Ether, formation with epoxides

Crystallization of cis—1,4-polyisoprene from solution at -65 C has been carried out it is therefore possible that block copolymer preparation by epoxidation, bromination or some other reaction could be accomplished with lamellas of this polymer. Lamellar crystallization of cellulose, of amylose and of polyacrylic acid have been reported substitution reactions such as acetylation or ether formation with the hydroxyl groups and esterfication of the acid groups are possible reactions to carry out with lamellas of those polymers. The use of nonaqueous systems may be better suited to prevent swelling, and therefore, attack of the crystalline regions. It should also be possible to react poly(vinylalcohol) lamellas in suspension with acids or anhydrides to form vinyl-alcohol-vinyl ester block copolymers or with phosgene to obtain chloroformate groups which can undergo further reactions. 

Some cleavage takes place even if the phenoHc hydroxyl is blocked as an ether link to another phenylpropane unit and quinonemethide formation is prevented. If the a- or y-carbon hydroxyl is free, alkaH-catalyzed neighboring-group attack can take place with epoxide formation and P-aryloxide elimination. In other reactions, blocked phenoHc units are degraded if an a-carbonyl group is present. 

A retroaldol fragmentation subsequent to the addition of p-TsOI I and a small amount of water to epoxide 206, obtained by oxidation of enol ether 205 with DMDO, resulted in the direct formation of dialdehyde hydrate 208, possessing the spirostructure necessary for the construction of the fused-rings core of ( )-ginkoli-de B. Apparently, hydrolysis of the epoxide produces the hemiacetal 207, which undergoes retroaldol fragmentation of the cydobutane to afford the dialdehyde, which forms the stable hydrate 208 (Scheme 8.52) [94]. 

For 1,2-disubstituted epoxides, the regiochemical outcome of nucleophilic attack becomes less predictable. However, in the case of epoxy ethers chelation control can be used to deliver the nucleophile preferentially to the epoxide carbon away from the ether moiety. Thus, treatment of epoxy ether 61 with an imido(halo)metal complex, such as [Cr(N-t-Bu)Cl3(dme)], leads to the clean and high-yielding production of the chlorohydrin 64. The regioselectivity is rationalized in terms of initial formation of a chelated species (62), followed by attack at C-3 to form the more stable 5-membered metallacyclic alkoxide 63 <00SL677>. 

Numerous studies have been directed toward expanding the chemistry of the donor/ac-ceptor-substituted carbenoids to reactions that form new carbon-heteroatom bonds. It is well established that traditional carbenoids will react with heteroatoms to form ylide intermediates [5]. Similar reactions are possible in the rhodium-catalyzed reactions of methyl phenyldiazoacetate (Scheme 14.20). Several examples of O-H insertions to form ethers 158 [109, 110] and S-H insertions to form thioethers 159 [111] have been reported, while reactions with aldehydes and imines lead to the stereoselective formation of epoxides 160 [112, 113] and aziridines 161 [113]. The use of chiral catalysts and pantolactone as a chiral auxiliary has been explored in many of these reactions but overall the results have been rather moderate. Presumably after ylide formation, the rhodium complex disengages before product formation, causing degradation of any initial asymmetric induction. 

Cyclization of allylic alcohols to form epoxides has been particularly problematical, and the reactions have been more of mechanistic than of synthetic interest. For reactions conducted under basic conditions, it is possible that epoxide formation involves initial halogen addition followed by nucleophilic displacement to form the epoxide. Early examples of direct formation of epoxides from allylic alcohols with sodium hypobromite," bromine and 1.5 M NaOH,12 and r-butyl hypochlorite13 have been reviewed previously.fr Recently it has been shown that allylic alcohols can be cyclized effectively with bis(jym-collidine)iodine(I) perchlorate (equation 3).14 An unusual example of epoxide formation competing with other cyclization types is shown in equation (4).15 In this case, an allylic benzyl ether competes effectively with a -/-hydroxyl group as the nucleophile. 

Langer also prepared other functionalized 2-alkylidenetetrahydrofurans by cyclization of l,3-fc(trimethylsiloxy)- 1,3-butadienes with epoxides <02CEJ1443>. Mercury(II)-induced cyclization of the hydroxyalkyne below led to the formation of the enol ether <02TL3011>. 

The formation of three- and five-membered cyclic ethers shows the contrast between GBC and SBC. The formation of epoxides is straightforward SBC with a simple linear dependence on pH between pH 8 and 12 and no acceleration at constant pH by carbonate (CO3-) ions. There is an... 

