Diethylaluminum chloride

Erom 1955—1975, the Ziegler-Natta catalyst (91), which is titanium trichloride used in combination with diethylaluminum chloride, was the catalyst system for propylene polymerization. However, its low activity, which is less than 1000 g polymer/g catalyst in most cases, and low selectivity (ca 90% to isotactic polymer) required polypropylene manufacturers to purify the reactor product by washing out spent catalyst residues and removing unwanted atactic polymer by solvent extraction. These operations added significantly to the cost of pre-1980 polypropylene. 

The eailiest Ziegler-Natta catalysts were combinations of titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) and diethylaluminum chloride [(CH3CH2)2A1C1], but these have given way to more effective zirconium-based metallocenes, the simplest of which is bis(cyclopentadi-enyl)ziiconium dichloride (Section 14.14). 

Z)-2-Butenyldiethylaluminum has been generated at — 78°C by the reaction of (Z)-2-butenylpotassium and diethylaluminum chloride, but its reactions with aldehydes have not been systematically investigated1. The reaction of (Z)-2-butenyldiethylaluminum and chiral aldehyde 1, that provided 2 with 3 1 selectivity, was performed as one step in Still s monensin synthesis. 

Alkoxy-substituted allylaluminum reagents diethyl[(Z)-3-methoxy-2-propenyl]- and -[(Z)-3-(l-methoxy-l-methylethyl)-2-propenyl]aluminum have been prepared by treatment of the corresponding alkoxyallyllithiums with diethylaluminum chloride in tetrahydrofuran at — 78 =C4. These reagents provide the syn-diastereomer with 9-11 1 selectivity in reactions with aldehydes at — 78 °C. The reaction of diethyir(Z)-3-methoxy-2-propenyl]a]uminum and acetophenone provided the iy -diastereomer with 4 1 selectivity. 

A solution of 1.5 mol equiv of butyllithium in hexane is added to 1.5 mol equiv of a 1 M solution of hexabutylditin in THF at 0 C under nitrogen, and the mixture is stirred for 20 min. The solution is cooled to — 78 °C and a solution of 1.5 mol equiv of diethylaluminum chloride in toluene is added. After stirring for 1 h at — 78 °C, a solution of 0.05 mol equiv of [tetrakis(triphenyl)phosphine]palladium(0) in THF is added followed by a solution of the allyl acetate in THF. The mixture is warmed to r.t., and stirred until the allyl acetate has reacted (TLC). The solution is cooled to 0°C, and an excess of aq ammonia slowly added. After an aqueous workup, the products arc isolated and purified by flash chromatography on silica gel using 1 % triethylamine in the solvent to avoid acid-induced loss of stannane. 

Conducting the aldol reaction at temperatures below —78 "C increases the diastereoselectivity, but at the cost of reduced yields45. Transmetalation of the lithium enolate 2 a by treatment with diethylaluminum chloride generated an enolate species that provided high yields of aldol products, however, the diastereoselectivity was as low as that of the lithium species45. Pre treatment of the lithium enolate 2a with tin(II) chloride, zinc(II) chloride, or boron trifluoridc suppressed the aldol reaction and the starting iron-acyl complex was recovered. 

Reaction of the lithium enolate 2 with prochiral aldehydes at low temperature proceeds with little selectivity, producing all four possible diastereomers 3, 4, 5, and 6 in similar amounts50. Transmetalation of the lithium enolate by treatment with three equivalents of diethylaluminum chloride or with one equivalent of copper cyanide generates the corresponding cthylaluminum and copper enolates which react at — 100°C with prochiral aldehydes to produce selectively diastereomers 1 and 2, respectively50. The reactivity of tin enolates of iron- propanoyl complexes has not been described. 

