Isoprene chloroacetate

The reaction is carried out by adding the allene dropwise to a solution of sodium amide in ethylene diamine-ether (30 70) maintained at room temperature. The reaction mixture is agitated during addition and for about two to three hours thereafter, followed by quenching with aqueous ammonium chloride and distillation. The presence of the diene does not interfere in the subsequent coupling reaction of the acetylene with "isoprene chloroacetate" (l-acetoxy-4-chloro-3-methylbut-2-ene) (3), as it is merely an inert component in the reaction mixture. 

The compound of formula (4) is coupled with isoprene chloroacetate (1-acetoxy-4-chloro-3-methylbut-2-ene) (4a) to form the basic C2o skeleton of dehydrophytol. The chloroacetate is known and prepared by the chlorhydrination of isoprene in glacial acetic acid as described in an article by W. Oroshnik and R. A. Mallory, J. Amer. Chem. Soc. 72, 4608 (1950). The coupling reaction results in the preparation of 3,7,11,15-tetramethyl-l-acetoxyhexadec-2-en-5-yne (5), a C2o enyne. The coupling reaction may be carried out employing several methods. The following methods are preferred. 

This coupling reaction involves pre-forming a cuprous salt of the C15 acetylene compound of formula (4) and then reacting the salt with the coupling reactant "isoprene chloroacetate" (4a) in an aprotic solvent such as dimethyl formamide (DMF). The cuprous salt is formed by reacting the C15 acetylene... 

This sequential substitution of the chloro and acetoxy groups makes the chloroacetates useful as building blocks. An example of the use of the chloroacetate 34 from isoprene for the synthesis of the Monarch butterfly pheromone is given in Scheme 737. Two different nucleophiles, sodium dimethyl malonate and sodium methyl acetoacetate, were employed in Pd(0)-catalyzed allylic substitutions. The transformation of 34 to 36 was also made... 

In 1838 Regnault [15] reported that vinylidene chloride could be polymerized. In 1839 Simon [16] and then Blyth and Hofmann (1845) [17] reported the preparation of polystyrene. These were followed by the polymerization of vinyl chloride (1872) [18], isoprene (1879) [19], methacrylic acid (1880) [20], methylacrylate (1880) [21], butadiene (1911) [22], vinyl acetate (1917) [23], vinyl chloroacetate [23], and ethylene (1933) [24]. Klatte and Rollett [23] reported that benzoyl peroxide is a catalyst for the polymerization of vinyl acetate and vinyl chloroacetate. 

By using the chloroacetate generated from isoprene, two enolate nucleophiles were selectively coupled to the 1 - and 4-positions via allylic substitution reaction and the product was subsequently transformed to the Monarch butterfly pheromone [Eq.(46)] [85]. 

Isoprene epoxidized on the vinyl group (l,2-epoxy-3-methyl-3-butene, 14) would also be an attractive synthon for monoterpenoids if it were more readily accessible. Among the possible preparative methods (Scheme 2), acid-catalyzed isomerization of 2,3-epoxy-l-halo-3-methylbutanes (epoxidized prenyl halides) and dehydrohalogenation of the resulting isomers seemed the best route until chlorination of prenyl acetate (15, R = OAc) with hypochlorous acid was published. Dehydration of the mixture of products gave a maximum of the chloroacetate 16, which yielded the epoxide 14 with sodium hydroxide in methanol. ... 

Another way to get citronellol is by the reductive dimerization of isoprene with formic acid and triethylamine using a 1% pcdladium phosphine catalyst [32]. The two head-to-tail dimers are formed in up to 79% yields, which can easily be separated from the head-to-head and tail-to-tail dimers by conversion with aqueous hydrochloric acid, yielding 7-chloro-3,7-dimethyl-l-octene. Hydroboration and pyrolysis of this chloro derivative produces a 1 3-mixture of a- and jS-citronellol. The mono-chloro compound can also be oxidized with tert- mty peracetate and a cuprous bromide catalyst to the chloroacetate, which is reduced with LiAJH4 and pyrolyzed to linalool in 64% overall yield. 

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