The formation of epoxides, the intramolecular ether, is useful in synthesis where it is desired to activate a molecule for further reactions. For example, the double bonds of an olefin are an excellent site for the introduction of an epoxide group. The energy stored in the three-member ring of an epoxide leads to higher reactivity than would be observed with an olefin. This technique is used to advantage with oleochemical substrates. 

One of the anchimeric effects that hampered the stmcture elucidation of picrotoxinin (1) considerably was the high stability of its oxirane (Scheme 1). When combined with the fact that this functionality seemed highly unusual for a naturally occurring compound at the time, tests to confirm the presence of this funcionality failed. For example, even gaseous hydrochloric acid in acetic acid did not cleave this epoxide, but led to anhydropicrotoxinin (103) by intramolecular ether formation (Scheme 2). Under strongly basic condition the many functionalities of the... 

The authors used (5)-carvotanacetone (dihydrocarvone) as starting material (Scheme 34). To prepare the linearly conjugated sUylenol ether, they used the Kharash protocol and attained y-alkylation by Mukaiyama aldol reaction with trimethylorthoformate (195). The ketoacetal 295 was a-hydroxylated according to Rubottom by silylenol ether formation followed by epoxidation and silyl migration. Acid treatment transformed 296 to the epimeric cyclic acetals 297 and 298. endo-Aceta 297 was equilibrated thereby increasing the amount of exo-acetal 298. The necessary unsaturated side chain for the prospected radical cyclization was introduced by 1,4-addition of a (trimethylsilyl)butynylcopper compound. 

Different competitive processes are dependent on the diazo compound, on the unsaturated system, and on the solvent. With 1,1,1-trifluorobutan-2-one and diazomethane, the corresponding oxirane is formed almost exclusively. While methyl trifluoropyruvatc reacts with diazomethane to provide a mixture of the oxiranes, reaction of the pyruvate with ethyl diazoacetate provides a stable [3-1-2] cycloadduct.Chiral fluoroalkyl-substituted /i-oxo sulfoxide (e.g., 1) readily react with diazomethane to provide the corresponding chiral epoxides. Use of methanol as solvent favors oxirane formation over the competitive enol ether formation. 

Where functional groups are present which are more readily oxidized than the ether group, multiple reactions can occur. For example, in their total synthesis of (-i-)-tutin and (-i-)-asteromurin A, Yamada et al. observed concomitant oxidation of a secondary alcohol function in the oxidation of the ether (30) with ruthenium tetroxide (equation 24). The same group successfully achieved the simultaneous oxidation of both ether functions of the intermediate (31) in their related stereocontrolled syntheses of (-)-picrotox-inin and (-i-)-coriomyrtin (equation 25). Treatment of karahana ether (32) with excess ruthenium tetroxide resulted in the formation of the ketonic lactone (33) via oxidation of both the methylene group adjacent to the ether function and the exocyclic alkenic group (equation 26). In contrast, ruthenium tetroxide oxidation of the steroidal tetral drofuran (34) gave as a major product the lactone (35) in which the alkenic bond had been epoxidized. A small amount of the 5,6-deoxylactone (17%) was also isolated (equation 27). This transformation formed the basis of a facile introduction of the ecdysone side chain into C-20 keto steroids. 

Reductive cleavage of cyclic ethers This complex is effective for reductive cleavage of cyclic ethers. The order of reactivity is epoxide > oxetane > tetrahydrofurane>tetrahydropyrane>oxepane. It is less effective for cleavage of acyclic ethers, except for methyl ethers. The reaction involves formation of a complex of the ethereal oxygen with aluminum r-butoxide followed by Sn2 displacement with lithium triethylborohydride. Steric and electronic Victors are involved, but yields are >90% in favorable cases. 

Perfluoroalkoxyanions are also generated by reaction of fluoride ion with acid fluorides and with epoxides (see Section niB, below). Reaction of the (CF3)2CO—CsF complex with tetrafluoroethene [135] gives alkoxide 8.34A, not a carbanion 8.34B (Figure 8.34). In the presence of iodine, however, ethers are formed [126], indicating the formation of intermediate hypoiodites, RpOI (Figure 8.35). 

In addition to the formation of silyl enol ethers, isomerization of epoxides to allylic alcohols is another highly typical transformation performed by combination of a silicon Lewis acid with a tertiary amine. Reaction with la was examined, and its scope and limitation reported, by Noyori [61]. Epoxide 44 can be successfully converted into the corresponding allyl silyl ether 45 (Sch. 34). 

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