7 /// /.-diaxial

The greater stability of an equatorial methyl group compared with an axial one IS another example of a steric effect (Section 3 2) An axial substituent is said to be crowded because of 1,3 diaxial repulsions between itself and the other two axial sub stituents located on the same side of the ring... 

Less than 0 01 % (Serious 1 3 diaxial repulsions involving tert butyl group)... 

Diaxial repulsion (Section 3 10) Repulsive forces between axial substituents on the same side of a cyclohexane nng... 

Medroxyprogesterone acetate (74) is stmcturaHy related to and has been prepared from hydroxyprogesterone (39) (Fig. 10). Formation of the bis-ketal accomplishes the protection of the ketones and the required migration of the double bond. Epoxidation with peracetic acid produces a mixture of epoxides (75), with a predominating. Treatment of the a-epoxide with methyl magnesium bromide results in diaxial opening of the epoxide. Deprotection of the ketones provides (76), which is dehydrated to (77) by treatment with dilute sodium hydroxide in pyridine. Upon treatment with gaseous hydrochloric... 

Nucleophilic attack on oxirane carbon usually proceeds with inversion of configuration (Scheme 44) as expected for Sn2 reactions, even under acid conditions (Scheme 45). Scheme 45 also illustrates the fact that cyclohexene oxides open in a fran5-diaxial manner this is known as the Fiirst-Plattner rule (49HCA275) and there are very few exceptions to it. 

Neighbouring diaxial protons of cyclohexane can be clearly identified by their large coupling constants 11-13 Hz, Table 2.10) which contrast with those of protons in diequatorial or axial-equatorial configurations ( Jee 2-4 Hz). Similar relationships hold for pyranosides as oxy-... 

The multiplets and coupling constants of the axial) protons at = 3.15, 3.50 and 4.08 moreover confirm the equatorial positions of all three OH groups, as can be seen in formula B. Here the couplings from 10.0 to 11.5 Hz, respectively, identify vicinal protons in diaxial configurations, whilst values of 4.5 and 5.0 Hz, respectively, are typical for axial-equatorial relationships. As the multiplets show, the protons at 5 = 3.50 and 4.08 couple with two axial and one equatorial proton (triplet of doublets) respectively, whereas the proton at = 3.15 couples with one axial and one equatorial proton (doublet of doublets). 

The more stable diastereomer in each case is the one having both methyl groups equatorial. The free-energy difference favoring the diequatorial isomer is about the same for each case (about 1.9 kcal/mol) and is close to the — A(j value of the methyl group (1.8 kcal/mol). This implies that there are no important interactions present that are not also present in methylcyclohexane. This is reasonable since in each case the axial methyl group interacts only with the 3,5-diaxial hydrogens, just as in methylcyclohexane. 

Conformations in which there is a 1,3-diaxial interaction between substituent groups larger than Iqidrogen are destabilized by van der Waals repulsion. Equilibration of mixtures of cis- and /ran5-l,l,3,5-tetramethylcyclohexane reveals that the cis isomer is favored by 3.7 kcal/mol. This provides a value for a 1,3-diaxial methyl interaction that is 1.9 kcal/mol higher than that for the l,3-methyl-4iydrogen interaction. 

This result shows than the initially added trichloromethyl group has little influence on the stereochemistry of the subsequent bromine atom-abstraction. The intermediate 2-(trichlor-omethyl)cyclohexyl radical presumably relaxes to the equatorial conformation faster than bromine-atom abstraction occurs. In contrast with addition to A -octahydronaphthalene, the addition is exclusively /ran -diaxial ... 

A facile method for the stereospecific labeling of carbon atoms adjacent to an oxygenated position is the reductive opening of oxides. The stereospecificity of this reaction is due to virtually exclusive diaxial opening of steroidal oxides when treated with lithium aluminum hydride or deuteride. The resulting /ra/w-diaxial labeled alcohols are of high stereochemical and isotopic purity, with the latter property depending almost solely on the quality of the metal deuteride used. (For the preparation of m-labeled alcohols, see section V-D.)... 

