Imines radical reactions

Clerici and Porta reported that phenyl, acetyl and methyl radicals add to the Ca atom of the iminium ion, PhN+Me=CHMe, formed in situ by the titanium-catalyzed condensation of /V-methylanilinc with acetaldehyde to give PhNMeCHMePh, PhNMeCHMeAc, and PhNMeCHMe2 in 80% overall yield.83 Recently, Miyabe and co-workers studied the addition of various alkyl radicals to imine derivatives. Alkyl radicals generated from alkyl iodide and triethylborane were added to imine derivatives such as oxime ethers, hydrazones, and nitrones in an aqueous medium.84 The reaction also proceeds on solid support.85 A-sulfonylimines are also effective under such reaction conditions.86 Indium is also effective as the mediator (Eq. 11.49).87 A tandem radical addition-cyclization reaction of oxime ether and hydrazone was also developed (Eq. 11.50).88 Li and co-workers reported the synthesis of a-amino acid derivatives and amines via the addition of simple alkyl halides to imines and enamides mediated by zinc in water (Eq. 11.51).89 The zinc-mediated radical reaction of the hydrazone bearing a chiral camphorsultam provided the corresponding alkylated products with good diastereoselectivities that can be converted into enantiomerically pure a-amino acids (Eq. 11.52).90... 

Other examples of ZnR2-initiated radical additions to C=N bond-containing compounds can be found in a recent review by Miyabe et al 7 Overall, radical additions to imines and related derivatives may be considered as a valuable alternative to nucleophilic additions, particularly for the introduction of secondary and tertiary alkyl groups. In general, organozinc-mediated radical reactions are a new and significant direction with great potential.382,385... 

Reviews including aspects of P-lactam chemistry are ketene-imine cycloaddition reactions <98CHE1222>, radical cyclization processes <98MI169>, combinatorial synthesis <98AJC875>, electrophilic cyclization of unsaturated amides <98T13681> and theoretical studies on the synthesis of P-lactams <98MI245>. 

Consumption of the DSBPD results from further oxidation of the >NO radical (Reaction 12) but may also occur by hydrogen abstraction from the alkyl group leading to imine formation (5) or by disproportionation reactions yielding quinonoid structures (9). The existence of this reaction system may therefore be transitory. However, the main chain is long, and the effect of 7.5 X 10"3M DSBPD lasts almost throughout the oxidation of 0.15M indene-thiophenol (see Figure 3). 

Studies of ammonia synthesis on iron catalyst suggest that the reaction occurs through surface imine radicals. 

MISCELLANEOUS REACTIONS OF DIHYDROPYRIDINES Additional tests for net hydride transfers initiated by single-electron transfer include the use of substrates in which such pathways would necessarily involve readily ring-opened cyclopropylmethyl or readily cyclized 5-hexenyl radicals. Products from these radical reactions are not formed in NAD+/ NADH dependent enzymic reductions or oxidations (Maclnnes et al., 1982, 1983 Laurie et al., 1986 Chung and Park, 1982). Such tests have also been applied in non-enzymic reductions. Thus cyclopropane rings in cyclopropyl 2-pyridyl ketones, or imines of formylcyclopropane (van Niel and Pandit, 1983, 1985 Meijer et al., 1984) survive Mg+2 catalysed reduction by BNAH or Hantzsch esters but are opened by treatment with tributylin hydride. 

Radical cyclization is not limited to reaction with a C=C unit (see 15-29 and 15-30), and reactions with both C=N and C=0 moieties are known. Reaction of MeON=CH(CH2)3CHO with Bu3SnH and AIBN, for example, led to trans-2-(methoxyamino)cyclopentanol in good yield.Conjugated ketones add to aldehyde via the p-carbon under radical conditions (2 equivalents of Bu3SnH and 0.1 equivalent of CuCl) to give a p-hydroxy ketone.Addition of radical to the C=N unit of R C=N SPh ° or R—C=N—led to cyclic imines. Radical addition to simple imines leads to aminocycloalkenes. Radical also add to the carbonyl unit of phenylthio esters to give cyclic ketones. 

The reaction was discovered in 1923 in interesting circumstances. Products from the decomposition of hydrazoic acid in various solvents were investigated and the decomposition catalysed by sulphuric acid in benzene was found to lead to aniline Schmidt considered an imine radical NH to be the species responsible and on attempting to trap this with benzophenone he obtained benzamide. The reacdon was generalized and rapidly exploited, mainly by its discoverer. The currently accepted mechanism was proposed in outline shortly after-wards and is shown in its modern form in scheme (19) for carboxylic... 

Protonation of imines leads to improved yields in radical addition. For reviews of Lewis acid effects in radical reactions, see... 

Most studies involve reactions of carbon-centered radicals with alkenes and alkynes as radical traps. Heteroatom radical traps such as carbonyl groups, imines, and nitriles have received much less attention. Since radical reactions involving carbon-centered radicals and C=C bonds lead to the loss of the two participating functional groups, one of the advantages in radical reactions using heteroatom radical traps is to retain synthetically useful functionality for further manipulations. 

Ketimine radicals. Ketoximes are deoxygenated on treatment with sulfinyl chlorides via homolysis of the oxime sulfinates. When suppression of diradical recombination by steric hindrance is exploited, imine radical intermediates tend to undergo other reactions such as intramolecular addition. 

The photochemical decomposition of the thiazete 207 in benzene at 30 °C affords carbazole 208190. The reaction presumably involves the formation of a biradical by S—N bond fission which, on loss of S02, undergoes cyclization to yield the final product. Loss of sulphur dioxide also occurs on irradiation of the sultam 209 yielding the quinomethane imine 210, which ring closes to the azetidine 211181. Irradiation of the sulphobenzimide 212 in benzene yields the amide 213 by a free radical reaction path182. 

Kotani M, Yamago S, Satoh A, Tokuyama H, Fukuyama T (2005) Synthesis of 2,3-dialkylindoles from 2-aUcenylphenylisocyanides and imines by silyltelluride- and tin hydride-mediated sequential radical reactions. Synlett 1893-1896... 

Radical reactions are not restricted to cyclizations onto alkenes or alkynes. Increasingly popular is the use of an imine or imine derivative, such as an oxime or hydrazone. ° Most examples involve 5- or 6-exo-trig cyclization to give cyclopentane or cyclohexane ring systems. Thus, treatment of the bromide 77 withtributyltin hydride gave the cyclopentane 78 (4.66). The stereoselectivity of the cyclization is in line with that expected on the basis of a chair-like transition state (compare with Scheme 4.53). 

Solid-state radical reactions of in situ generated imines mediated by Mn(0Ac)3-2H20. 

---