Dicarbonyl compounds selenenylation

Unsaturated /1-dkarbonyl compounds. This system can be prepared by reaction of enolizable /5-dicarbonyl compounds with C6H5SeCl-pyridine (1 1, 9, 28-29) followed by sclcnoxide elimination. The rate of selenenylation increases with the ease of enolization of the substrate.2... 

An interesting variation for the introduction of selenenyl species, which has the advantage of using cheaper elemental selenium, has been described by Liotta and cowoiicers (Scheme 17). This reaction involves conversion of the lithium enolate (21) to the intomediate selenolate (22) which may be directly alkylated to give the selenenyl derivative (23) in high yield. The reaction worits well with ketones, esters and 3-dicarbonyl compounds, but has the disadvantage of requiring the use of HNiPA. ... 

Selenenyl halides are relatively stable, though moisture sensitive, compounds that are generally prepared by the reactions shown in Scheme 7 and behave as electrophihc selenium species. " They react with ketones and aldehydes via their enols or enolates to afford a-seleno derivatives (e.g. (17) in equation 11). Similar a-selenenylations of /3-dicarbonyl compounds, esters, and lactones can be performed, although the latter two types of compounds require prior formation of their enolates. Moreover, the a-selenenylation of anions stabilized by nitrile, nifro, sulfone, or various types of phosphorus substituents has also been reported (equation 12). In many such cases, the selenenylation step is followed by oxidation to the selenoxide and spontaneous syn elimination to provide a convenient method for the preparation of the corresponding a ,/3-unsaturated compound (e.g. 18 in equation 11). Enones react with benzeneselenenyl chloride (PhSeCl) and pyridine to afford a-phenylselenoenones (equation 13). 

Selenenamides (23) are obtained by the substitution of selenenyl halides with amines or by the metathesis of the former compounds with Af-silylamines. N-(Phenylseleno)phthalimide (24) is similarly obtained using potassium phthalimide (Scheme 10). These compounds can be isolated but are prone to hydrolyze when exposed to moisture. Selenenamides react with aldehydes or jS-dicarbonyl compounds to afford a-seleno derivatives (as in the process shown in equation 11), and add to activated double and triple bonds, as in the example in equation (19). The imide (24) is a useful alternative to PhSeCl in various selenenylation reactions, and to ArSeCN in the conversion of alcohols and carboxylic acids to selenides and selenoesters (8), as shown in Scheme 3. 

The cyclizations of 85 to 86 and of 87 to 88 represent the simple cases in which the internal nucleophile is the OH group of an alcohol [64,65]. An in situ generated hydroxy group, as in the addition of alcohols to carbonyl compounds, can also participate in phenylseleno-etherification reactions. This is examplified by the conversion of 89 into 90 in the presence of benzyl alcohol [66]. Another type of OH, which gives rise to these reactions is the enolic OH of /1-dicarbonyl compounds. Thus, Ley reported that compounds like 91 and 93 can be transformed into the cyclic derivatives 92 and 94 by treatment with N-PSP 11 in the presence of zinc iodide [67]. The cyclization of 95 to 96 represents a simple example of the selenolactonization process [68, 69]. It is interesting to note that the various cyclization reactions indicated in Scheme 14, which require different electrophilic selenenylating agents, can all be effected with phenyselenyl sulfate [70]. 

Whereas unsaturated /3-dicarbonyl compounds are prepared easily and efficiently via a-selenenylation, particularly by the pyridine complex of phenyl-selenenyl chloride, followed by oxidative elimination of the seleno-group, the use of the less expensive selenium metal as electrophile offers obvious advantages for reactions on a larger scale [equation (33)]. ... 

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