Alcohols, homoallylic epoxidation

An interesting feature of the Corey proposal is that it predicts that homoallylic alcohols should epoxidize from the opposite face compared with allylic alcohols. This arises because the stereoelectronically favorable conformation available for the hydrogen bond of homoallylic alcohols in 7 projects the alkyl chain of the homoallylic alcohol below the plane described by the titanium and the fm-butyl hydroperoxide ring. This is the only conformation that places the tt-bond of the allylic alcohol in a position to receive the peroxy oxygen of the hydroperoxide. In the initial report of enantioselective epoxidation32 it was indeed observed that homoallylic alcohols epoxidized from the opposite face compared to allylic alcohols. 

SCHEME 4.20 Directed asymmetric homoallylic alcohol epoxidation. 

The Pd-catalyzed hydrogenolysis of vinyloxiranes with formate affords homoallyl alcohols, rather than allylic alcohols regioselectively. The reaction is stereospecific and proceeds by inversion of the stereochemistry of the C—O bond[394,395]. The stereochemistry of the products is controlled by the geometry of the alkene group in vinyloxiranes. The stereoselective formation of stereoisomers of the syn hydroxy group in 630 and the ami in 632 from the ( )-epoxide 629 and the (Z)-epoxide 631 respectively is an example. 

Hodgson et al. showed that a series of bis- and tris-homoallylic terminal epoxides underwent intramolecular cydopropanation to give a range of bicydic alcohols. A short asymmetric synthesis of sabina ketone based on this chemistry was demonstrated (Scheme 5.20). A practical advantage with this process is that the volatile epoxides can be replaced with readily available chlorohydrins, an extra... 

Pineschi and Feringa reported that chiral copper phosphoramidite catalysts mediate a regiodivergent kinetic resolution (RKR) of cyclic unsaturated epoxides with dialkylzinc reagents, in which epoxide enantiomers are selectively transformed into different regioisomers (allylic and homoallylic alcohols) [90]. The method was also applied to both s-cis and s-trans cyclic allylic epoxides (Schemes 7.45 and 7.46,... 

An unprecedented nickel-catalyzed reductive coupling between an epoxide and an alkyne to give synthetically useful homoallylic alcohols has been developed by Jamison [55a], and was recently used in a short enantioselective synthesis of am-... 

Hydroxy-l-alkenyl diisopropylcarbamates 2 (X = OCb), in this respect, occupy a medium position since they are stable in strongly acidic and basic protic solvents. For deblocking vinyl carbamates, the presence of catalytic amounts of mercuric or palladium(II) salts is required. Due to this stability, several reactions of homoallylic alcohols, proceeding with high diastereo-selectivity, e g., epoxidation, are applicable in order to introduce further hetero-substituents. 

Sulfonic peracids (66) have also been applied recently to the preparation of acid sensitive oxiranes and for the epoxidation of allylic and homoallylic alcohols, as well as relatively unreactive a, p - unsaturated ketones. These reagents, prepared in situ from the corresponding sulfonyl imidazolides 65, promote the same sense of diastereoselectivity as the conventional peracids, but often to a higher degree. In particular, the epoxidation of certain A -3-ketosteroids (e.g., 67) with sulfonic peracids 66 resulted in the formation of oxirane products (e.g., 68) in remarkably high diastereomeric excess. This increased selectivity is most likely the result of the considerable steric requirements about the sulfur atom, which enhances non-bonded interactions believed to be operative in the diastereoselection mechanism <96TET2957>. 

Slightly more exotic carbon-centered nucleophiles can also participate in the ring-optening of epoxides. For example, the vinyl metallate 81, prepared by the treatment of the alkenyl acetal 86 with Schlosser s reagent, attacks mono-substituted epoxides 82 at the C-2 position to give the labile homoallyl alcohols 83 in fair to very good yields <96TET1433>. 

A Baylis-Hillman type product has been obtained through a ring-opening reaction of an epoxide with an allenoate <06OL2771>. The reaction of MgL, with ethyl propiolate provides the iodo allenoate 32. This nucleophile reacts with an aryl epoxide to provide the homoallylic alcohol 33. The Z iodide is the major product formed. 

The vanadium-catalyzed epoxidation of hindered homoallylic alcohols has been described by Prieto and coworkers [339]. Reaction times for the epoxidation in a series of cis- and trans-2-methyl-alkenols were significantly reduced from 6-10 days to... 

Table 5.2 Asymmetric epoxidation of cis- and trans-allylic and homoallylic alcohols using poly(octamethylene tartrate)/Ti(Oz Pr)4/TBHP. 

