Enamine-iminium transformation

Shortly later, within 2 months, a similar reaction, the enantioselective cascade aza-ene-type cyclization reactions of a,p-unsaturated aldehydes 28 and enamide 154, was also reported by Wang et al. In addition, the reaction product hemiaminal 157 was converted to ketoaldehyde 158, pyridine 159 and enamide 160, Scheme 3.51 [67]. Similarity, the reaction mechanism started from a nucleophilic attack of enamide (an aza-ene-type reaction), followed by reversible enamine-iminium transformation and hydrolysis to provide the hemiaminal. 

Preparation of imines and enamines from carbonyl compounds and amines can be achieved with a dehydrating agent under acid/base catalysis [563]. Basically, primary amines afford imines unless isomerization to an enamine is favored as a result of conjugation, etc (see Eq. 252), and secondary amines afford iminium salts or enamines. These transformations can be conducted efficiently with a catalytic or stoichiometric amount of a titanium salt such as TiCU or Ti(0-/-Pr)4. Equation (247) illustrates an advantageous feature of this method in the imination of a hindered ketone. f-Butyl propyl ketone resisted the formation of the imine even by some methods reported useful for sterically hindered ketones [564,565]. The TiCU-based method works well, however, for this compound, giving the desired imine in high yield within a relatively short reaction period [566]. Imine derivatives such as iV-sulfonylimines could be... 

In the combinations of amine-based activation modes, the merger of iminium- and enamine-mediated transformations in a single vessel has been applied to a wide range of MBFTs. This section is organized according to the nature of the bond-forming processes. 

In the blossom of organocatalysis, the development with primary amine catalysts has been rather slow and largely neglected prior to 2005 despite of the remarkable successes with secondary aminocatalyts [ 1 ]. This fact is mainly ascribed to the relatively stabilized imine/iminium intermediate (I) and the assumed unfavorable iminium (I)-enamine (II) transformation in primary amine catalysis (Scheme 5.1). In fact. 

Aliphatic or aromatic aldehydes RCHO can be transformed, in situ, via their iminium iodides, on reaction with enamines of ketones, to give /9-aminoketones. Thus, 4-methoxybenzaldehyde reacts with dimethylammonium chloride, triethyla-... 

Alternatively, cyclohexanone may initially be transformed into an enamine with a secondary amine, here pyrrolidine. This intermediate enamine can act as a nucleophile and can be alkylated at the P-position using methyl iodide. Finally, 2-methylcyclohexanone may be generated by hydrolysis of the iminium system, effectively a reversal of enamine formation. This gives us two routes to 2-methylcyclohexanone, a short process using the very strong base LDA and... 

At present, one of the most successful catalysts for enamine activation has been proline (2). Proline is a cheap, widely and commercially available amino acid that can be found in both enantiomeric forms and, as such, represents a remarkable synthetic alternative to many established asymmetric catalysts. Given such attractive features, it has become the catalyst of choice for many enamine-catalyzed processes. However, various more recent studies have demonstrated that proline is not a universal catalyst for transformations that involve the a-functionalization of ketone or aldehyde carbonyls. Indeed, these studies have demonstrated that the iminium catalysts developed by MacMillan (imidazolidinones) and Jprgensen (pyrrolidines) are also highly effective for enamine activation with respect to... 

Barbas, one of the pioneers of enamine catalysis, has incorporated iminium ion intermediates in complex heterodomino reactions. One particularly revealing example that uses the complementary activity of both iminium ion and enamine intermediates is shown in Fig. 12 [188]. Within this intricate catalytic cycle the catalyst, L-proline (58), is actively involved in accelerating two iminium ion catalysed transformations a Knoevenagel condensation and a retro-Michael/Michael addition sequence, resulting in epimerisation. 

Enamines 274 and 260, however, when protonated are transformed into pyridinium salt 273b and iminium salt 261, respectively (61TH1, 95LA567). IR shifts are typical of such transformations (see Section 3.2.5). 

Recently, List has described a cascade reaction promoted by phosphoric acid 1 in combination with stoichiometric amounts of achiral amine, which transforms various 2,6-diketones to the corresponding ds-cyclohexylamines (Scheme 5.28) [50]. This three-step process involves initial aldolization via enamine catalysis to give conjugate iminium ion intermediate A. Next, asymmetric conjugate reduction followed by a diastereoselective 1,2 hydride addition completes the catalytic cycle. 

Asymmetric catalysis of carbonyl transformations via iminium ion and enamine intermediates have been reviewed (35 references), including their recent merger in tandem iminium-enamine sequences.60 (g)... 

In this transformation two new C-C-rr-bonds are formed from three different components. The enantioselectivity of this reaction is generally low (< 5%). With cyclic ketones the corresponding products were obtained as single diastereomers. It is proposed that this reaction involves a Knoevenagel-hetero-Diels-Alder sequence where proline utilizes both iminium and enamine catalysis (Scheme 9.20). 

It has already been shown that aliphatic acylsilane enamines serve as precursors for RSMA (See Sections III.B.2.i and III.B.2.j) via reduction of their iminium chloride. Transformation of aromatic acylsilane enamines into the corresponding ASMA does not require a reduction step. Their protonolysis leads directly to ASMA, aromatization occurring during the process, sometimes with migration of a silyl group.180... 

The direct activation and transformation of a C-H bond adjacent to a carbonyl group into a C-Het bond can take place via a variety of mechanisms, depending on the organocatalyst applied. When secondary amines are used as the catalyst, the first step is the formation of an enamine intermediate, as presented in the mechanism as outlined in Scheme 2.25. The enamine is formed by reaction of the carbonyl compound with the amine, leading to an iminium intermediate, which is then converted to the enamine intermediate by cleavage of the C-H bond. This enamine has a nucleophilic carbon atom which reacts with the electrophilic heteroatom, leading to formation of the new C-Het bond. The optically active product and the chiral amine are released after hydrolysis. 

MacMillan s catalysts 56a and 61 allowed also the combination of the domino 1,4-hydride addition followed by intramolecular Michael addition [44]. The reaction is chemoselective, as the hydride addition takes place first on the iminium-activated enal. The enamine-product of the reaction is trapped in a rapid intramolecular reaction by the enone, as depicted in Scheme 2.54. The intramolecular trapping is efficient, as no formation of the saturated aldehyde can be observed. The best results were obtained with MacMillan s imidazolidinium salt 61 and Hantzsch ester 62 as hydride source. As was the case in the cyclization reaction, the reaction affords the thermodynamic trans product in high selectivity. This transformation sequence is particularly important in demonstrating that the same catalyst may trigger different reactions via different mechanistic pathways, in the same reaction mixture. 

Even though enammonium ions have been shown to be eventually transformed into iminium ions38-40, the steps that determine the protonation of enamines are highly sensitive to the reaction conditions, so that they can be accelerated or decelerated in order to preferentially direct the attack at the carbon or the nitrogen site of the enamine. 

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