Cyclobutenes alcohols

Most ruthenium-initiated ROMP studies have been performed using (233) and strained cyclo-olefinic monomers such as norbornene688 and cyclobutenes,689 although several reports on the polymerization of 8-membered rings have also appeared.690-692 A wide range of functionalities are tolerated, including ethers, esters, amines, amides, alcohols, carboxylic acids, and ketones. 

Photocycloaddition of allene to cyclohexenone (341) gave the (3,y-enone (342), which reacted with vinyl magnesium bromide to produce the tertiary alcohol (343) in 79% yield. When the compound (343) was treated with KH and 18-crown-6 in THF at room temperature for two hours and quenched with aq. NH4C1, the cyclobutene (344) was obtained. The thermal ring opening of the cyclobutene (344) proceeded in toluene in a sealed-tube at 180 °C for twelve hours to give a readily separable 5 1 mixture of the civ-olefin (345), and the trans-olefin (346) respectively in 95 % yield. Moreover, (345) could be converted to a mixture of (346) and (345) in the ratio of 10 1 by irradiation. The compounds (345) and (346) possess the skeleton of the germacranes (347), (348) and (349) 122). 

A similar result was reported by Vandewalle 15°-151>. Irradiation of 1,2-bis(tn-methylsiloxy)cyclobutene and compounds (441) afforded compounds (442), which were reduced with LiAlH4 to give the endo alcohol (443). Treatment of the alcohol (443) with methanol for 24 hours would bring about silylether cleavage as well as unexpected direct oxidation of (443) to the cis-hydrindanes (444) in 50-70 % yield (Table 18)130). 

Cholecalciferol (vitamin D-3) differs from calciferol only in the alkyl side-chain, so it was assumed to be in the twisted conformation (75a). In alcoholic solution, vitamin D-3 was irradiated with a mercury arc lamp through a cupric sulphate solution filter to give wavelengths above 250 nm. Six products were isolated. Conformation (75a) could reasonably give rise to the assigned structures (76a), (77a) and (78a) (Scheme 2.3). Photoisomerization could give conformation (75b), which would explain the isolation of (76b), (77b) and (78b). The report is confident on four of the new compounds, but notes that the cyclobutene structures (78a) and (78b) are tentatively assigned [63]. 

Byproducts of this rearrangement are cyclobutenes, cyclopropane derivatives and allenic alcohols. The ratio of these products depends on the substitution of the substrate and on the reaction conditions. For example, 3-methyl-5-tosyloxypenta-l,2-diene (3) gives 75% of 1-methyl-2-methylenecyclobutanol (4) upon hydrolysis with water and calcium carbonate at 100 °C, while acetolysis with acetic acid/sodium acetate at 80 °C, and subsequent treatment with lithium aluminum hydride, provides only 37% of the cyclobutanol.12... 

In the area of reaction energetics. Baker, Muir, and Andzehn have compared six levels of theory for the enthalpies of forward activation and reaction for 12 organic reactions the unimolecular rearrangements vinyl alcohol -> acetaldehyde, cyclobutene -> s-trans butadiene, s-cis butadiene s-trans butadiene, and cyclopropyl radical allyl radical the unimolecular decompositions tetrazine -> 2HCN -F N2 and trifluoromethanol -> carbonyl difluoride -F HF the bimolecular condensation reactions butadiene -F ethylene -> cyclohexene (the Diels-Alder reaction), methyl radical -F ethylene -> propyl radical, and methyl radical -F formaldehyde -> ethoxyl radical and the bimolecular exchange reactions FO -F H2 FOH -F H, HO -F H2 H2O -F H, and H -F acetylene H2 -F HC2. Their results are summarized in Table 8.3 (Reaction Set 1). One feature noted by these authors is... 

The concerted disrotatory opening of the cyclobutene is much easier in the aldehyde than in the starting alcohol. Thus, while the alcohol could be easily isolated, its oxidation to aldehyde leads to a cyclobutene that could not be isolated, because it suffers a quick opening of the ring to the final product. 

An important and frequently observed phenomenon in alkene pyrolysis is the ready equilibration of E and Z isomers at FVP temperatures above 500 °C. The apparently contrathermodynamic conversion of the E into the Z isomer has been quantified over the range 500-900 °C for stilbene, cinnamyl alcohol and cinnamonitrile37. In the last case, the proportion of Z isomer increases to 38% at 900 °C. In certain cases the diradical implicit in the isomerization process can be trapped by an intramolecular reaction and this is exemplified by the formation of 2-phenylindane in low yield from FVP of 56 at 700 °C37. The cis cyclobutene diester 58 is assumed to be formed as an intermediate in the FVP of the bicyclic sulphone 57 at 775 °C by loss of SO2 and ethylene. Under these conditions, however, it reacts further to give equal proportions of the E diesters 59... 

Dimerization of Alkynes and Propargyl Alcohols into Functional Dienes or Cyclobutenes... 

The stannylcupration of alkynes has been widely studied. Reaction of alkynes with lithium bis(tributylstannyl) cuprate leads to r -2-(tri butyl stannyl) vinyl cuprates, which are synthetically equivalent to cis- 1,2-ethylene dianions. Addition of the tin-copper reagent across the triple bond occurs i>7/-stereospecifically, thus providing Z-vinylstannanes. Phenylacetylene reacts with the tin cuprate with a regiochemistry opposite to that of 1-decyne.294 The intermediate cuprates react well with the various electrophiles.295 For example, the reaction with ethylene oxide gives primary alcohols, and further treatment of their />-toluenesulfonates with butyllithium gives 1-substituted cyclobutenes (Equation (120)) 294... 

Generally the best result.s are obtained when the alcoholate of a fluorinated compound reacts with a nonfluorinated alkyl halide. Yields decrease when both alcohol and halide contain fluorine. The reaction of dichloro compound 9 with alcoholates 10 to monoethers II is representative of a variety of similar transformations (which proceed via an addition/elimination mechanism) of cyclopropcne, cyclobutene.cyclopentene" or cyclohexene derivatives." ... 

Cyclobutanol was obtained by deamination of (cyclopropylmethyl)amine in 40% yield. Cyclopropylmethanol was a major byproduct in this reaction. A more efficient synthesis of cyclobutanol is the acid-catalyzed rearrangement of cyclopropylmethanol with aqueous hydrochloric acid " cyclobutanol was obtained in 72% yield containing a trace of the allyl alcohol. This transformation forms the basis of an efficient cyclobutene synthesis. ... 

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