Enones with alkenes

Scheme 6.10. Photocycloadditions of Enones with Alkenes and Alkynes... 

Introduction of chiral auxiliaries in the starting materials is very attract for applications to organic synthesis. However, to be of synthetic interest, chiral auxiliaries have to be inexpensive, readily introduced on the starting ma rial, inert in the conditions of irradiation, and readily removed from the photo ducts. Even if the first requirements can be easily satisfied with chiral ket esters, and amides, it is often difficult to avoid side reactions involving auxiliary [63]. In order to control all the asymmetric centers created in the in molecular photocycloadditions of cyclic enones with alkenes, esters of c alcohols were first considered. Although menthyl and bomyl derivatives ga only low de, 8-phenylmenthyl esters produced a far better asymmetric inducti [64]. The facial selectivity was found to depend on the syn/anti nature of t cycloadducts and the structure and location of the chiral auxiliary on either tl enone or the alkenyl moiety. More surprisingly the selectivity also depe strongly on the nature of the solvent (Scheme 21). 

Hastings, D. J., Weedon, A. C., Origin of the Regioselectivity in the Photochemical Cycloaddition Reactions of Cyclic Enones with Alkenes Chemical Trapping Evidence for the Structures, Mechanism of Formation, and Fates of 1,4 Biradical Intermediates, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1991, 113, 8525 8527. 

The mechanism of the 2 + 2 photocycloaddition of enones with alkenes, which can be viewed as the Bauslaugh-Schuster-Weedon biradical mechanism, is represented in Scheme 10 [66],... 

Scheme 10. Mechanism of [2 -F 2] photocycloaddition of enones with alkenes.

Scheme 13. [2 + 2] Photocycloaddition of enones with alkenes Asymmetric induction by chiral centers of the alkenes.

The intermediacy of species with biradical character in photoaddition of enones with alkenes is supported by the observation that the reaction of cyclohexenone with isobutylene produces the mixture of products shown in equation 12.66. a,6-Unsaturated ketones can also dimerize through the same reaction pathway. For example, cyclopentenone (87) gives approximately equal amounts of the head-to-head dimer 88 and the head-to-tail dimer 89 (equation 12.67). ... 

Rate constants for interaction of triplet excited states of cyclic enones with alkenes were first reported by Schuster et al. > > using transient absorption spectroscopy (nanosecond flash photolysis). The rate constants were obtained from the relationship (Xx)" = ( o) + (alkene), where Xq is the limiting triplet hfetime of the enone at a given concentration in the absence of alkene. The decay of enone triplet absorption at 280 nm could be conveniently followed upon excitation of the enones (cyclopentenone [CP], 3-methylcyclohexenone [3-MCH], testosterone acetate [TA], and BNEN [4] were aU studied]) in acetonitrile and cyclohexane at 355 nm using the third harmonic of a Nd YAG laser. In aU cases, triplet decays were clearly first order. Quantum efficiencies for capture of enone triplets by alkenes (O,.) are given by fc x (alkene) using the experimentally determined values of and Xq,... 

Although Lewis acid-catalyzed-Diels-Alder reacdons of enones are common, there are few repoiTS on the catalysis of Dieis-Alder reacdon of nltroalkenes The reacdon of nltroalkenes with alkenes in the presence of Lewis acids undergoes a different course of reacdon to give cyclic nltronates fsee Secdon 8 3 Knochei repotted an enhanced reacdvity and seiecdvity of the intramolecular Dieis-Alder reacdon using silica gei as Lewis acid in hexane fEq 8 19 ... 

The alkylation of olefinic G-H bonds proceeds when conjugated enones are employed in the ruthenium-catalyzed reaction with alkenes, as shown in Equation (16).1 7 Among the acylcyclohexenes, 1-pivaloyl-l-cyclohexene exhibits a high reactivity and the presence of an oxygen atom at the allylic position in the six-membered ring increases the reactivity of the enones. Some terminal olefins, for example, triethoxyvinylsilane, allyltrimethylsilane, methyl methacrylate, and vinylcyclohexane, are applicable for the alkylation of the olefinic C-H bonds. Acyclic enones also undergo this alkylation. 

