Enone, conjugate carbonyl addition reactions

The mechanism of conjugate addition reactions probably involves an initial complex between the cuprate and enone.51 The key intermediate for formation of the new carbon-carbon bond is an adduct formed between the enone and the organocopper reagent. The adduct is formulated as a Cu(III) species, which then undergoes reductive elimination. The lithium ion also plays a key role, presumably by Lewis acid coordination at the carbonyl oxygen.52 Solvent molecules also affect the reactivity of the complex.53 The mechanism can be outlined as occurring in three steps. 

Reactions where NLE have been discovered include Sharpless asymmetric epoxi-dation of allylic alcohols, enantioselective oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides, Diels-Alder and hetero-Diels-Alder reactions, carbonyl-ene reactions, addition of MesSiCN or organometallics on aldehydes, conjugated additions of organometal-lics on enones, enantioselective hydrogenations, copolymerization, and the Henry reaction. Because of the diversity of the reactions, it is more convenient to classify the examples according to the types of catalyst involved. 

Conjugate addition to acyclic Michael acceptors. Sakurai and Hosomi (9, 445-446) reported one example of the fluoride ion-catalyzed reaction of allyltrimethylsilane with an acyclic enone. In that case (reaction with C6H5CH=CHCOCH,). 1.2- and 1,4-adducts are obtained in the ratio 2 1.1,4-Addition is enhanced by use of DMF and HMPT as solvent and by increase in the size of the group adjacent to the carbonyl group. 1,4-Addition is the main or predominant reaction with a,3-unsaturated esters or nitriles. In this case, it is superior to or competitive with allylation with lithium diallylcuprate. Yields in 1,4-additions to a,p-enones can compare favorably with those obtained with reactions catalyzed by TiC. ... 

Conjugate additions. Cyclopentaneacetic esters are readily prepared by cyclization of -iodo-a,P-unsaturated esters. The Michael reaction of silyl ketene acetals with enones (and Mukaiyama aldol reaction) can be promoted by Sml,. " However, thermodynamic enolsilylation of carbonyl compounds under similar conditions is noted. 

The tin(IV) enolate can be quenched with a variety of electrophiles to form new carbon-carbon bonds, including carbonyl addition (aldol-type) reactions, alkylations and conjugate additions of tin(IV) enolates. Tin(IV) enolates react readily with aldehydes in both intra- and intermolecular aldol-type reactions [5J]. The best conditions for the intermolecular aldol condensation reaction were to initially generate the tin enolate by reacting the desired enone with tributyltin hydride and then... 

Reaction with Cyclic Enones. Conjugate addition of azide ion to cyclic enones in water using sodium azide in the presence of Lewis base resulted in the formation of 8-azido carbonyl compounds (eq 55). The Schmidt reaction of benzopyranones with sodium azide led to pyrano[3,2-b]azepines in reasonable yields (eq 56). 

Dehydration of an aldol addition product leads to a conjugated a,)8-unsaturated carbonyl system. The overall process is called an aldol condensation, and the product can be called an enal (alk e < /dehyde) or enone (alk e kem ), depending on the carbonyl group in the product. The stability of the conjugated enal or enone system means that the dehydration equilibrium is essentially irreversible. For example, the aldol addition reaction that leads to 3-hydroxybutanal, shown in Section 19.4, dehydrates on heating to form 2-butenal. A mechanism for the dehydration is shown here. 

DFT calculations have been used to obtain mechanistic insights into the reaction of sulfur ylides PhHC (S+Me2) with dienals and enones by identifying all key transition states and intermediates along the reaction pathway for the 1,2-, 1,4-, and 1,6-nucleophilic attacks at PhCH=CHCH=CHCH=0 and for the 1,2- and 1,4-attacks at MeCH=CHCOMe. The final outcome of the reaction with both substrates has been found to be decided by the interplay between kinetic and thermodynamic factors. Thus, addition of a semi-stabilized ylide to conjugated carbonyl compounds prefers the 1,4-pathway under thermodynamic conditions, in consonance with the experimental reports. However, the formation of epoxides via a 1,2-addition pathway is equally competitive and could be favoured under kinetic conditions. The 2,3-trans cyclo-propanecarbaldehyde is the major product of the 1,4-addition pathway. The enone also prefers the 1,4-addition. ... 

This type of reaction is called a conjugate addition, or a 1,4-addition, because the nucleophile and the proton have added across the ends of a conjugated it system. Conjugate addition reactions were first discussed in Section 17.4 when we explored the reactivity of conjugated dienes. A major difference between conjugate addition across a diene and conjugate addition across an enone is that the latter produces an enol as the product, and the enol rapidly tautomerizes to form a carbonyl group. 

Several syntheses of aldehydes and ketones based on the insertion of carbon monoxide have been reported. Reaction of norbornadiene with monosubstituted acetylenes in the presence of octacarbonyldicobalt gives the fused cyclopen-tenone (35) in high yield conjugate addition of a cuprate and vacuum pyrolysis completes a simple synthesis of 2,3-disubstituted cyclopent-4-enones (36) (Scheme 30)." Conjugated dienes with methyl iodide in the presence of the same cobalt reagent yield conjugated dienones (37) [equation (8)]." In a review of carbonyl insertion reactions, the same reagent is reported to catalyse the reaction... 

Additions to Conjugated Systems. The reaction of TMSCF3 with a, 8-unsaturated aldehydes or ketones under fluoride activation affords almost exclusively the 1,2-addition products. " Moreover, the 1,4-addition pathway may also participate in some cases, and occurs predominantly in 2-perfluoroalkyl chromones and related systems (eq 22). A 1,6-addition process in a suitably substituted substrate has also been described. A more general method for the 1,4-addition of CF3 groups to different enones consisted in the prior complexa-tion of the carbonyl with a bulky Lewis acid [aluminum tris(2,6-diphenylphenoxide)]. ... 

In order to prepare conjugated olefins, either an allylsulfone or an a,) -unsaturated carbonyl compound is needed. In the case of allylic sulfones, the delocalized carbanion can undergo either a- or y-addition, and the use of enals or enones can result in 1,2- or 1,4-addition products. In general, allylsulfonyl anions, derived from non-stabUized sulfones, undergo additions to carbonyls with excellent a-selectivities (reaction 3.17 [59] Scheme 3.16). The situation is more complex with a, -unsaturated compounds, but conditions have been defined that lead with high preference to adducts resulting from 1,2-addition (reaction 3.18) [60]. 

However, TMEDA unlike HMPA, does not cause flow over from a carbonyl to conjugate addition manifold for many lithiated systems. For example, lithiated allylic sulfides undergo conjugate (or 1,4 ) addition to cyclopent-2-enone in the presence of HMPA (see Allyl Phenyl Sulfide), but in the presence of TMEDA, carbonyl addition only is observed. The perception that TMEDA is unable to form solvent-separated ion pairs required for conjugate addition in this case now requires reevaluation. j In the reaction of lithio a-trimethylsilylmethyl phenyl sulfide with cy-clohexenone, HMPA promotes predominant conjugate addition, whereas TMEDA has little effect on the normal carbonyl addition pathway taken in THF alone (eq 8). ... 

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