In contrast, transmetalation of the lithium enolate at —40 C by treatment with one equivalent of copper cyanide generated a species 10b (M = Cu ) that reacted with acetaldehyde to selectively provide a 25 75 mixture of diastereomers 11 and 12 (R = CH3) which are separable by chromatography on alumina. Other diastereomers were not observed. Similar transmetalation of 10a (M = Li0) with excess diethylaluminum chloride, followed by reaction with acetaldehyde, produced a mixture of the same two diastereomers, but with a reversed ratio (80 20). Similar results were obtained upon aldol additions to other aldehydes (see the following table)49. 

Transmetalation of 19 by treatment with two equivalents of diethylaluminum chloride generates the aluminum enolate species 23. The latter reacts with acetaldehyde to produce the stable aluminum aldolates 24 which do not undergo the Peterson elimination23. A protic quench then provides the a-silylated aldol adducts of tentative structures (2 R)-25 and (2 V)-25 with little diastereoselectivity. Other diastereomers are not observed. 

According to these results the yields and E. F. decrease with the increasing number of Si-Cl bonds in the functional initiators. It is possible that Si-Cl bonds may slowly react with the diethylaluminum chloride coinitiator and thus reduce the expected E.F. as follows40 ... 

Lewis acids such as zinc chloride, boron trifluoride, tin tetrachloride, aluminum chloride, methylaluminum dichloride, and diethylaluminum chloride catalyze Diels-Alder reactions.22 The catalytic effect is the result of coordination of the Lewis acid with the dienophile. The complexed dienophile is more electrophilic and more reactive toward electron-rich dienes. The mechanism of the addition is believed to be concerted and enhanced regio- and stereoselectivity is often observed.23... 

Scheme 7.5 gives some examples of the Reformatsky reaction. Zinc enolates prepared from a-haloketones can be used as nucleophiles in mixed aldol condensations (see Section 2.1.3). Entry 7 is an example. This type of reaction can be conducted in the presence of the Lewis acid diethylaluminum chloride, in which case addition occurs at -20° C.171... 

The experimental isotope effects have been measured for the reaction of 2-methylbutene with formaldehyde with diethylaluminum chloride as the catalyst,27 and are consistent with a stepwise mechanism or a concerted mechanism with a large degree of bond formation at the TS. B3LYP/6-31G computations using H+ as the Lewis acid favored a stepwise mechanism. 

On the other hand, many reactions are known where in a first intermolecular step a functionality is introduced which than can undergo an intramolecular reaction. A nice example is the reaction of dienone 0-34 with methyl acrylate in the presence of diethylaluminum chloride to give the bridged compound 0-35 (Scheme 0-11). The first step is an intermolecular Michael addition, which is followed by an intramolecular Michael addition. This domino process is the key step of the total synthesis of valeriananoid A, as described by Hagiwara and coworkers [21]. 

Twofold Michael additions have been utilized by the groups of Spitzner [2] and Hagiwara [3] to construct substituted bicyclo[2.2.2]octane frameworks. In Hagiwara s approach towards valeriananoid A (2-6) [4], treatment of trimethylsily-enol ether 2-2, prepared from the corresponding oxophorone 2-1, and methyl acrylate (2-3) with diethylaluminum chloride at room temperature (r.t.) afforded the bicyclic compound 2-4 (Scheme 2.2). Its subsequent acetalization allowed the selective protection of the less-hindered ketone moiety to provide 2-5, which could be further transformed into valeriananoid A (2-6). 

Materials. 5-Methyl-1,4-hexadiene was obtained by the codimerization of isoprene and ethylene with a catalyst (18) consisting of iron octanoate, triethylaluminum and 2,2 -bi-pyridyl. The product mixture which contained principally 5-methyl-1,4-hexadiene and 4-methy1-1,4-hexadiene was fractionated through a Podbielniack column to yield high purity (>99%) 5-methylxhexadiene, b.p. 92.80C,njj 1.4250 (Lit. (19) b.p. 88-89°C, np 1.4249). 1-Hexene (99.9% purity), 1-decene (99.6% purity), 4-methyl-1-hexene (99.5% purity) and 5-methyl-l-hexene (99.7% purity) were obtained from Chemical Samples Co. 6-TiCl3 AA (Stauffer Chemical Co.j contains 0.33 mole AICI3 per mole of TiClj). Diethylaluminum Chloride was obtained from Texas Alkyls (1.5 M in hexane). 

