Ketenes addition reaction with enolates

Scheme 2.2 illustrates several examples of the Mukaiyama aldol reaction. Entries 1 to 3 are cases of addition reactions with silyl enol ethers as the nucleophile and TiCl4 as the Lewis acid. Entry 2 demonstrates steric approach control with respect to the silyl enol ether, but in this case the relative configuration of the hydroxyl group was not assigned. Entry 4 shows a fully substituted silyl enol ether. The favored product places the larger C(2) substituent syn to the hydroxy group. Entry 5 uses a silyl ketene thioacetal. This reaction proceeds through an open TS and favors the anti product. 

The pioneering discovery by Mukaiyama in 1974 of the Lewis acid mediated aldol addition reaction of enol silanes and aldehydes paved the way for subsequent explosive development of this innovative method for C-C bond formation. One of the central features of the Mukaiyama aldol process is that the typical enol silane is un-reactive at ambient temperatures with typical aldehydes. This reactivity profile allows exquisite control of the reaction stereoselectivity by various Lewis acids additionally, it has led to the advances in catalytic, enantioselective aldol methodology. Recent observations involving novel enol silanes, such as enoxy silacyclobutanes and O-si-lyl M(9-ketene acetals have expanded the scope of this process and provided additional insight into the mechanistic manifolds available to this versatile reaction. 

In a novel departure from the traditional approach to the asymmetric Mukaiyama aldol, Denmark has reported a Lewis base-catalyzed aldol addition reaction of enol trichlorosilanes and aldehydes. These unusual silyl ketene acetals are readily prepared by treatment of the tributylstannyl enolates 246 with SiC (Eq. 51). In the initial ground-breaking studies, the methyl acetate-derived trichlorosilyl ketene acetal 247 was shown to add rapidly to a broad range of aldehydes at -80 C to give adducts (89-99% yield, Eq. 52). 

Early extensive accounts of the 4v participation of a,/)-unsaturated carbonyl compounds in [4 + 2] cycloadditions detailed their reactions with electron-deficient dienophiles including a,/3-unsaturated nitriles, aldehydes, and ketones simple unactivated olefins including allylic alcohols and electron-rich dienophiles including enol ethers, enamines, vinyl carbamates, and vinyl ureas.23-25 31-33 Subsequent efforts have recognized the preferential participation of simple a,/3-unsaturated carbonyl compounds (a,/3-unsaturated aldehydes > ketones > esters) in inverse electron demand [4 + 2] cycloadditions and have further explored their [4 + 2]-cycloaddition reactions with enol ethers,34-48 acetylenic ethers,48 49 ke-tene acetals,36-50 enamines,4151-60-66 ynamines,61-63 ketene aminals,66 and selected simple olefins64-65 (Scheme 7-1). Additional examples may be found in Table 7-1. 

Alternatively one can make use of No Barrier Theory (NBT), which allows calculation of the free energy of activation for such reactions with no need for an empirical intrinsic barrier. This approach treats a real chemical reaction as a result of several simple processes for each of which the energy would be a quadratic function of a suitable reaction coordinate. This allows interpolation of the reaction hypersurface a search for the lowest saddle point gives the free energy of activation. This method has been applied to enolate formation, ketene hydration, carbonyl hydration, decarboxylation, and the addition of water to carbocations. ... 

The Mukaiyama aldol reaction refers to Lewis acid-catalyzed aldol addition reactions of silyl enol ethers, silyl ketene acetals, and similar enolate equivalents,48 Silyl enol ethers are not sufficiently nucleophilic to react directly with aldehydes or ketones. However, Lewis acids cause reaction to occur by coordination at the carbonyl oxygen, activating the carbonyl group to nucleophilic attack. 

The scope of the conjugate addition reaction can be further expanded by use of Lewis acids in conjunction with enolate equivalents, especially silyl enol ethers and silyl ketene acetals. The adduct is stabilized by a new bond to the Lewis acid and products are formed from the adduct. 

