Enone substrate scope

A broad substrate scope for the rhodium-catalyzed asymmetric 1,4-addition has been observed.98 Both arylboronic acids with either electron-donating or electron-withdrawing aryl substituents and alkenylboronic acids can be introduced into acyclic or cyclic enones with high enantioselectivities (Scheme 30). 

The copper-catalyzed enantioselective Michael addition of organometallic reagents to enones was the first successful application of phosphoramidite chiral ligands in catalysis [4, 43]. Since this early report, substantial enhancement of the enantioselectivity and/or of the substrate scope has been achieved through an untiring effort to optimize the ligand structure [5a, 44]. 

These conditions resulted also in high selectivities when Grignard reagents with different linear alkyl chains were used, whereas the substrate scope included a variety of aliphatic linear enones (Scheme 4). Particularly noteworthy is the addition of MeMgBr (e.g. to octenone), which provides the corresponding ketones with 97-98% ee, even when only 1 mol% of catalyst is employed. ... 

Pyrrolidin-2-yltetrazole has been found to be a versatile organocatalyst for the asymmetric conjugate addition of nitroalkanes to enones.45 Using this catalyst, this transformation requires short reaction times, tolerates a broad substrate scope, and possibly proceeds via generation of an iminium species. 

Because the catalyst is usually prepared by the polymerization of amino acid N-carboxy anhydrides, induced by water or amines [66, 67], the Julia-Colonna epox-idation was soon recognized as a reaction of great practical value. In the course of exploration of the scope of the Julia-Colonna procedure many enone substrates were successfully epoxidized by use of the original three-phase conditions (Table 10.8). 

However, these reaction conditions (refluxing methanol or photoactivation at room temperature) are useful only for the reduction of highly activated double bonds. Nevertheless, it was found that the reaction is promoted by silica gel, broadening the scope of reducible enone substrates. The method is highly chemoselective as no alcoholic products are observed, and saturated carbonyls, nitro, cyano, sulf-inyl and sulfonyl groups remain intact under the reaction conditions (Scheme 77). 

With respect to the substrate scope, ketones are the most efficient nucleophiles although the intermolecular reaction works also well for esters, amides and Weinreb amides (Fig. 2.7). Regarding the Michael acceptor, enones are the best electrophiles with a wide range of substituents tolerated (alkyl, aryl and heteroaryl ketones). a,p-Unsaturated esters, in the case of the intermolecular cyclopropanation, and a,p-unsaturated diimides for the intramolecular reaction, extends the substrate scope of the process (Fig. 2.7). A transition state model for the intramolecular cyclopropanation reaction has been proposed as depicted in Scheme 2.38 for catalyst 65 [106d]. In this model the ammonium salt adopts a conformation that gives the Z-enolate of the nucleophile on deprotonation with the base. The intramolecular conjugate addition of the enolate then takes place through a boat-type transition state. 

A highly enantioselective conjugate addition of nitromethane and nitroethane to acyclic enones has been recently achieved using chiral cyclohexanediamine-derived primary amine thiourea 48 (Scheme 2.57) [168], With respect to the electrophile, the reaction shows a broad substrate scope and not only 1-aryl- but also 1-alkyl enones afford the corresponding chiral y-nitroketones with good yields and excellent enantioselectivities (92-99% ee). 

In 2010, the same research group expanded the substrate scope of the reaction using an oxindole derivative 60 with a methyl ketone in position 3 [32]. They performed the reaction with acyclic enones 61 catalyzed by chiral primary amine XIV to afford the spirooxindoles 62 in good yields and enantioselectivities (Scheme 10.20). 

---