Ethers, allylic Wittig rearrangement

The rearrangement of an ether 1 when treated with a strong base, e.g. an organo-lithium compound RLi, to give an alcohol 3 via the intermediate a-metallated ether 2, is called the Wittig rearrangement. The product obtained is a secondary or tertiary alcohol. R R can be alkyl, aryl and vinyl. Especially suitable substrates are ethers where the intermediate carbanion can be stabilized by one of the substituents R R e.g. benzyl or allyl ethers. 

A proton can be removed from an allylic ether by treatment with an alkyllithium at about -70°C [at higher temperatures the Wittig rearrangement (18-22) takes place] to give the ion 130, which reacts with alkyl halides to give the two products... 

An earlier example of this type of domino reaction was reported by Greeves and coworkers (Scheme 2.194) [443]. Treatment of either the ( )- or (Z)- allyl vinyl ether 2-870 with NaH initiates the [2,3]-Wittig rearrangement to afford 2-872 via 2-871. The subsequent oxy-Cope rearrangement led to the aldehyde 2-873, which was reduced with NaBH4 to give the alcohols 2-874. Both isomers of 2-870 predominantly generated the (/ )-xyu-product 2-874 in comparable ratios as the main product. 

For allyl ethers 790 with R1 =Ph, treatment with LDA generates anions 791 which undergo [2,3]-Wittig rearrangement to more stable alkoxides 792 (Scheme 126). Spontaneous expulsion of benzotriazole anion from 792 generates (3,y-unsaturated ketones 793 that are isolated in high yields (86-92%) <1996JOC4035>. In the case of... 

The application of RCM to dihydropyran synthesis includes a route to 2,2-disubstituted derivatives from a-hydroxycarboxylic acids. In a one-pot reaction, the hydroxy esters undergo sequential O-allylation, a Wittig rearrangement and a second O-allylation to form allyl homoallyl ethers 8. A single RCM then yields the 3,6-dihydro-2//-pyran 9. The process is readily adapted not only to variably substituted dihydropyrans but also to 2-dihydrofuranyl and 2-tetrahydrooxepinyl derivatives and to spirocycles e.g. 10 through a double RCM (Scheme 4) <00JCS(P1)2916>. 

Transformation of allyl ethers into homoallylic alcohols by treatment with base. Also known as Still-Wittig rearrangement. Cf. Sommelet-Hauser rearrangement... 

Miscellaneous The treatment of allyl 1-bromo-2-naphthyl ether 43 with f-BuLi affords benzyl alcohol 44 via a sequential reaction consisting of bromine-lithium exchange, and anion translocation, followed by a [1,2]-Wittig rearrangement (equation 23). ... 

A high level of enantioselectivity in an acyclic system has been reported in the rearrangement of tricarbonylchromium(O) complexes of allyl benzyl ethers using chiral lithium amide base 73 (equation 38) . Upon treatment with 1.1 equivalents of lithium amide 73 and 1 equivalent of LiCl at —78 to —50°C, ether 74 afforded the rearrangement product R)-75 in 80% yield with 96% ee. The effect of substituents on the chemical yields and enantioselectivity of the [2,3]-Wittig rearrangement was also studied (see Table 3). 

The [2,3] sigmatropic rearrangement pattern is also observed with anionic species. The most important case for synthetic purposes is the Wittig rearrangement, in which a strong base converts allylic ethers to a-allyl alkoxides.191... 

The Wittig rearrangement is the base-catalyzed 1.2-shift of an alkyl, allyl. benzyl, or phenyl group of an ether from oxygen to carbon. A patent claim describes the conversion of aryl arylmethyl ethers such as 21 into diarylmethanols such as 22.14... 

Stereospecific Wittig rearrangement.1 Wittig rearrangement of the optically active (Z)-allylic ether 1 (9, 475 for a related reaction) gives (R,E)-2 with complete chirality transfer. Rearrangement of (E)-l results in two products, again with complete chirality transfer.1... 

Wittig rearrangement of allyl silyl ethers, followed by Simmons-Smith cyclopropana-tion and Collins oxidation, produces a-cyclopropyl acyl silanes, e.g. 22, in 10-85% yields (Scheme 55)85. 

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