The use of oxygen-containing dienophiles such as enol ethers, silyl enol ethers, or ketene acetals has received considerable attention. Yoshikoshi and coworkers have developed the simple addition of silyl enol ethers to nitroalkenes. Many Lewis acids are effective in promoting the reaction, and the products are converted into 1,4-dicarbonyl compounds after hydrolysis of the adducts (see Section 4.1.3 Michael addition).156 The trimethylsilyl enol ether of cyclohexanone reacts with nitrostyrenes in the presence of titanium dichloride diisopropoxide [Ti(Oi-Pr)2Cl2], as shown in Eq. 8.99.157 Endo approach (with respect to the carbocyclic ring) is favored in the presence of Ti(Oi-Pr)2Cl2. Titanium tetrachloride affords the nitronates nonselectively. 

In aldol reactions, especially Mukaiyama aldol reactions, TiIV compounds are widely employed as efficient promoters. The reactions of aldehydes or ketones with reactive enolates, such as silyl enol ethers derived from ketones, proceed smoothly to afford /3-hydroxycarbonyl compounds in the presence of a stoichiometric amount of TiCl4 (Scheme 17).6, 66 Many examples have been reported in addition to silyl enol ethers derived from ketones, ketene silyl acetals derived from ester derivatives and vinyl ethers can also serve as enolate components.67-69... 

Reaction of 4a with TiCl4 was carried out in the presence of siloxyalkene 3 as nucleophile and the results are summarized in Table III. In the reaction with ketene silyl acetals 3a and 3e at -78 °C, y-ketoesters 15a and 15e were obtained instead of chloride product 8 which is a major product in the absence of 3. Formation of product 15 is likely to result from trapping of alkylideneallyl cation 5 with 3 at the sp2 carbon. In contrast, the reactions with silyl enol ethers 3f and 3g gave no acyclic product 15, but gave cyclopentanone derivatives 16-18. The product distribution depends on the mode of addition of TiCl4 (entries 4-7). 

In contrast to these transformations, Michael additions of simple enolates to acceptor-substituted dienes often yield mixtures of 1,4- and 1,6-addition products27-30. For example, a 70 30 mixture of 1,4- and 1,6-adducts was isolated from the reaction of the lithium enolate of methyl propionate with methyl sorbate30. This problem can be solved by using the corresponding silyl ketene acetal in the presence of clay montmorillonite as acidic promoter under these conditions, almost exclusive formation of the 1,4-addition product (syn/anti mixture) was observed (equation ll)30. Highly regioselective 1,4-additions... 

Amination of ketene has been studied by ab initio methods.Reactions of ammonia, its dimer, and its (mono)hydrate with ketene have been calculated and compared with earlier smdies of ammonia (at lower levels of theory), of water, and of water dimer. In general, the results favour initial addition of ammonia to the C=0 bond (giving the enol amide), as against addition to the C=C bond (which gives the amide directly). Amide formation is compared with the corresponding hydration reaction where enol acid and acid are the alternative immediate products. Most of the reactions, i.e. both additions and tautomerizations, are suggested to involve cyclic six-membered transition states. 

An interesting bifunctional system with a combination of In(OTf)3 and benzoyl-quinine 65 was developed in p-lactam formation reaction from ketenes and an imino ester by Lectka [Eq. (13.40)]. High diastrereo- and enantioselectivity as well as high chemical yield were produced with the bifunctional catalysis. In the absence of the Lewis acid, polymerization of the acid chloride and imino ester occurred, and product yield was moderate. It was proposed that quinine activates ketenes (generated from acyl chloride in the presence of proton sponge) as a nucleophile to generate an enolate, while indium activates the imino ester, which favors the desired addition reaction (66) ... 

Table 1 summarizes the results of the reactions of ynoates (2a-c) with a silicon enolate (silyl ketene acetal) and a lithium enolate of methyl propionate (Eq. 1). Except for the reaction of 2c, Fe-Mont catalyzed exclusive 1,2-addition of silyl ketene acetal to 2a and 2b to give an adduct of 3 in high yields. However, even trimethyl silyl trifluoromethanesulfonate (TMSOTf), a generally applied homogeneous strong acid, failed to effect the addition reaction. 

