Enolates thermodynamic/kinetic control

The aldol addition can be carried out under either ofitwo broad sets of conditions, with the product being determined by kinetic factors undenone set of conditions and by thermodynamic factors under the other. To achieve kinetic control, the enolate that is to... 

Protonation of the a-carbanion (50), which is formed both in the reduction of enones and ketol acetates, probably first affords the neutral enol and is followed by its ketonization. Zimmerman has discussed the stereochemistry of the ketonization of enols and has shown that in eertain cases steric factors may lead to kinetically controlled formation of the thermodynamically less stable ketone isomer. Steroidal unsaturated ketones and ketol acetates that could form epimeric products at the a-carbon atom appear to yield the thermodynamically stable isomers. In most of the cases reported, however, equilibration might have occurred during isolation of the products so that definitive conclusions are not possible. 

A commonly used alternative to the direct bromination of ketones is the halogenation of enol acetates. This can be carried out under basic conditions if necessary. Sodium acetate, pyridine or an epoxide is usually added to buffer the reaction mixture. The direction of enolization is again dependent upon considerations of thermodynamic and kinetic control therefore, the proportion of enol acetates formed can vary markedly with the reaction conditions. Furthermore, halogenation via enol acetates does not necessarily give the same products as direct halogenation of ketones 3. 23... 

The diastereomeric ratio of the trimethylsilyl triflate catalyzed amidoalkylation of a number of silyl enol ethers at — 40 CC appears to be dependent on the substituents in the substrate87. At — 40 °C the diastereomeric ratio is shown to be kinetically controlled. On allowing the reaction mixture to warm to 20 "C slow epimerization, increasing the amount of the minor isomer, is observed. In the case of the naphthalene derivative, sodium methoxide catalyzed epimerization of the kinetic mixture [(antijsyn) 88 12] produces the thermodynamic mixture [(antijsyn) 9 91]. 

Reactions involving ketones are generally controlled by the thermodynamic stability of the enolate anion. However, 2-phenylcyclohexanone reacts with bulky Michael acceptors to form the 2,6-regioisomer preferentially [17], indicating that the reaction is mainly kinetically controlled with the approach of the Michael acceptor to the substituted 2-position being sterically hindered. 

A large number of studies have addressed the condensation of cyclic ketones with both aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes under conditions that reflect both thermodynamic (cf. Table 2) and kinetic control of stereochemistry. The data for cyclohexanone enolates are summarized in Table 8. Except for the boryl enolates cited (6), the outcome of the kinetic aldol process for these enolates... 

If tlie 1,2-addition is reversible (the nucleophile is a good leaving group), then we get thermodynamic control and the conjugate addition product predominates. When the 1,2-addition is not reversible (the nucleophile is a poor leaving group), we get kinetic control and simple addition. Stereochemical considerations are also partly responsible, since it will be easier for larger nucleophiles, especially enolate... 

The composition of an enolate mixture may be governed by kinetic or thermodynamic factors. The enolate ratio is governed by kinetic control when the product composition is determined by the relative rates of the two or more competing proton-abstraction reactions. 

By adjusting the conditions under which an enolate mixture is formed from a ketone, it is possible to establish either kinetic or thermodynamic control. Ideal conditions for kinetic control of enolate formation are those in which deprotonation is rapid, quantitative,... 

The stereo- and regioselectivity of deprotonation can be kinetically or thermodynamically (equilibrium) controlled. Equilibrium between enolates occurs when a proton donor is present. The proton donor can be the solvent or an excess of the ketone in relation to the strong base present for generation of the enolate. Ketone enolate equilibration can also proceed via an aldol-rever-... 

Under conditions for thermodynamic control, the major regioisomer formed is usually the enolate Carrying most substituents at the double bond. This can be attributed to the fact that the stability of C-C double bonds increases with increasing substitution6. Conditions for kinetic control in enolate formation usually favor formation of the enolate with the least substituents at the double bond. The rational for this is based on steric reasons, i.e., the less hindered proton is abstracted more rapidly than the hindered proton, giving the less substituted enolate. 

Enolates may be derived from a,/l-unsaturated ketones 16 by base-catalyzed proton abstraction. Under kinetic control the a -proton is abstracted and a cross-conjugated metal dienolate is formed, whereas under thermodynamic conditions the extended dienolate is the major product3,, l. Successful alkylations of dienolates derived from cyclic a,/l-unsaturated ketones have been performed (see Section 1.1.1.3.1.1.2.1.). The related a,/ -unsaturated ester systems have also been investigated22-24. Open-chain structures 16 pose a rather complicated... 