Epoxide ring-opening with transfer of an sp carbon moiety was applied in a short synthesis [44] of eicosanoid 56 [45], relevant in marine prostanoid biosynthesis (Scheme 9.13). Homoallyl alcohol 55 was obtained in good yield from 54 by use of a cyano-Gilman alkenylcuprate [46]. 

In a recent paper, Zhang and Yamamoto have described a modified BHA ligand (235d) that is suitable for highly enantioselective vanadium-catalyzed epoxidation of homoallylic alcohols (Scheme 102). Both tram- and cA-substituted epoxides were achieved with nearly complete enantioselectivities and good yields. 

Cross-Cyclization of Epoxides with Homoallylic Alcohols. 232... 

Table 1 Cross-cyclization of epoxides with homoallylic alcohols...

Fig. 2 Mechanism for the formation of tetrahydropyran from epoxide and homoallylic alcohol...

Stereoselective addition of allyl metal reagents to various functionalities is an important reaction in organic synthesis [32, 33]. The allylation of epoxides and aziridines with allyltin reagent is catalyzed by Lewis acids. Even though many Lewis acids have been reported to catalyze this reaction, Bi(OTf)3 is distinct because it avoids the formation of byproducts and is also environmentally more compatible. It catalyzes the reaction of aryl epoxides with tetraallyltin to afford the corresponding homoallyllic alcohol [34]. 

Reaction of styrene oxide with tetraallyltin in the presence of Bi(OTf)3 (2 mol%) affords the corresponding l-phenyl-4-penten-2-ol (Fig. 5). In a similar fashion, various aryl substituted epoxides react smoothly with tetraallyltin to give the corresponding homoallylic alcohols. This method give generality as cycloalkyl oxiranes and sterically hindered ones give the corresponding homoallylic alcohols. 

Zrrconium(IV) and hafnium(IV) complexes have also been employed as catalysts for the epoxidation of olefins. The general trend is that with TBHP as oxidant, lower yields of the epoxides are obtained compared to titanium(IV) catalyst and therefore these catalysts will not be discussed iu detail. For example, zirconium(IV) alkoxide catalyzes the epoxidation of cyclohexene with TBHP yielding less than 10% of cyclohexene oxide but 60% of (fert-butylperoxo)cyclohexene °. The zirconium and hafnium alkoxides iu combiuatiou with dicyclohexyltartramide and TBHP have been reported by Yamaguchi and coworkers to catalyze the asymmetric epoxidation of homoallylic alcohols . The most active one was the zirconium catalyst (equation 43), giving the corresponding epoxides in yields of 4-38% and enantiomeric excesses of <5-77%. This catalyst showed the same sense of asymmetric induction as titanium. Also, polymer-attached zirconocene and hafnocene chlorides (polymer-Cp2MCl2, polymer-CpMCls M = Zr, Hf) have been developed and investigated for their catalytic activity in the epoxidation of cyclohexene with TBHP as oxidant, which turned out to be lower than that of the immobilized titanocene chlorides . ... 

Chiral alkenyl and cycloalkenyl oxiranes are valuable intermediates in organic synthesis [38]. Their asymmetric synthesis has been accomplished by several methods, including the epoxidation of allyl alcohols in combination with an oxidation and olefination [39a], the epoxidation of dienes [39b,c], the chloroallylation of aldehydes in combination with a 1,2-elimination [39f-h], and the reaction of S-ylides with aldehydes [39i]. Although these methods are efficient for the synthesis of alkenyl oxiranes, they are not well suited for cycloalkenyl oxiranes of the 56 type (Scheme 1.3.21). Therefore we had developed an interest in the asymmetric synthesis of the cycloalkenyl oxiranes 56 from the sulfonimidoyl-substituted homoallyl alcohols 7. It was speculated that the allylic sulfoximine group of 7 could be stereoselectively replaced by a Cl atom with formation of corresponding chlorohydrins 55 which upon base treatment should give the cycloalkenyl oxiranes 56. The feasibility of a Cl substitution of the sulfoximine group had been shown previously in the case of S-alkyl sulfoximines [40]. 

Attempts to functionalize the homoallylic alcohol 15 quickly revealed that this product of an intramolecular aldol condensation was sensitive to base. Fortunately, heating with thiocarbonyldiimidazole effected clean dehydration to give predominantly the desired regioisomer of the diene. Methanolysis followed by oxidation then gave the triketone 1, which on epoxidation with MCPBA gave 2 as the minor component of a 3 1 mixture. 

Homoaliyttc alcohols,An efficient synthesis of homoallylic alcohols of type I involves carbometallation of 1-alkynes (8, 506) followed by reaction of the alkcnyl-aluminate (a) with an epoxide.2... 

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