Heteroatom-Substituted Alkylaluminums

Kochetkov and co-workers used Me2AlSeMe for direct transformation of esters into selenoesters which proved to be active acyl-transfer reagents in heavy metal-assisted reactions, producing the corresponding ketones as shown in Sch. 79 [115]. 

A tandem aldol condensation-radical cyclization sequence has been developed for the preparation of functionalized bicyclo[3.3.0]octane systems [116]. Conjugate addition of Me2AlSePh to dimethylcyclopentanone (118) followed by trapping of the resulting enolate with aldehyde gave predominantly the trans, erythro aldol 119 this then underwent radical cyclization with BusSnH and catalytic AIBN yielding the bicyclic ketol 120 stereospecifically (Sch. 80). 

Oshima and Nozaki generated the aluminum enolate regiospecifically by treatment of a-halo carbonyl compounds with Bu3SnAlEt2 subsequent reaction with aldehydes or ketones under mild conditions gave /3-hydroxy carbonyl compounds [117]. This subsequent aldol reaction is accelerated by the addition of catalytic Pd(PPh3)4 (Sch. 81). 

Nozaki and Yamamoto reported a novel method for regiospecific isomerization of epoxides to allylic alcohols based on diethylaluminum 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidide (DATMP) which can be prepared in situ from Et2AlCl and lithium 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidide (LiTMP) (molar ratio 1 1) in benzene at 0 °C for 30 min [119], Reaction of DATMP (4 equiv.) with ( )-cyclododecene oxide in benzene at 0 °C for 3 h produced ( )-2-cyclododecen-l-ol in 90 % yield. Interestingly, the reaction of diepoxide 121, a useful synthetic intermediate in the preparation of Cig-Cecropia juvenile hormone, with DATMP furnished the triol 122 in 41 % yield (Sch. 83). 

Yamamoto and Maruoka found that organoaluminum amides are highly effective in the Fischer indole synthesis. In particular, DATMP is the reagent of choice for regioselective Fischer indole synthesis [120]. For instance, treatment of the E)-N-methyl-A-phenylhydrazone of 5-methyl-3-heptanone (123) with DATMP affords 3- ec-butyl-2-ethyl-l-methylindole (125) as the sole isolable product its (Z) isomer gives l,3-dimethyl-2-(2-methylbutyl)indole (124) with high regioselectivity under similar reaction conditions, as illustrated in Sch. 84. 

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