Ethyl malonate, carbanion from

The protected malondialdehyde (320) reacts with diethyl malonate to give the substituted malonic ester, so providing access to ethyl 2-oxopyran-3-carboxylate (63JOC1443). The corresponding 6-phenyl derivative results from the reaction of 3-methoxy-l-phenylprop-2-en-l-one with malonate carbanion (64RTC31). 

Reaction of carbanions with dialkynic ketones, the so-called skipped diynes, can produce pyranones through an initial Michael condensation. It should be noted however that diynones are vulnerable to attack at several sites and that mixed products can be formed. Addition of the anions derived from diethyl malonate and ethyl cyanoacetate to hepta-2,5-diyn-4-one (313 R1 = Me) gives the pyranones (314 R2 = C02Et or CN Scheme 91) (74JOC843). The former carbanion reacts similarly with the diynone (313 R1 = Bun) (68T4285). The second alkyne moiety appears to have little effect on the course of the reaction, which parallels the synthesis of pyranones from monoalkynic ketones. 

In the late nineteenth century, Michael found that the enolate anion (46) derived from diethyl malonate reacts with ethyl acrylate at the P-carbon (as shown in the illustration) to give an enolate anion, 47, as the product. Remember from Chapter 22 (Section 22.7.4) that the a-proton of a 1,3-dicarbonyl compound such as diethyl malonate is rather acidic (pK of about 11), and even a relatively weak base will deprotonate to form the enolate anion. Michael addition of 46 with ethyl acrylate will give enolate anion 47, and aqueous acid workup leads to the isolated product, 48. Attack at the -carbon is possible because that carbon is less hindered than the acyl carbon, so reaction at the C=C unit is somewhat faster than attack at the acyl carbon. Michael addition occurs with relatively stable carbanion nucleophiles, such as malonate derivative 46 and some other common nucleophiles. Other conjugated carbonyl derivatives react similarly. 

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