The cycloaddition of an enone with electron-rich alkenes also proceeds with remarkable regioselectivity. The rationalization is that in the excited state, polarization of the enone double bond is opposite in direction as compared with the ground state [190], In other words, photochemical excitation induces contrapolarization. With this consideration the head-to-head dimerization generally observed is reasonable as it involves one molecule each in the ground and excited states. 

In cycloadditions of enones to alkenes novel strategies have been adopted for ring expansion of the cycloadducts, either by the choice of appropriate alkenes, e.g. 2-(trimethylsiloxy)buta-1,3-diene,70 vmv-2-trimethylsiloxybuten-2-oales71 or 3,3-dimethylcyclopropene,72 or by using 3-oxo-l-cyeloalkene-l-carboxylates as enones.73 Asymmetric [2 + 2] photocycloaddition of cyclopent-2-enone to a (+ )-dihydrofuran acetonide constitutes the cornerstone of the synthetic strategy in the first total synthesis of the novel antitumor metabolite ( )-echinosporin.74 The cycloaddition product 25 from treatment of 2-(2-carbomethoxyethyl)-2-cyclopentenone (24) with ethene has been used as a precursor for the preparation of tricyclo[4.2.0.01,4]octane.75... 

Among bicyclic cyclohex-2-enones, the formation of tricyclo[4.4.2.01,6]dodecane-2,7-dione from bicyclo[4.4.0]dec-l(6)-ene-2,7-dione and ethene proceeds in 95% yield,101 and that of 8-mcthyl-tricyclo[6.4.0.01,4]dodecan-5-ones from 6-methylbicyclo[4.4.0]dec-l(2)-en-3-one and ethene in 77% yield,102 respectively. Steroids containing cyclohex-2-enone subunits,103 e.g. 17/ -acetoxy-5a-androst-1 -en-3-one,104 often afford /raw-fused cycloadducts with alkenes. When such reactions are performed on silica gel, complete reversal of stereochemistry to that observed in solution can occur.105... 

Benzo-fused heteracyclohex-2-enones, e.g. quinolin-2(l//)-ones,116-118 coumarins119 and the related psoralens120-123 and thiocoumarins124 125 also form [2 + 2] photocycloadducts 38 with alkenes, e.g. 2,3-dimethylbut-2-ene or tetrachloroethene. 

Hydroamination of Alkenes Kobayashi et at. found that several transition metal salts displayed high catalytic activity in aza-Michael reactions of enones with carbamates, while conventional Lewis acids (BF3-OEt2, A1C13, TiCl4...) were much less active. 

PDC is able to oxidize allylic positions, resulting in the transformation of alkenes into enones. This reaction normally demands heating and is best performed in solvents other than CH2CI2.140 Very often, r-butyl hydroperoxide is added.141 When a standard procedure for the oxidation of alcohols with PDC is employed, normally no interference with alkenes occurs. 

The intramolecular 2 + 2-photo-cycloadditions of optically active allenesilanes (5) with enones and enoates produce silyl-substituted exo-methylenecyclobutanes (6) in high enantiometric excess. Photo-desilation leads to the parent unsaturated exo-methylenecyclobutanes (7) (Scheme 3).19 The cycloaddition of naphthoquinone to allyltrimethylsilane in the presence of Me2 A1C1 yields the expected 2 + 2-cycloadduct that slowly rearranges to the 2 + 3-adduct.20 hi the presence of bases, Cephalosporin triflates (8) undergo 2 + 2- and 4 + 2-cycloaddition with alkenes, alkynes, and dienes via an intermediate six-membered cyclic allene (9) (Scheme 4).21... 

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