Rearrangement reactions epoxides

For this reason heterogeneous catalysts such as Si02, AI2O3, ZnO, and WO, supported metals and a variety of precipitated phosphates have been tested for epoxide rearrangement reactions. Use of these conventional catalysts often results in the formation of aldol condensation products and mixtures of ketones and aldehydes as by-products. The heavier molecules formed by aldol condensation are the first step in the formation of coke thus limiting the lifetime of these catalysts. 

In turn the oxazoline-containing polymer may then react very rapidly (e.g. at 240°C) with such groups as carboxyls, amines, phenols, anhydrides or epoxides, which may be present in other polymers. This reaction will link the two polymers by a rearrangement reaction similar to that involved in a rearrangement polymerisation without the evolution of water or any gaseous condensation products (Figure 7.14). 

In some cases products of rearrangement are obtained either partially or exclusively on treatment of Grignard reagents with epoxides. Thus, reaction of the 2/ ,3/ -epoxide (14) with methyl Grignard reagent affords a mixture of two epimeric secondary A-nor alcohols (15) in 80% yield and the tertiary hydroxy compound, 2a-methyl-5a-cholestan-2/f-ol (16) in 15 % yield. ... 

It is appropriate at this juncture to address some of the more useful transformations of 2,3-epoxy alcohols.913 A 2,3-epoxy alcohol such as compound 14 possesses two obvious electrophilic sites one at C-2, and the other at C-3. But in addition, C-l of a 2,3-epoxy alcohol also has latent electrophilic reactivity. For example, exposure of 14 to aqueous sodium hydroxide solution results in the formation of triol 19 in 79% yield (see Scheme 5). In this interesting transformation, hydroxide ion induces the establishment of an equilibrium between 2,3-epoxy-l-ol 14 and the isomeric 1,2-epoxy-3-ol 18. This reversible, base-induced epoxide migration reaction is a process known as the Payne rearrangement.14... 

Scheme 5. Payne rearrangement/epoxide opening reaction hydroxide nucleophile.

Synthesis of Complex Molecules by Rearrangement Reactions of Epoxides... 

In a formal synthesis of fasicularin, the critical spirocyclic ketone intermediate 183 was obtained by use of the rearrangement reaction of the silyloxy epoxide 182, derived from the unsaturated alcohol 180. Alkene 180 was epoxidized with DMDO to produce epoxy alcohol 181 as a single diastereoisomer, which was transformed into the trimethyl silyl ether derivative 182. Treatment of 182 with HCU resulted in smooth ring-expansion to produce spiro compound 183, which was subsequently elaborated to the desired natural product (Scheme 8.46) [88]. 

The major limitation of asymmetric sulfur ylide epoxidations is that only aromatic vinylepoxides can be formed efficiently and with high selectivity. When an aliphatic aldehyde is allowed to react with a semistabilized or nonstabilized sulfur ylide, poor diastereoselectivities and yields are observed, due to problems in controlling the ylide conformation and competing ylide rearrangement reactions [71]. However, some racemic, aliphatic vinylepoxides have been successfully formed by sulfur ylide epoxidations, although varying diastereoselectivities were observed [78-80],... 

Aziridinocyclopropanes 163 derived from 2-phenylsulfonyl-l,3-dienes undergo BF3-induced rearrangement to bicyclic amines 165, which feature the skeleton of the tropane alkaloids. The reaction proceeds via cyclopropyl carbinyl cation 164, an intermediate also invoked in the analogous epoxide rearrangements. Trapping by fluoride ion is a competing pathway <96TL3371>. 

A closer examination by ex situ analysis using NMR or gas chromatography illustrates that intrazeolite reaction mixtures can get complex. For example photooxygenation of 1-pentene leads to three major carbonyl products plus a mixture of saturated aldehydes (valeraldehyde, propionaldehyde, butyraldehyde, acetaldehyde)38 (Fig. 33). Ethyl vinyl ketone and 2-pentenal arise from addition of the hydroperoxy radical to the two different ends of the allylic radical (Fig. 33). The ketone, /i-3-penten-2-one, is formed by intrazeolite isomerization of 1-pentene followed by CT mediated photooxygenation of the 2-pentene isomer. Dioxetane cleavage, epoxide rearrangement, or presumably even Floch cleavage130,131 of the allylic hydroperoxides can lead to the mixture of saturated aldehydes. 

By the same type of epoxide rearrangement, other bicyclic and tricyclic orthoesters can be synthesized [80]. However, the orthoesters are only the kinetic products and, if not sufficiently inert, can further rearrange under reaction conditions to more stable tetra-hydrofuran derivatives (cf. Scheme 8.40). In many cases, the tetrahydrofurans are the... 

In rearrangement reactions that lead to isomerization, an important discrimination must be made between epoxides of aromatic compounds, e.g., benzene oxide (10.1, Fig. 10.1), and epoxides of alkenes. As a class, epoxides of aromatic compounds (also known as arene oxides) are markedly un-... 

As explained in the Introduction, alkene oxides (10.3) are generally chemically quite stable, indicating reduced reactivity compared to arene oxides. Under physiologically relevant conditions, they have little capacity to undergo rearrangement reactions, one exception being the acid-catalyzed 1,2-shift of a proton observed in some olefin epoxides (see Sect. 10.2.1 and Fig. 10.3). Alkene oxides are also resistant to uncatalyzed hydration, thus, in the absence of hydrolases enzymes, many alkene oxides that are formed as metabolites are stable enough to be isolated. 

Maruoka K, Murase N, Ooi T, Yamamoto H (1991) A new cyclization of olefinic epoxides by modified organoaluminum reagents via epoxide rearrangement and subsequent intramolecular ene reaction. Synlett 857-858... 

Carbonylation of epoxides.4 The epoxide of a 1-alkene undergoes carbony-lation under catalysis with Co2(CO)8 in the presence of K2C03 (1 equiv.) in ethanol at moderate temperatures to afford (3-hydroxy esters. A by-product is the ketone formed by rearrangement of the epoxide. This reaction provides an essential step in the synthesis of the cyclopentenone 3 from the epoxide (1) of ethyl 10-unde-cenoate. 

Organocopper reagents, 207 of cyclopropanes Dimethyl sulfoxide, 124 Lead tetraacetate, 155 of epoxides (see also Rearrangement reactions, Reduction reactions) with organocopper reagents... 

The styrene oxide isomerization is known to be an easy reaction due to the carbonium stabilization by the aromatic nucleus. In the case of H-ZSM-5, taking into account the respective size of this medium-pore zeolite (5.5A) and the kinetic diameter of the styrene oxide molecule (5.9A), it was assumed that the weak external acidic sites are active enough to catalyze the reaction (ref. 16). If this were the case for all zeolites, no shape-selectivity could be obtained for any epoxide rearrangement. Nevertheless, for large-pore zeolites, the contribution of all the acidic sites cannot be excluded. 

Reviews have featured epoxidation, cyclopropanation, aziridination, olefination, and rearrangement reactions of asymmetric ylides 66 non-phosphorus stabilized carbanions in alkene synthesis 67 phosphorus ylides and related compounds 68 the Wittig reaction 69,70 and [2,3]-Wittig rearrangement of a-phosphonylated sulfonium and ammonium ylides.71 Reactions of carbanions with electrophilic reagents, including alkylation and Wittig-Homer olefination reactions, have been discussed with reference to Hammett per correlations.72... 

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