Julia alkene synthesis

The Julia alkene synthesis has been applied to allylsilane synthesis, including the synthesis of 2-cyclopentylidene- and 2-cyclobutylideneethyl(trimethyl)silanes30. 

The reductive elimination of (3-hydroxysulfones is the final step in the Julia-Lythgoe alkene synthesis (see Section 2.4.3).301 The (3-hydroxysulfones are normally obtained by an aldol addition. 

Alkene synthesis. Some years ago Julia and Paris1 reported an alkene synthesis hy reaelion of/i-alkoxy sultones with sodium amalgam (equation I). 

Alkene synthesis.9 The key step in the Julia synthesis of alkenes (11, 473-475) involves reductive elimination of a P-hydroxy sulfone with sodium amalgam. A recent modification involves elimination of a p-hydroxy imidazolyl sulfone with Sml2 (equation I).1 Both syntheses are particularly useful for preparation of disubstituted alkenes and conjugated dienes and trienes. Both methods of elimination favor formation of (E)-alkenes. In a direct comparison, a higher yield was obtained with Sml2 than with Na(Hg). 

Fig. 4.40. Second step of the Julia-Lythgoe synthesis of trans-alkenes (first step cf. Figure 11.22) stereoconver-gent reduction of the sulfonyl-acetates syn- and anti-k to the uniformly configured alkene trans-C. The sequence starts with an E2 elimination yielding the alkenylsulfone f-B (mecha-nistical details as given), which is followed by the reduction to the final product (mechanistic analysis cf. Figure 17.85)...

P. R. Blakemore, The Modified Julia Olefination Alkene Synthesis via the Condensation of Metallated Heteroarylalkylsulfones with Carbonyl Compounds, J. Chem. Soc. Perkin Trans. 12002, 2563—2585. 

These four examples of the successful application of the Julia coupling in natural product synthesis indicate the sensitivity of various substrates to the anionic conditions. The solutions, interchanging the aldehyde and sulfone portions, modification of the substrate or altering the reductive elimination conditions, are all techniques that can enable the successful use of the Julia coupling for ( )-alkene synthesis. 

In this chapter we deal with the tegio- and stereo-controlled synthesis of alkenes by reductive elimination of 1,2-disubstituted alkanes. Where appropriate the related 1,4-elimination reactions leading to conjugated dienes will also be considered. The principal criterion for inclusion here is synthetic utility, and reactions such as the Julia alkenation are given prominence because they incorporate a reductive elimination as a key step in a sequence which is connective. Consequently such reductive eliminations should not be considered in isolation, but as an integral part of a sequence which achieves regio- and stereo-con-... 

A serious obstacle to the use of the Julia alkenation for the synthesis of trisubstituted alkenes is illustrated in Scheme 31. Addition of cyclohexanone to the lithiated sulfone (86) gave intermediate (87), which could not be acylated under the reaction conditions because of the sterically hindered tertiary alk-oxide. Owing to an unfavorable equilibrium, (87) reverted back to starting materials. However, by reversing the functionality of the fragments a stable adduct (88) was formed in which the less hindered secondary alkoxide was acylated and the resultant -benzoyloxy sulfone (89) reductively eliminated to the alkene (90) in 54% overall yield. Trisubstimted alkenes have been generated by reductive elimination of 3-hydroxy sulfones ° but, in general, retroaldol reactions compete. 

Little is known about the stereochemistry of trisubstituted alkene formation in the Julia alkenation. In a synthesis of milbemycin 33 Barrett and coworkersgenerated intermediate (91 equation 22) as a mixture of isomers (E Z = 5 3) by reductive elimination of a 3-acetoxy sulfone however, a similar reductive elimination on the 3-hydroxy sulfone shown in equation (23) gave a single isomer. The marked difference in the yield of these two transformations reflects the advantage of suppressing the retroaldoliza-tion reaction by acylation. 

A connective synthesis of alkynes inspired by the Julia alkenation was developed by Lythgoe and coworkers for the synthesis of la-hydroxy vitamin D3, as shown in Scheme 34. The P-keto sulfone (101) derived by condensation of the the metalated sulfone (99) with the ester (100) was converted to the enol phosphate (102), which on reductive elimination gave the enynene (103). 

Blakemore, P. R. The modified Julia olefination alkene synthesis via the condensation of metallated heteroarylalkylsulfones with carbonyl compounds. J. Chem. Soc., Perkin Trans. 1 2002, 2563-2585. 

The Julia olefin synthesis is rather like the Wittig reaction with a sulfone instead of a phosphonium salt but with one other important difference the elimination step is stereoselective and both dia-stereoisomers of the intermediate can give the same isomer of the alkene. Treatment of the sulfone 147 with a strong base gives the anion 148 (or a metal derivative) that combines with an aldehyde to give a diastereomeric mixture of adducts 149. Elimination by various methods gives, in open chain compounds, mostly -150 but, in cyclic compounds, mostly the Z-alkene.29... 

Generation of Sulfur Ylides Julia Olefination and Related Processes. Recently, the modified Julia olefination, which employed certain heteroarylsulfones instead of the traditional phenyl-sulfones, has emerged as a powerful tool for alkene synthesis. Although the reaction was first reported with LDA, bases such as LHMDS, NaHMDS, and KHMDS are now commonly used. In addition, solvent as well as base counter-cation have been shown to markedly affect the stereochemical outcome of the olefination reaction. For instance, KHMDS was less selective than NaHMDS for the coupling between benzothiazoylsulfone (1) and cyclopropane carboxaldehyde (2) in toluene, furnishing a 3.7 1 ratio compared to a 10 1 ratio favoring the Z-isomer. However, both bases provided a 1 1 mixture of isomers when the reaction was run in DMF (eq 54). ... 

More recently, the modified Julia olefination, which employed certain heteroarylsulfones instead of the traditional phenylsul-fones, has emerged as a powerful tool for alkene synthesis. Although the reaction was first reported with LDA, bases such... 

The Julia Alkenation and Related Reactions. In 1973, Julia and Paris reported a new connective and regioselective alkene synthesis (eq 10) based on the reductive elimination of fi-acyloxy sulfones. The Juha alkenation is now one of the principal methods for fragment linkage in complex natural product synthesis. Mono-, di-, tri-, and tetrasuhstituted alkenes can he prepared in moderate to good yield, depending on the substrate. The three-step sequence, illustrated in eq 11, entails (a) condensation of a metalated sulfone with an aldehyde or ketone, (h) O-functionalization of the adduct as the acetate, henzoate, or mesylate (to prevent retroaldohzation), and (c) reductive elimination using 6% Na(Hg) in THF-MeOH (3 1) at —20 °C. In favorable cases, step (b) can be omitted and the reductive elimination performed on a... 

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