No extensive investigation of mechanism has been undertaken for any of the methods of dehydrohalogenation described. 17-Bromo-20-ketones appear to undergo preferential /ran -elimination. 2-Halo-3-ketones suffer predominant loss of the la (axial) hydrogen, but the geometry of bromine loss is not known. 7>fl -diaxial elimination has sometimes been assumed in configurational assignments, but this is not necessarily correct (see ref. 6). 

It has generally been assumed that phosphorous oxychloride-pyridine dehydrations, the elimination of sulfonates, and other base catalyzed eliminations (see below) proceed by an E2 mechanism (see e.g. ref. 214, 215, 216). Concerted base catalyzed eliminations in acyclic systems follow the Saytzelf orientation rule i.e., proceed toward the most substituted carbon), as do eliminations (see ref 214). However, the best geometrical arrangement of the four centers involved in 2 eliminations is anti-coplanar and in the cyclohexane system only the tran -diaxial situation provides this. 

Thionyl chloride behaves in some circumstances as though it dehydrates by tran -diaxial elimination, as described for phosphorous oxychloride. For example, the 5a-alcohol (102) undergoes anti-Saytzelf elimination to give the A" -olefin. In this particular example, phosphorous oxychloride-pyridine does not work, and acetic anhydride-sulfuric acid gives the A -isomer (ref. 185, p. 199). 

There are conflicting reports regarding the direction of elimination from isomeric 12-methyl-12-hydroxy compounds. Levine found little dependence on hydroxyl orientation, whereas Coxon found the tra -diaxial requirement overwhelming. 

The amino functional group is not commonly encountered in steroid synthesis except perhaps in steroidal alkaloids. However, certain elimination reactions have been shown to have theoretical and limited preparative importance, largely due to the efforts of McKenna and co-workers. The Hofmann rule for 2 elimination predicts that alkaline elimination of quaternary ammonium salts will occur towards the carbon carrying the most hydrogen atoms cf. the converse Saytzeff orientation, above). In cyclohexyl systems, the requirement for diaxial elimination appears to be important, as in other 2 eliminations, and the Hofmann rule frequently is not obeyed [e.g., (116) (117)]. 

The stereochemistry of formation and rearrangement of vicinal dihaUdes has been elucidated, chiefly by Barton s group. Trans diaxial addition occurs but the product may then equilibrate with the more stable... 

The stereochemistry of the dibromides does not appear to affect the usefulness for regenerating olefins with zinc or chromous ion however, significant differences in ease of reduction have been observed. Thus, the diequatorial 3j5,4a-dibromocholestane (121) is 1 % reacted under conditions which give a 91 % conversion of the diaxial 3a,4j5-isomer (122). 

Some instances of incomplete debromination of 5,6-dibromo compounds may be due to the presence of 5j5,6a-isomer of wrong stereochemistry for anti-coplanar elimination. The higher temperature afforded by replacing acetone with refluxing cyclohexanone has proved advantageous in some cases. There is evidence that both the zinc and lithium aluminum hydride reductions of vicinal dihalides also proceed faster with diaxial isomers (ref. 266, cf. ref. 215, p. 136, ref. 265). The chromous reduction of vicinal dihalides appears to involve free radical intermediates produced by one electron transfer, and is not stereospecific but favors tra 5-elimination in the case of vic-di-bromides. Chromous ion complexed with ethylene diamine is more reactive than the uncomplexed ion in reduction of -substituted halides and epoxides to olefins. ... 

The acetates of vicinal diols undergo reductive elimination on treatment with metal-ammonia yields of olefin are only significant if one ester is tertiary and the arrangement is tran -diaxial. ... 

Keto-5) , lOjff-epoxides (38) undergo diaxial opening with BF3-etherate in benzene to form the fluorohydrins (39). ... 

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