, 2002 Chapter 7, pp 224—258. 

RCu(CN)ZnI.u These new copper reagents are prepared by reaction of primary or secondary iodides with zinc that has been activated with 1,2-dibromoethane and chlorotrimethylsilane. The resulting organozinc compounds are then allowed to react with the THF-soluble CuCN-2LiCl (equation I). Because of the mild conditions, these new reagents can be prepared from iodides containing keto, ester, and nitrile groups. 

The related zinc cuprates formed from diorganozinc reagents and copper(I) cyanide also undergo smooth SN2 substitution reactions with propargyl oxiranes in the presence of phosphines or phosphites (Scheme 2.12). These transformations can also be performed with catalytic amounts of the copper salt since no direct reaction between the organozinc reagent and the substrate interferes [31, 34], and therefore should also be applicable to functionalized organozinc compounds. 

More attractive copper-catalyzed (mediated) transformations of allenes into alkynes were reported by Caporusso and co-workers [27f, 73-75], Allenes 142 were converted into alkynes 143 by treatment with stoichiometric amounts of a cuprate species, as exemplified in Scheme 14.35. The problem of regioselective formation of either alkyne 143 or allene 144 was solved by the proper choice of the organometallic species. Preferential formation of alkynes 143 could be achieved employing cuprates such as R3Cu(CN)ZnCl-LiCl, which are prepared from organozinc compounds. On the other hand, reactions of organomagnesium derived cuprates (R3CuBr)Mg-LiBr mostly provided allenes 144 as major components. 

Copper-Catalyzed Conjugate Addition of Functionalized Organozinc Reagents to a,p-Unsaturated Ketones Preparation of Ethyl 5-(3-Oxocyclohexyljpentanoate. 

Scheme 6.42. Copper-catalyzed allylic substitution of mesylate 197 with an organozinc reagent.

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