In the case of 3-pentanone, evidence has been presented27-28 for thermodynamic control during formation of the (Z)-enolates and for kinetic control during formation of the ( )-eno-lates in the presence or absence of HMPA. Ester enolates are preferentially ( ), when prepared with LDA (THF), and (Z) when prepared with LDA in the presence of HMPA. In contrast, dialkylamides are deprotonated (LDA/THF) preferentially to give the (Z)-enolates. The role of HMPA in the above case is still not quite clear6-29. 

In the course of the total synthesis of enmein, Fujita and co-workers (7) have discovered that the intramolecular cyclization of the enolate 23 of the corresponding tetracyclic keto-aldehyde at room temperature gave only ketol 24. However, when the same reaction is conducted at 60°C, thermodynamically controlled conditions prevail, and the epimeric product 25 is obtained. Inspection of molecular models indicates that the kinetically controlled product 24 is again the result of an anti peri planar arrangement of the enolate and the aldehyde double-bonds. Also, as in the previous examples, the isomer 25 comes from a synclinal arrangement of the reacting functional groups. 

Another important contribution is to the regioselectivity of enolate formation from unsym-metrical ketones. As we established in chapter 13, ketones, particularly methyl ketones, form lithium enolates on the less substituted side. These compounds are excellent at aldol reactions even with enolisable aldehydes.15 An application of both thermodynamic and kinetic control is in the synthesis of the-gingerols, the flavouring principles of ginger, by Whiting.16... 

The concentration of the ketone enolate is higher than that of the aldehyde enolate. This is true under thermodynamic control as the stability of an enolate increases with its degree of substitution. It is also true under kinetic control since enolization is an acid-base equilibrium, the increased enolate concentration reflects the higher acidity of the ketone protons. 

Phenol complexes of [Os] display pronounced reactivity toward Michael acceptors under very mild conditions. The reactivity is due, in part, to the acidity of the hydroxyl proton, which can be easily removed to generate an extended enolate. Reactions of [Os]-phenol complexes are therefore typically catalyzed using amine bases rather than Lewis acids. The regio-chemistry of addition to C4-substituted phenol complexes is dependent upon the reaction conditions. Reactions that proceed under kinetic control typically lead to addition of the electrophile at C4. In reactions that are under thermodynamic control, the electrophile is added at C2. These C2-selective reactions have, in some cases, allowed the isolation of o-quinone methide complexes. As with other [Os] systems, electrophilic additions to phenol complexes occur anti to the face involved in metal coordination. 

Besides its use as a mechanistic probe, deuteriation of anions under kinetically controlled conditions is a potentially promising way to access deuteriated molecules in a regio- and stereo- controlled manner, in opposition to the thermodynamic equilibration in the presence of an excess of deuterium donor. Thus, treatment of the lithium anion of 2-methyltetralone (p E = 7.31, pfsfEa = 10.8, pKkr = 18.1 in water)335, by one equivalent of a solution of deuterium chloride in deuterium oxide, generates the intermediate O-deuteriated enol whose reaction with water or with an excess of deuterium chloride in deuterium oxide conducts to, respectively, the tetralone or the deuteriated tetralone (Scheme 69)336. 

The kinetically controlled nucleophilic addition of preformed lithium enolates onto carbonyl compounds is reversible with a low activation barrier, and the thermal conditions are likely to have a major impact on the stereoisomeric ratio of the final aldols through the retroaldolization and the thermodynamic equilibration of lithium enolates76. The tendency of aldolates to undergo retroaldolization increases with the stability of enolates, and when going from lithium to potassium. On the other hand, boron enolates usually undergo completely irreversible aldol reaction511,512. 

Since the formation of silyl enol ethers from the corresponding ketones is subject to dther thermodynamic or kinetic control, Ais reagent can be used (as demonstrated in equation 36) to achieve useful regiospecific cleavages. 

The same sequence is applicable to ketones, but in this case TiCU is superior to ZnBr2 as the catalyst. The method can be used with both cyclic and acyclic ketones and is applicable to both kinetic and thermodynamic silyl enol ethers for control of regiospecificity. ... 

The regio- and stereoselectivity of enolate formation has been discussed in many reviews . In general, the stereo- and regioselectivity of ketone deprotonation can be thermodynamically or kinetically controlled. Conditions for the kinetic control of enolate formation are achieved by slow addition of the ketone to an excess of strong base in an aprotic solvent at low temperature. In this case the deprotonation occurs directly, irreversibly and with high regioselectivity (equation 1). By using a proton donor (solvent or excess of ketone) or a weaker base, an equilibration between the enolates formed may... 

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