Vinyl radical cyclization

The chain is propagated by abstraction of iodine by the cyclized vinyl radical intermediate. 

Jiao, X.-Y., and Benhude. W.G.. Vinylphosphonate formation via a novel cyclization-vinyl radical trapping sequence, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 121, 6088, 1999. 

The chain is propagated by abstraction of iodine by the cyclized vinyl radical intermediate. This sequence of reactions benefits from the high reactivity of the intermediate alkenyl reaction in the iodine transfer step. 

Scheme 3. Selected vinyl radical cyclizations developed by Stork and coworkers.

Vinyl radicals can also participate in 6-exo cyclizations. In pioneering work, Stork and his group at Columbia University showed that stereoisomeric vinyl bromides 20 and 21 (see Scheme 3) can be converted to cyclohexene 22.7 The significance of this finding is twofold first, the stereochemistry of the vinyl bromide is inconsequential since both stereoisomers converge upon the same product and second, the radical cyclization process tolerates electrophilic methoxycarbonyl groups. The observation that the stereochemistry of the vinyl bromide is inconsequential is not surprising because the barrier for inversion of most vinyl radicals is very low.8 This important feature of vinyl radical cyclization chemistry is also exemplified in the conversion of vinyl bromide 23 to tricycle 24, the key step in Stork s synthesis of norseychellanone (25) (see Scheme 4).9 As in... 

Scheme 4. Stork s vinyl radical cyclization strategy for the synthesis of norseychellanone (25)...

The key features of Curran s productive and elegant tandem radical cyclization strategy are illustrated in a retrosynthetic analysis for hirsutene (1) (see Scheme 27). The final synthetic event was projected to be an intermolecular transfer of a hydrogen atom from tri-rc-butyltin hydride to the transitory tricyclic vinyl radical 131. The latter can then be traced to bicyclic tertiary radical 132 and thence to monocyclic primary radical 133 through successive hex-5-enyl-like radical cyclizations. It was anticipated that the initial radical 133 could be generated through the abstraction of the iodine atom from... 

When free radicals are added to 1,5- or 1,6-dienes, the initially formed radical (9) can add intramolecularly to the other bond, leading to a cyclic product (10). When the radical is generated from an precursor that gives vinyl radical 11, however, cyclization leads to 12, which is in equilibrium with cyclopropylcarbinyl radical 13 via a 5-exo-trig reaction. A 6-endo-trig reaction leads to 14, but unless there are perturbing substituent effects, however, cyclopropanation should be the major process. 

The reverse reaction (that is, the oxidation of a vinyl radical by Fe to the corresponding vinyl cation) may be involved in the reaction of the dimethyl ester of acetylenedicarboxyUc acid 261 with Fenton s reagent [Fe —H2O2, (217)] (216). When 261 was treated with Fe —H2O2 and the reaction mixture was extracted with ether, a small amount of furan 262 was isolated. A possible mechanism (216) for its formation may be addition of hydroxyl radical to the triple bond of 261, followed by addition of the intermediate vinyl radical to a second molecule of 261 and oxidation of the resulting radical with Fe to the corresponding vinyl cation, followed by cyclization to 262, as shown in Scheme XX. 

Entry 10 shows the occurrence of 5-exo cyclization. The radical in this case is generated from an amino sulfide. This reaction requires a specific, somewhat disfavored conformation of the reactant in order for cyclization to occur. When the unsubstituted vinyl substituent was used, no cyclization occurred. However, increasing the reactivity of the double bond by adding the ester substituent led to successful cyclization. 

Entries 18 to 19 pertain to cyclizations of electrophilic radicals generated by oxidations. Entry 18 is the prototype for cyclization of a number of more highly substituted systems. The reaction outcome is consistent with oxidation of the less-substituted enolic position followed by a 6-endo cyclization. The cyclized radical is then oxidized and deprotonated. In Entry 19, the vinyl radical formed by cyclization is reduced by hydrogen abstraction from the solvent ethanol. 

Entries 20 to 23 involve additions to C=N double bonds in oxime ethers and hydrazones. These reactions result in installation of a nitrogen substituent on the newly formed rings. Entry 20 involves the addition of the triphenylstannyl radical to the terminal alkyne followed by cyclization of the resulting vinyl radical. The product can be proto-destannylated in good yield. The ring closure generates an anti relationship for the amino substituent, which is consistent with the TS shown below. 

A dramatic improvement in this new round trip radical domino processes developed by Curran s group was presented by Takasu, Ihara and coworkers. The new method relies on the introduction of a conjugated ester moiety at the terminal olefm, thereby effecting an acceleration of the domino reaction accompanied with an enhancement of the regio- and stereoselectivity [81]. Thus, reaction of 3-196 with Bu3SnH led to a 4 3 mixture of the two diastereomeric tricycles 3-197 and 3-198 in 83% yield. In this process, the vinyl radical 3-199 is initially formed, but this smoothly cyclizes in 5-exo-trig manner to give radical 3-200 (Scheme 3.52). Due to... 

The key features of the catalytic cycle are trapping of the radical generated after cycliza-tion by an a,P-unsaturated carbonyl compound, reduction of the enol radical to give an enolate, and subsequent protonation of the titanocene alkoxide and enolate. The diaster-eoselectivity observed is essentially the same as that achieved in the simple cyclization reaction. An important point is that the tandem reactions can be carried out with alkynes as radical acceptors. The trapping of the formed vinyl radical with unsaturated carbonyl compounds occurs with very high stereoselectivity, as shown in Scheme 12.21. 

Curran2 has reviewed recent applications of the tin hydride method for initiation of radical chain reactions in organic synthesis (191 references). The review covers intermolecular additions of radicals to alkenes (Giese reaction) as well as intramolecular radical cyclizations, including use of vinyl radical cyclization. 

Enynes undergo a similar cyclization to alkylidene thioethers on reaction with thiophenol in the presence of AIBN. This cyclization also involves a vinyl radical (equation I).8... 

Given this information, it was suggested that cyclization may occur either via the intermediacy of a vinyl radical 242 or the corresponding carbanion 243. However, no evidence is available to allow differentiation between these options. 

The opportunity for tandem cyclization was explored. Here, the results can be accommodated by postulating the intermediacy of a vinyl radical [66]. For example, the controlled potential reduction of enol phosphate 246 affords 247 as a mixture of stereoisomers, in addition to a 15% yield of the linearly fused tricyclopentanoid 248. Assuming that the initial reduction cleaves the phosphate unit, then there exists the opportunity for the resulting radical 249 to be further reduced to afford a carbanion, or undergo a 5-exo-trig radical cyclization onto the pendant alkene. Given the nature of the products and the fact that they are inconsistent with the expectations of carbanion chemistry, it seems clear that the latter pathway dominates. 

Analogously to the carbocycle and oxycycle synthesis, cyclic amines can be obtained by the hydrosilylation of a suitable enyne, such as 46 (Reaction 7.54), which gave the six-membered ring via a 6-endo cyclization of the vinyl radical onto the C=N bond [63]. In another example, the isothiocyanide functionality of compounds 47 or 48 reacts with silane under radical conditions... 

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