Another microwave-mediated intramolecular SN2 reaction forms one of the key steps in a recent catalytic asymmetric synthesis of the cinchona alkaloid quinine by Jacobsen and coworkers [209]. The strategy to construct the crucial quinudidine core of the natural product relies on an intramolecular SN2 reaction/epoxide ringopening (Scheme 6.103). After removal of the benzyl carbamate (Cbz) protecting group with diethylaluminum chloride/thioanisole, microwave heating of the acetonitrile solution at 200 °C for 2 min provided a 68% isolated yield of the natural product as the final transformation in a 16-step total synthesis. 

In most cases, the stereochemical course of heterocyclic addition can be altered by pre-complexation of nitrones with Lewis acids. In the absence of complexation agents (Et2AlCl, TiCLi), addition of lithio-hetaryl derivatives to chiral 3-alkoxy nitrones (292a-d) gives P-alkoxy-a-hydroxylamino-2-alkylhetaryls (346a-d) in good yields with. vy/i-selectivity. In the presence of diethylaluminum chloride the reaction leads to the same adducts, but with anti-selectivity (Scheme 2.150) (Table 2.12) (581). 

The stereochemical outcomes of the above reactions can be explained by the proposed transition states A and B (Fig. 2.25). Model A, derived from the Houk model for nucleophilic addition to olefins, explains the formation of, v y -adducts. Model B, involving a different nitrone conformation, due to the chelation of diethylaluminum chloride, accounts for the formation of anti -adducts (581). 

Aldol condensation of chlorodifluoromethyl ketones with ketones can be effected in moderate yield by use of diethylaluminum chloride (1.1 equiv.) and zinc activated with silver (I) acetate. 

In 1990, Choudary [139] reported that titanium-pillared montmorillonites modified with tartrates are very selective solid catalysts for the Sharpless epoxidation, as well as for the oxidation of aromatic sulfides [140], Unfortunately, this research has not been reproduced by other authors. Therefore, a more classical strategy to modify different metal oxides with histidine was used by Moriguchi et al. [141], The catalyst showed a modest e.s. for the solvolysis of activated amino acid esters. Starting from these discoveries, Morihara et al. [142] created in 1993 the so-called molecular footprints on the surface of an Al-doped silica gel using an amino acid derivative as chiral template molecule. After removal of the template, the catalyst showed low but significant e.s. for the hydrolysis of a structurally related anhydride. On the same fines, Cativiela and coworkers [143] treated silica or alumina with diethylaluminum chloride and menthol. The resulting modified material catalyzed Diels-Alder reaction between cyclopentadiene and methacrolein with modest e.s. (30% e.e.). As mentioned in the Introduction, all these catalysts are not yet practically important but rather they demonstrate that amorphous metal oxides can be modified successfully. 

Electron-rich 3-methoxy-4-trimethylsilyl-l,2-butadiene (22) reacted with several electron-poor alkenes in the presence of diethylaluminum chloride to afford methylene cyclobutanes 23. Reactions with alkynes were performed in the presence of methylalu-minum bis(2,4,6-tri-t-butylphenoxide) (equation 7)16. 

The Lewis acid catalyzed reaction of furan (169) with ketovinylphosphonate 170 produced a mixture of adducts, both of which slowly underwent retro Diels-Alder reactions at room temperature121. When diethylaluminum chloride was used as the catalyst, the endo selectivity (with respect to the keto functionality) was enhanced from 171/172 = 58/42 to 78/22 by raising the reaction temperature from — 25 °C to 0°C (equation 47). This is in agreement with the FMO theory, since initial Lewis acid complexation is with the phosphonate group. 

