Ketones, 2-hydroxy rearrangements

In acidic solution the rearrangement of a-santonin to lumisantonin and then ultimately to photosantonic acid is not as efficient as rearrangement to the hydroxy ketone, isophotosantonic lactone (5), shown on page 308. Fisch and Richards(6) found that the photorearrangements of a-santonin could be sensitized with benzophenone or Michler s ketone. Moreover, if the irradiation of a-santonin (3660 A) is carried out in piperylene as solvent, the photoreaction is completely quenched. This suggests that the rearrangements proceed via triplet states. 

The cyclization of y -hydroxy ketones is useful for the formation of pyrans,306,403 both directly and via rearrangement, as illustrated in Eq. 231.153 As with their acyclic counterparts, these cyclizations also occur with the silyl ethers of the hydroxy ketones where Et3SiH/BiBr3 is used with the TBS and TES ethers.342,404 A methyl thiomethyl ether is also capable of undergoing the reductive cyclization 405 In like manner, 1,4-diols and e-hydroxy ketones provide oxepanes, with I ds Si H or PhMe2SiH/TMSOTf being especially effective (Eqs. 232 and 233).336,406 The trimethylsilyl ether of the alcohol also provides the oxepane.306... 

Carbon monoxide rapidly inserts into the carbon—zirconium bond of alkyl- and alkenyl-zirconocene chlorides at low temperature with retention of configuration at carbon to give acylzirconocene chlorides 17 (Scheme 3.5). Acylzirconocene chlorides have found utility in synthesis, as described elsewhere in this volume [17]. Lewis acid catalyzed additions to enones, aldehydes, and imines, yielding a-keto allylic alcohols, a-hydroxy ketones, and a-amino ketones, respectively [18], and palladium-catalyzed addition to alkyl/aryl halides and a,[5-ynones [19] are examples. The acyl complex 18 formed by the insertion of carbon monoxide into dialkyl, alkylaryl, or diaryl zirconocenes may rearrange to a r 2-ketone complex 19 either thermally (particularly when R1 = R2 = Ph) or on addition of a Lewis acid [5,20,21]. The rearrangement proceeds through the less stable... 

Epoxidations of chiral allenylsilanes are also highly stereoselective, especially if the silyl group is spatially demanding (Eq. 9.54) [60]. A bis-epoxide intermediate is formed which rearranges to an a,/8-unsaturated a -hydroxy ketone. Such products are of interest as branched carbohydrate analogues. 

It is also possible to oxidize allenes 89 and 92 to unsaturated hydroxy ketones 91 and 93 via the spirodioxide intermediate 90 [29]. In this case the terminating step is a 1,5-proton shift. In the examples shown in Scheme 17.26, the formation of the spirodioxide intermediate is diastereoselective, as is the rearrangement to the unsaturated hydroxy ketone. 

The reduction of diketones is very complex. They can be partially reduced to ketols (hydroxy ketones) or ketones, or completely reduced to hydrocarbons. Depending on the mutual distance of the two carbonyl groups and reagents used, carbon-carbon bond cleavage may occur and may be followed by recyclizations or rearrangements. Some reactions may result in the formation of alkenes. Quinones react in their own specific way. 

The Clemmensen reduction of j8-diketones (1,3-diketones) is rather complicated. The first step in the reaction of 2,4-pentanedione with zinc amalgam is an intramolecular pinacol reduction leading to a cyclopropanediol. Next the cyclopropane ring is opened in the acidic medium, and a rearrangement followed by a reduction gives the final product, a ketone, with a changed carbon skeleton [924, 925]. The ketone is usually accompanied by small amounts of the corresponding hydrocarbon [924] or an a-hydroxy ketone [925]. 

This [1,4]-Wittig rearrangement system is applicable to the sequential [l,4]-rearrange-ment/aldol reaction which provides -hydroxy ketones with moderate diastereoselectivity (Table 4). 

Anionic oxy-Claisen rearrangement.2 The [3,3] Claisen rearrangement of en-olates of a-allyloxy ketones is markedly dependent on the nature of the metal hydride used, and to a less extent, the solvent. An example is the rearrangement of a-(allyloxy)propiophenone (1) to the a-hydroxy ketone 2. The rearrangement... 

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