Cyclobutenones reactions

Moore et al. investigated the thermal rearrangements of differently substituted cyclobutenones. Reactions of 4-alkenyl-4-hydroxycyclobute-nones such as 18, in which the triple bond is replaced by a double bound, are complementary to the ring expansions of 4-alkynyl-4-hydroxycyclobute-nones and provide a route to the differently substituted benzoquinones, such as aurrantiogliocladin 19. The reaction proceeds via enyne-ketene 20. Since cyclization produces a derivative of hydroquinone 21, an additional oxidation step is required that is accomplished with the use of cerium ammonium nitrate on silica. This ring expansion process is independent of the... 

Simple olefins do not usually add well to ketenes except to ketoketenes and halogenated ketenes. Mild Lewis acids as well as bases often increase the rate of the cyclo addition. The cycloaddition of ketenes to acetylenes yields cyclobutenones. The cycloaddition of ketenes to aldehydes and ketones yields oxetanones. The reaction can also be base-cataly2ed if the reactant contains electron-poor carbonyl bonds. Optically active bases lead to chiral lactones (41—43). The dimerization of the ketene itself is the main competing reaction. This process precludes the parent compound ketene from many [2 + 2] cyclo additions. Intramolecular cycloaddition reactions of ketenes are known and have been reviewed (7). 

The [3S+1C] cycloaddition reaction with Fischer carbene complexes is a very unusual reaction pathway. In fact, only one example has been reported. This process involves the insertion of alkyl-derived chromium carbene complexes into the carbon-carbon a-bond of diphenylcyclopropenone to generate cyclobutenone derivatives [41] (Scheme 13). The mechanism of this transformation involves a CO dissociation followed by oxidative addition into the cyclopropenone carbon-carbon a-bond, affording a metalacyclopentenone derivative which undergoes reductive elimination to produce the final cyclobutenone derivatives. 

The coupling reaction of the cyelopropylcuprates 87 with the 4-chloro-cyclobutenones 75 or their ethylene acetals 86 is useful for preparing the 4-cyclopropyl-2-cyclobutenones 88. The ring fission of 88 to the cyclohep-tadienones 89 is performed by a Rh(I)-catalyst. The less substituted cyclopropane ring bond is cleaved selectively. Cyclooctadienones are obtained by using 4-cyclobutyl-2-cyclobutenones [43]. (Scheme 31)... 

The indanols 44 and 45 can only be the products of a formal [4 + 2] cycloaddition23 of the vinylketene complex 42.a with 1-pentyne. Note that upon reaction of 42.b with diethylpropynylamine a formal [2 + 2] cycloaddition65 is seen to take place, yielding the cyclobutenone 47 along with a tricarbonylchromium complex, tentatively identified as 48.66,67 As one would expect, the vinylketene complex 42.b underwent 1,2-additions with pyrrolidine and sodium methoxide in methanol, yielding 49 and 50, respectively. The CO-insertion step leading to vinylketene formation is reversible in some systems,51,68,69 but there is no evidence of this for complex 42.a. Heating a benzene solution of complex 42.a at 80°C under an atmosphere... 

It should be noted that upon reaction with an electron-rich cyclobutenone (R1 = R3 = H, R2 = OEt), the major product formed was a cobaltacyclopen-tenone, which may also be considered to be an 772-vinylketene complex. A similar restructure was isolated after heating 114.a with a large excess of triphenylphosphine, which replaces the ligand site vacated by the central C2 unit. Interestingly, such 772-vinylketene complexes are the expected products from the analogous insertion of rhodium into cyclobutenones (e.g., 7). 

Disubstituted 4-chloro-2-cyclobutenones 75 undergo the palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction with vinyl- and arylstannanes 76 or vinylzir-conium reagents to give the 4-R sa,-2-cyclobutenones 77. Without isolation, these cyclobutenones 77 are rearranged to the substituted phenols 78 on thermolysis [38], Application of this method to the stannylated heteroaromatics 79 provides a synthetic route to the aromatic benzoheterocycles 80 [39]. (Scheme 27 and 28)... 