Sudo and Saigo153 reported the application of ds-2-amino-3,3-dimethyl-l-indanol derived l,3-oxazolidin-2-one 231 as a chiral auxiliary in asymmetric Diels-Alder reactions. The TV-crotonyl and TV-acryloyl derivatives were reacted with cyclopentadiene, 1,3-cyclohexadiene, isoprene and 2,3-dimethyl-l,3-butadiene, using diethylaluminum chloride as the Lewis acid catalyst. The reactions afforded the expected cycloadducts in moderate to high yields (33-97%) with high endo selectivities and high de values (92% to >98%). 

Kunieda and colleagues155 used a similar kind of l,3-oxazolidin-2-one (234) and studied the diethylaluminum chloride and boron trifluoride etherate catalyzed Diels-Alder reactions of its A-acryloyl and A-crotonyl derivatives with cyclopentadiene. The yields were high (80-100%), the reactions being almost completely endo selective. The diastere-omeric excesses obtained ranged from 71% to more than 99%. 

Carbohydrates have found widespread use as chiral auxiliaries in asymmetric Diels-Al-der reactions156. A recent example is a study conducted by Ferreira and colleagues157 who used carbohydrate based chiral auxiliaries in the Lewis acid catalyzed Diels-Alder reactions of their acrylate esters 235 with cyclopentadiene (equation 66). Some representative results of their findings, including the ratios of products 236 and 237, have been summarized in Table 9. The formation of 236 as the main product when diethylaluminum chloride was used in dichloromethane (entry 3) was considered to be the result of an equilibrium between a bidentate and monodentate catalyst-dienophile complex. The bidentate complex would, upon attack by the diene, lead to 236, whereas the monodentate complex would afford 236 and 237 in approximately equal amounts. The reversal of selectivity on changing the solvent from dichloromethane to toluene (entry 2 vs 3) remained unexplained by the authors. 

Cadogan and coworkers160 developed a fructose-derived l,3-oxazin-2-one chiral auxiliary which they applied in the Diels-Alder reactions of its iV-enoyl derivatives 246 with cyclopentadiene using diethylaluminum chloride as the Lewis acid catalyst. The reactions afforded mixtures of endo 247 and exo 248 (equation 68). The catalyst binds to the chiral dienophile in a bidentate fashion (co-ordination to both carbonyl groups). As a consequence, the dienophile is constrained to a rigid conformation which accounts for the almost complete diastereofacial selectivities observed. 

Taguchi and coworkers175 studied the Lewis acid catalyzed asymmetric Diels-Alder reactions of chiral 2-fluoroacrylic acid derivatives with isoprene and cyclopentadiene. When a chiral l,3-oxazolidin-2-one and diethylaluminum chloride were used as the chiral auxiliary and the Lewis acid catalyst, respectively, a de of 90% was observed for the reaction with isoprene. The reaction with cyclopentadiene afforded a 1 1 mixture of endo and exo isomers with de values of 95% and 96%, respectively. The endo/exo selectivity was improved by using 8-phenylmenthol as the chiral auxiliary. Thus, the reaction... 

Taguchi and colleagues189 studied the reactions of axially chiral maleimide and anilide derivatives 298 and 300 with cyclopentadiene (equation 83). The reaction of 298 with cyclopentadiene, catalyzed by diethylaluminum chloride, proceeded quantitatively with almost complete endo and diastereofacial selectivities to give 299 and 301, respectively. The reaction of 300 with cyclopentadiene was catalyzed by iodine and proceeded via a cationic iodocyclization intermediate. The reaction afforded a mixture of endo and exo isomers in a ratio of endo/exo = 97/3, the endo isomer being obtained with 97% de. 

Mayoral and colleagues210 studied the same reaction catalyzed by a menthoxyaluminum catalyst supported on silica gel and alumina. The catalyst was prepared by treatment of the solid support with diethylaluminum chloride and (—)-menthol. The silica-supported catalyst proved more active than the alumina-supported catalyst. The reaction rates and enantioselectivities depended strongly on the amount of (—)-menthol used. The highest ee obtained was 31% at 81% conversion (endo/exo = 10/90). 

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