Double carbonylation epoxides

The biphasic double carbonylation of phenyloxiranes under PT conditions affords 4,5-dihydro-4-phenylfuran-2,3-diones [162]. A similar reaction involving 2-phenylthiirane gives the ) -mercapto-substituted acid [163]. The PTC reaction of vinyl epoxides with CO and Mel in the presence of catalytic amounts of Co2(CO)h and TDA-1 affords /ff-hydroxy acids [164]. 

A traditional way to epoxidize a,p-unsaturated carbonyl compounds in aqueous meda is the Michael reaction with alkaline hydroperoxides [Ij. Baeyer-Villiger oxidation is a concomitant reaction, making double-bond epoxidation a delicate procedure. 

Primary and secondary amines also react with epoxides (or in situ produced episulfides )r aziridines)to /J-hydroxyamines (or /J-mercaptoamines or 1,2-diamines). The Michael type iddition of amines to activated C—C double bonds is also a useful synthetic reaction. Rnally unines react readily with. carbonyl compounds to form imines and enamines and with carbo-tylic acid chlorides or esters to give amides which can be reduced to amines with LiAlH (p. Ilf.). All these reactions are often applied in synthesis to produce polycyclic alkaloids with itrogen bridgeheads (J.W. Huffman, 1967) G. Stork, 1963 S.S. Klioze, 1975). 

Electron deficient carbon-carbon double bonds are resistant to attack by the electrophilic reagents of Section 5.05.4.2.2(t), and are usually converted to oxiranes by nucleophilic oxidants. The most widely used of these is the hydroperoxide ion (Scheme 79). Since epoxidation by hydroperoxide ion proceeds through an intermediate ct-carbonyl anion, the reaction of acyclic alkenes is not necessarily stereospecific (Scheme 80) (unlike the case of epoxidation with electrophilic agents (Section 5.05.4.2.2(f)) the stereochemical aspects of this and other epoxidations are reviewed at length in (B-73MI50500)). 

By analogy to simple olefins, we propose that 0(3P) initially adds to the 1,4 or 1,2 double bonds in polybutadienes at ambient temperature. Since the rate constants for 0(3P) addition to cis-2-butene and 1-butene (as models for 1,4 and 1,2 double bonds, respectively) are in the ratio 4.2 1 at 298 K ( 6), preferential addition to the 1,4 double bonds is assumed to persist to very high vinyl contents (-8011). The biradical adducts then rearrange to epoxides and carbonyl compounds or give rise to chain rupture and/or crosslinking as a consequence of PIF, according to the scheme ... 

The synthetic equivalents of the carbocations can be, of course a carbonyl group or a carbon with a leaving group -X, an epoxide or an activated double bound. 

The most important commercial polymers prepared by this method are obtained from monomers containing a carbon-carbon double bond. In such cases the reaction is called vinyl polymerisation. The addition polymerisation is also important for carbonyl compounds and 1, 2-epoxides. 

The key intermediate in Tobe et al. s synthesis of (+)-marasmic acid (27), 1-oxa-spirohexane (26), was accessed via a photocycloaddition between enone 24 and 1 (Scheme 19.6) [8], The photocydoadduct 25 was obtained in 73% yield with the desired isomer consisting of 91% of the material. The structure of the minor product obtained from this cycloaddition was not confirmed. Reduction of the carbonyl group of 25 and epoxidation of the exocyclic double bond gave 26. An acid-catalyzed rearrangement of 26 afforded the core structure of marasmic acid and was subsequently taken on to complete the synthesis of this natural product. 

NBS is a source of Br+. It reacts with alkenes to give bromonium ions. Then both C-Br bonds need to be replaced by C-0 bonds by single inversions, since the trans stereochemistry of the double bond is retained in the epoxide. Under these acidic conditions the bromonium ion is opened intramolecularly by the acid carbonyl O, with inversion at one center loss of H+ gives a bromolactone. 

The 1,2-carbonyl transposition takes place through the enJo-epoxide 18 easily prepared through the tosylhydrazone 16, followed by regioselective cleavage to the less substituted double bond (17) with 2 equivalents of methyllithium [4] and epoxidation with MCPBA in chloroform from the more accesible convex face of the decalin system. 

The range of the asymmetric epoxidation reaction may be extended still further to include dienes (Entries 7,12,17) and even tetraenes (Entry 26). It is of interest to note that only double bonds adjacent to the carbonyl function are epoxidised and any remaining double bonds are left untouched (Entry 26). This selective reactivity allows for further elaboration of unreacted alkene units at a later stage, (see Sect. 5). Enediones (Entries 21-23) and unsatuxated keto esters (Entries 24 and 25) can also be oxidised in good yields and good to excellent stereoselectivity using polyamino acids. 

Just as for the triphasic system, the dienes and triene (Entries 7-13) undergo selective epoxidation at only one of the double bonds. The selective reactivity of the compound featured in Entry 11 is particularly noteworthy. Monoepoxida-tion of the double bond next to the phenyl-bearing carbonyl group was the only reaction observed, despite extended reaction times and use of excess oxidant. 

---