The intermediate vinylketene complexes can undergo several other types or reaction, depending primarily on the substitution pattern, the metal and the solvent used (Figure 2.27). More than 15 different types of product have been obtained from the reaction of aryl(alkoxy)carbene chromium complexes with alkynes [333,334]. In addition to the formation of indenes [337], some arylcarbene complexes yield cyclobutenones [338], lactones, or furans [91] (e.g. Entry 4, Table 2.19) upon reaction with alkynes. Cyclobutenones can also be obtained by reaction of alkoxy(alkyl)carbene complexes with alkynes [339]. 

Depending on the types of substituents and the precise reaction conditions (l,3-butadien-l-yl)carbene complexes can undergo direct cyclization to yield cyclo-pentadienes [337,350]. As mentioned in Section 2.2.5.1, cyclopentadiene formation occurs particularly easily with aminocarbene complexes [351]. Alternatively, in particular at higher reaction temperatures, CO-insertion can lead to the formation of a vinylketene complex, which, again depending on the electronic properties of the substituents and the reaction conditions, can cyclize to yield cyclobutenones, furans [91,352], cyclopentenones, furanones [91], or phenols (Dotz benzannulation) [207,251,353]. 

An intramolecular allenylidene-alkynyl coupling was also observed in the reaction of the mixed alkynyl-allenylidene rhodium(I) complex 73 with carbon monoxide (Scheme 25). In this case, the initially formed thermally unstable allenyl derivative 74 evolved into the metallated cyclobutenone 75 when an excess of CO was present [276]. 

Carbonylation of the urea 27 in the presence of Pd(0) and KOAc as base is a useful route to 4-butyl-2-phenyl-23,44-tetrahydro-l/f-2,4-benzodiazepine-13-dione (28) <99TL2623>. Also isolated from this reaction as secondary product is IV-n-butylisoindoline. Pyrolysis of the cyclobutenones 29 afford the diazepines 30 in moderate yield <99JOC707>. 

Further reaction of (29 R = H) with triethylamine has given the mononuclear cyclobutenone complex (30) (52). Complexes of this type can also be obtained by cycloaddition of ketenes to the cr-acetylide (53) ... 

Another group of unstable carbanions are those with antiaromatic character (Scheme 5.71). Thus, cyclopropenyl anions or oxycyclobutadienes, generated by deprotonation of cyclopropenes or cyclobutenones, respectively, will be highly reactive and will tend to undergo unexpected side reactions. Similarly, cyclopentenediones are difficult to deprotonate and alkylate, because the intermediate enolates are electronically related to cyclopentadienone and thus to the antiaromatic cyclopenta-dienyl cation. 

Scheme S. Potential side reactions of the benzannulation leading to furans G and cyclobutenones H.

The formation of side products depends on the choice of substituents and solvent [21]. The role of the solvent is illustrated by the reaction of phenyl carbene complex 1 with diphenylethyne (Scheme 7). An ethereal solvent such as THF leads exclusively to the benzannulation product isolated as quinone 7 after oxidative work-up, while use of the noncoordinating solvent hexane results in comparable amounts of cyclobenzannulation and cyclopentannulation products 7 and 8a. Strongly coordinating acetonitrile suppresses benzannulation product 7 in favor of the cyclobutenone 9, which is accompanied by minor amounts of cyclopentannulation products 8a and 8b. Indene 8a is obtained exclusively if the polar solvent DMF is employed. 

In a study of annelation reactions of 4-alkynylcyclobutenones <91JOC6104>, thermolysis of a 4-alkynyl-4-(propargyloxy)cyclobutenone was observed to give a high yield of a quinone methide as evidenced by the formation of a hetero-Diels-Alder product in the presence of butoxyethene as a... 

The thermal rearrangement of cyclobutenones to naphthols represents a ring enlargement reaction or, depending on the reaction conditions, a ring formation reaction. While the latter type is not a subject of this review, the former is. 

Pentanedione is in equilibrium with two enolate ions after treatment with base. Enolate A is stable and unreactive, while enolate B can undergo internal aldol condensation to form a cyclobutenone product. But, because the aldol reaction is reversible and the cyclobutenone product is highly strained, there is little of this product present when equilibrium is reached. At equilibrium, only the stable, diketone enolate ion A is present. 

Suggest a reaction mechanism for the thermal rearrangement of cyclobutenone 8 into the isochromanhydroquinone 9. 

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