Directed Simmons-Smith reaction

Owing to the widespread use of ultrasonic cleaning baths, it is not surprising that many early sonochemical experiments were directed at reactions where dirty metal surfaces were thought to be the cause of inefficiencies. Reactions typified by Grignard and Simmons Smith reactions (Scheme 7.11) are often not predictable, sometimes having long induction periods followed by violent exotherms. Frequently, small... 

The direct reaction of zinc metal with organic iodides dates back to the work of Frankland(67). Several modifications have been suggested since that time to increase the reactivity of the metal. The majority of these modifications have employed zinc-copper couples(68-72), sodium-zinc alloys(73), or zinc-silver couples(77). Some recent work has indicated that certain zinc-copper couples will react with alkyl bromides to give modest yields of dialkylzinc compounds(74,73). However, all attempts to react zinc with aryl iodides or bromides have met with failure. The primary use of zinc couples has been in the Simmons-Smith reaction. This reaction has been primarily used with diiodomethane as 1,1-dibromides or longer chain diiodides have proven to be too unneactive even with the most reactive zinc couples. 

With the aid of density functional theory, the ZnCl2 acceleration of the Simmons-Smith reaction of ethylene and allyl alcohol has been investigated. A pathway involving direct Lewis acid acceleration of the leaving halogen atom (327) was found to be a more facile process than the more popular pathway involving 1,2-chlorine migration (328). 

Methylene can be transferred directly from the reagent mixture, CHjIj + Zn-Cu alloy, to the alkene without being generated as an intermediate (Simmons-Smith reaction). 

The intermediates in the Simmons-Smith reaction show much more controlled reactivity than, for example, diazoalkanes. Competing side reactions are greatly reduced, and insertion reactions are generally not seen. For example, the free hydroxy group is tolerated as indicated by the above discussion of directing effects. The reaction is also compatible with many other functional groups. 

As (—)-pulegone is not readily available, subsequent work addressed the natural enantiomer by different methods [12], but all completed their synthesis via Snider s enone (17). Asaoka utilised a TMS group as temporary directing volume (Scheme 5) [12a]. Cossy applied a photore-ductive cyclopropane ring opening, which was obtained by a diastereoselective Simmons-Smith reaction [12b]. Schmalz finally used a planar-chiral arene complex to synthesise enone 17 with interesting CrfCO), chemistry [12c]. 

An auxiliary-directed asymmetric Simmons-Smith reaction was used by a Hoff-mann-La Roche group88 for the synthesis of an ethynyl cyclopropane that served as the A-ring precursor to Vitamin D derivatives [Scheme 2.41]. High diastereoselectivity was achieved with the aid of the dioxolane ring prepared from (/ft/f)-(-)-butane-2,3-diol. The acid conditions for hydrolysis of the dioxolane ring were mild enough to leave the cyclopropane ring unperturbed. Dia-stereoselective cyclopropanation of acetals derived from 1,2-di-O-benzyl-L-threi-tol have also been reported 90... 

There are many ways of generating what appear to be carbenes. But in some cases at least, it seems clear that no free carbene is actually an intermediate instead, a carbenoid (carbene-like) reagent transfers a carbene unit directly to a double bond. For example, in the extremely useful Simmons-Smith reaction... 

A particularly interesting aspect of the Simmons-Smith reaction is the stereoelectron-ic control exhibited by proximal OH, OR groups, which favor cyclopropanation to occur from the same face of the double bond as the oxy substituents. The following order of decreasing directive effects has been observed OH > OR > C=0. 

Besides Cu and Rh, various other metals are known to catalyze the decomposition of diazo compounds [6,7,8,9,10]. Palladium complexes, e.g., are efficient catalysts for the cyclopropanation of electron-deficient C-C double bonds with diazoalkanes [19,20, 21], in contrast to Cu and Rh catalysts which are better suited for reactions with electron-rich olefins. Unfortunately, attempts to develop chiral Pd catalysts for enantioselective cyclopropanation have not been successful so far [22]. More promising results have been obtained with cobalt and ruthenium complexes. These and other chiral metal catalysts, that have been studied besides Cu and Rh complexes, are discussed in chap. 16.3. The same chapter also covers a new direction of research that has recently been taken with the development of catalytic enantioselective Simmons-Smith reactions. 

