Enolates metallic potassium

Very recently, two examples of generating enolates with metallic potassium appeared. In one case potassium was dispersed ultrasonically, in the other 18-crown-6 was added to the potassium metal (equations 8 and 9). - ... 

Among alkali metal enolates, those derived from ketones are the most robust one they are stable in etheric solutions at 0 C. The formation of aldehyde enolates by deprotonation is difficult because of the very fast occurring aldol addition. Whereas LDA has been reported to be definitely unsuitable for the generation preformed aldehyde enolates [15], potassium amide in Hquid ammonia, potassium hydride in THE, and super active lithium hydride seem to be appropriate bases forthe metallation of aldehydes [16]. In general, preformed alkali metal enolates of aldehydes did not find wide application in stereoselective synthesis. Ester enolates are very frequently used, although they are more capricious than ketone enolates. They have to be formed fast and quantitatively, because otherwise a Claisen condensation readily occurs between enolate and ester. A complication with ester enolates originates from their inherent tendency to form ketene under elimination... 

Related thermodynamic enolization control has been observed using metallated hexamethyldisilazide to give the more substituted bromomagnesium ketone enolates. Metallation reactions of HMDS to yield Li, K, and Na derivatives are well known and the resulting nonnucleophilic bases have found extensive applications in organic synthesis (see Lithium HexamethyldisUaade, Potassium Hexamethyldisilazide, Sodium Hexamethyldisilazide). ... 

Potassium Hydride. Potassium hydride [7693-26-7] KH, made from reaction of molten potassium metal with hydrogen at ca 200°C, is suppHed in an oil dispersion. Pressure Chemical Company (U.S.) is a principal suppHer. KH is much more effective than NaH or LiH for enolization reactions (63,64). Use of KH as a base and nucleophile has been reviewed (65). 

Figure 4.11 Molecular structures of typical crown-ether complexes with alkali metal cations (a) sodium-water-benzo-I5-crown-5 showing pentagonal-pyramidal coordination of Na by 6 oxygen atoms (b) 18-crown-6-potassium-ethyl acetoacetate enolate showing unsymmelrical coordination of K by 8 oxygen atoms and (c) the RbNCS ion pair coordinated by dibenzo-I8-crown-6 to give seven-fold coordination about Rb.

Rossi and Bunnett64 studied the chemical reductive cleavage of diphenyl sulfoxide, diphenyl sulfone and methyl phenyl sulfone under the action of potassium metal in liquid ammonia in the presence of acetone. The enolate ion is used to trap phenyl radicals formed eventually during the process, in order to determine whether one or two electrons are required for the mechanism of cleavage (Scheme 7). In all the runs, phenyl anion is... 

Other organometallic compounds that are hydrolyzed by water are those of sodium, potassium, lithium, zinc, and so on, the ones high in the electromotive series. Enantioselective protonation of lithium enolates and cyclopropyllithium compounds have been reported. When the metal is less active, stronger acids are required. For example, R2Zn compounds react explosively with water, R2Cd slowly, and R2Hg not at all, though the latter can be cleaved with concentrated HCl. How-... 

Alkylations of this type also proved to be sensitive to the cation. Good stereoselectivity (15 1) was observed for the lithium enolate, but the sodium and potassium enolates were much less selective.75 This probably reflects the weaker coordination of the latter metals. 

The Mechanism of the Ethyl Acetoacetate Synthesis—Before the tautomerism of ethyl acetoacetate is discussed we must consider the mechanism of its formation, which for decades has been the subject of lively discussion and was conclusively explained only in recent years (Scheibler). It has been found that even the C=0-group of the simple carboxylic esters, although in other respects inferior in activity to the true carbonyl group, can be enolised by alkali metals. Thus ethyl acetate is converted by potassium into the potassium salt of the tautomeric enol with evolution of hydrogen ... 

Sodium hydride and potassium hydride can also be used to prepare enolates from ketones. The reactivity of the metal hydrides is somewhat dependent on the means of preparation and purification of the hydride.5... 

THF and DME are slightly polar solvents which are moderately good cation solvators. Coordination to the metal cation involves the oxygen lone pairs. These solvents, because of their lower dielectric constants, are less effective at separating ion pairs and higher aggregates than are the polar aprotic solvents. The crystal structures of the lithium and potassium enolates of methyl /-butyl ketone have been determined by X-ray crystal-... 

Hydridotris(3,5-dimethyl-l-pyrazolyl)borate]molybdenum-(i72-acyl) complexes, such as 1, are deprotonated by butyllithium or potassium hydride to generate enolate species, such as 488.8> jjie overa]] structure of these chiral complexes is similar to that of the iron and rhenium complexes discussed earlier the hydridotris(3,5-dimethyl-l-pyrazolyl)borate ligand is iso valent to the cyclopentadienyl ligand, occupying three metal coordination sites. However, several important differences must be taken into account when a detailed examination of the stereochemical outcome of deprotonation-alkylation processes is undertaken. 

If the equilibrium were established rapidly, reduction of the free ketone as it formed would result in a substantial loss of product. Lithium enolates are more covalent in character than are those of sodium and potassium and consequently are the least basic of the group. This lower thermodynamic basicity appears to be paralleled by a lower kinetic basicity several workers have shown that lithium enolates are weaker bases in the kinetic sense than are those of sodium and potassium.42,78,94 As noted earlier, conjugated enones have been reduced to saturated ketones almost exclusively with lithium the above considerations may explain why this metal has been favored by most chemists. The following observations, however, suggest that sodium may function nearly as well as lithium in the reduction of conjugated enones. 

Here ArX is the halothiophene and ArY the product. The nature of the initiation and termination steps is not known. Thus irradiation of 3-bromothiophene in liquid ammonia in presence of potassium acetone enolate gives the monothienylation product (492 51%) and the dithienylation product (493 25%). Instead of employing photostimulation, the reaction can be brought about in lower yields by dissolving sodium or potassium metal in the liquid ammonia solution. Here the corresponding alcohol is a side product. 

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