Cycloalkenes reaction with 1, 3-dicarbonyl

The reductive coupling of carbonyl compounds with formation of C-C double bonds was developed in the early seventies and is now known as McMurry reaction [38, 39]. The active metal in these reactions is titanium in a low-valent oxidation state. The reactive Ti species is usually generated from Ti(IV) or Ti(III) substrates by reduction with Zn, a Zn-Cu couple, or lithium aluminum hydride. A broad variety of dicarbonyl compounds can be cyclized by means of this reaction, unfunctionalized cycloalkenes can be synthesized from diketones, enolethers from ketone-ester substrates, enamines from ketone-amide substrates [40-42], Cycloalkanones can be synthesized from external keto esters (X = OR ) by subsequent hydrolysis of the primary formed enol ethers (Scheme 9). 

From a synthetic point of view, the titanium-induced mframolecular cyclization of dicarbonyl compounds is especially attractive in that carbocyclic rings of all sizes may be prepared in good yields, competitive with those obtained using the Dieckmann and acyloin cyclization methods. The synthesis of medium- and large-ring cycloalkenes by the McMurry reaction requires high-dilution conditions (< 0.0 IM) to repress intermol-ecular polymerization. ... 

Cycloalkenes. McMurry and Kees have described an intramolecular coupling of dicarbonyl compounds to cycloalkenes. In the intermolecular version of this reaction titanium(O) powder obtained by reduction with potassium or lithium is used (7, 368). In the intramolecular reaction a superior coupling reagent is prepared by reduction of TiClg with a zinc/copper couple in DME. 

Cycloalkenes of ring size 4—16 are prepared in good yield by treatment of dicarbonyl compounds (31) with the reagent prepared from TiCls and a zinc/copper couple. The reaction is general for both aldehydes and ketones, and... 

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