Simmons-Smith reaction is directed by the hydroxy function, the configuration at the spiro junction may be controlled at will by selecting the appropriate epimer of the starting allylic alcohol. 

Simmons-Smith reaction. Asymmetric methylene transfer to allyl glycosides containing a free hydroxyl group at C-2 arises from its directing effect. Both /3-l-glucopyranosides and their a-o- analogs have been exploited for the access of chiral cyclopropanes. 

The carbenes produced by the means described in Sections 5.3.1-5.3.4 are initially in the singlet state, but they can relax to the triplet ground state if reaction does not occur first The Simmons-Smith reaction produces a carbenoid, in which a carbene is stabilized by association with a metal, which reacts as a singlet carbene. It is possible to produce a triplet carbene directly through a process known as sensitization, in which a photoexcited triplet molecule S transfers energy to a carbene precursor and returns to its ground (singlet) electronic state. Conservation of electron spin requires that the carbene be produced in its triplet state (Scheme 5.18). 

Wolfgang Oppolzer s muscone synthesis is the first enantioselective macrocycli-sation. [195] It starts with pentadec-14-ynal, which is converted by hydro-boration and transmetaUation into the corresponding organozinc compound. The ring closure takes place in the presence of catalytic amounts of a diethylzinc/ (-)ejco-3-(diethylamino)bomeol adduct. After work-up, the cyclic allyl alcohol is obtained in 75 % yield and with an ee of 92 %. The hydroxy-group directs the diastereoselective cyclopropanation (Simmons-Smith reaction). The final steps are a Swern oxidation and selective ring-opening of the cyclopropane under Birch conditions. 

Cyclopropanation of alkenes, in both inter- and intramolecular modes, constitutes an attractive route to polycycloalkanes. These cyclopropanations of alkenes are carried out through car bene or carbenoid intermediates . For the direct cyclopropanation of alkenes, the methylene iodide zinc-copper couple (Simmons-Smith reaction)reagent is commonly used. Several modifications of this procedure, including acceleration with ultrasound, are known °°. A somewhat less frequently used procedure for cyclopropanation is through methylene addition from diazomethane, which can be carried out either thermally or photochemically or in the presence of metal salts, e.g. Pd(OAc)2 or Rh2(OAc)4. In Table some examples of the preparation of cyclopropane bearing... 

Polar functionality remote from the double bond can also be used to direct both the regioselectivity and stereoselectivity of the Simmons-Smith reaction. Much work has been performed on the directing effect of basic... 

In the absence of a directing group, the cyclopropanation of cyclic olefins is generally under steric control. The stereochemical preference can be predicted from the ground state conformation of the molecule and often high levels of stereocontrol are observed. For example, Paquette and coworkers used a Simmons-Smith reaction in their total synthesis of the secondary marine metabolite (+)-acetoxycrenulide (30), whereby high P-face selectivity was observed. ... 

Alkenes are reduced by addition of H2 in the presence of a catalyst such as platinum or palladium to yield alkanes, a process called catalytic hydrogenation. Alkenes are also oxidized by reaction with a peroxyacid to give epoxides, which can be converted into trans-l,2-diols by acid-catalyzed hydrolysis. The corresponding cis-l,2-diols can be made directly from alkenes by hydroxylation with OSO4. Alkenes can also be cleaved to produce carbonyl compounds by reaction with ozone, followed by reduction with zinc metal. In addition, alkenes react with divalent substances called carbenes, R2C , to give cyclopropanes. Nonhalo-genated cyclopropanes are best prepared by treatment of the alkene with CH2I2 and zinc-copper, a process called the Simmons-Smith reaction. 

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