Grignard reagents carbonyl additions

An organocerium reagent gave better yields than either the lithium or Grignard reagents in addition to carbonyl at the 17-position on steroids.156... 

Orgcuiochromium compounds prepared from halides and Cr(II) species in anhydrous, aprotic, polar solvents provide means of selective synthesis as has been described previously (, ). In particular, the Grignard type carbonyl addition of cdlylchromium reagents proceeds much more slowly and selectively than that of orgcuiomagnesium compounds. 

The main use of organocadmium compounds is for the preparation of ketones and keto-esters, and their special merit lies in the fact that they react vigorously with acid chlorides of all types but add sluggishly or not at all to multiple bonds (compare addition of Grignard reagents to carbonyl groups). Some t3rpical syntheses are ... 

In equation 1, the Grignard reagent, C H MgBr, plays a dual role as reducing agent and the source of the arene compound (see Grignard reaction). The Cr(CO)g is recovered from an apparent phenyl chromium intermediate by the addition of water (19,20). Other routes to chromium hexacarbonyl are possible, and an excellent summary of chromium carbonyl and derivatives can be found in reference 2. The only access to the less stable Cr(—II) and Cr(—I) oxidation states is by reduction of Cr(CO)g. 

The reaction involves nucleophilic substitution of for OR and addition of R MgX to the carbonyl group. With 1,4-dimagnesium compounds, esters are converted to cyclopentanols (40). Lactones react with Grignard reagents and give diols as products. 

There has been recent interest in naphtho-fused dithiepines as chiral acyl anion equivalents, particularly since the starting dithiol 128 can be obtained in enan-tiomerically pure form (89TL2575). This is transformed using standard methods into the dithiepine 129, but showed only moderate diastereoselectivity in its addition to carbonyl compounds. On the other hand, as we have seen previously for other systems, formation of the 2-acyl compound 130 and reduction or addition of a Grignard reagent gave the products 131 with much better stereoselectivity (91JOC4467). 

As examples of their addition to carbonyl compounds, Grignard reagents react with formaldehyde, H2C = 0, to give primary alcohols, with aldehydes to give secondary alcohols, and with ketones to give tertiary alcohols. 

As with the reduction of carbonyl compounds discussed in the previous section, we ll defer a detailed treatment of the mechanism of Grignard reactions until Chapter 19. For the moment, it s sufficient to note that Grignard reagents act as nucleophilic carbon anions, or carbanions ( R ), and that the addition of a Grignard reagent to a carbonyl compound is analogous to the addition of hydride ion. The intermediate is an alkoxide ion, which is protonated by addition of F O"1 in a second step. 

The reduction of carbonyl compounds by reaction with hydride reagents (H -) and the Grignard addition by reaction with organomagnesium halides (R - +MgBr) are examples of nucleophilic carbonyl addition reactions. What analogous product do you think might result from reaction of cyanide ion with a ketone ... 

Johnson s classic synthesis of progesterone (1) commences with the reaction of 2-methacrolein (22) with the Grignard reagent derived from l-bromo-3-pentyne to give ally lie alcohol 20 (see Scheme 3a). It is inconsequential that 20 is produced in racemic form because treatment of 20 with triethyl orthoacetate and a catalytic amount of propionic acid at 138 °C furnishes 18 in an overall yield of 55 % through a process that sacrifices the stereogenic center created in the carbonyl addition reaction. In the presence of propionic acid, allylic alcohol 20 and triethyl orthoacetate combine to give... 

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