Since then, efficient catalytic asymmetric methods have been developed for the addition of silyl enol ethers or silyl ketene acetals to imines with chiral metal catalysts [29-34], Recently, direct catalytic asymmetric Mannich reactions which do not require preformation of enolate equivalents have appeared. 

Catalysis with Ti(IV) Complexes and Boronates. Carreira has documented the addition of dienolsilane 105 to a broad range of aldehydes [28], Enolization of the commercially available acetone-ketene adduct 104 with LDA, followed by quenching with chlorotrimethyl silane, gave 105 in 78% yield as a clear colorless liquid that can be conveniently purified by distillation (Eq. 8B2.24). The addition reactions are conducted at 23°C utilizing 5 mol % 72 to give adducts with up to 94% ee (Eq. 8B2.25, Table 8B2.13). The aldol adducts 106 were isolated fully protected as the corresponding 0-silyl ethers with the P-keto ester masked in the form of a dioxinone. 

This topological rule readily explained the reaction product 211 (>90% stereoselectivity) of open-chain nitroolefins 209 with open-chain enamines 210. Seebach and Golinski have further pointed out that several condensation reactions can also be rationalized by using this approach (a) cyclopropane formation from olefin and carbene, (b) Wittig reaction with aldehydes yielding cis olefins, (c) trans-dialkyl oxirane from alkylidene triphenylarsane and aldehydes, (d) ketenes and cyclopentadiene 2+2-addition, le) (E)-silyl-nitronate and aldehydes, (f) syn and anti-Li and B-enolates of ketones, esters, amides and aldehydes, (g) Z-allylboranes and aldehydes, (h) E-alkyl-borane or E-allylchromium derivatives and aldehydes, (i) enamine from cyclohexanone and cinnamic aldehyde, (j) E-enamines and E-nitroolefins and finally, (k) enamines from cycloalkanones and styryl sulfone. 

First, chemoselective (Chapter 24) conjugate addition of the silyl ketene acetal on the enone is preferred to direct aldol reaction with the aldehyde. Then an aldol reaction of the intermediate silyl enol ether on the benzaldehyde follows. The stereoselectivity results, firstly, from attack of benzalde-hyde on the less hindered face of the intermediate silyl enol ether, which sets the two side chains trans on the cyclohexanone, and, secondly, from the intrinsic diastereoselectivity of the aldol reaction (this is treated in some detail in Chapter 34). This is a summary mechanism. 

Treatment of chiral, nonracemic vinyl sulfoxides (214) with O-silylated ketene acetal (215) in the presence of a catalytic amount of zinc chloride resulted in an enantioselective additive Pummerer-type reaction, affording the corresponding enantiomerically enriched methyl-4-siloxy-4-sulfenylbuyrate (216) (Scheme 55).122 This is the overall addition of the enolate equivalent to the vinyl sulfoxide. 

If the reaction between enol silyl ethers and a,/ -unsaturated ketones is attempted in the presence of a titanium Lewis acid, the mode of the reaction switches to 1,4-addition with reference to the unsaturated ketone [109-113]. The reaction of an enol silyl ether is shown in Eq. (30) [114]. Ketene silyl acetals react with a,j8-unsaturated ketones in similar 1,4-fashion, as exemplified in Eq. (31) [115]. Acrylic esters, which often tend to polymerize, are also acceptable substrates for a, -unsaturated carbonyl compounds [111]. A difluoroenol silyl ether participated in this cationic reaction (Eq. 32) [116], and an olefinic acetal can be used in place of the parent a-methylene ketone [111] to give the 1,5-diketone in good yield (Eq. 33) [117]. More results from titanium-catalyzed 1,4-addition of enol silyl ethers and silyl ketene acetals to a,f -unsaturated carbonyl compounds are summarized in Table 4. 

Michael reactions of silyl enolates or ketene silyl acetals with a, -unsaturated carbonyl compounds are among the most important carbon-carbon bond-forming processes in organic synthesis. Sc(OTf)3 was found to be effective [4], and the reactions proceeded smoothly in the presence of a catalytic amount of Sc(OTf)3, under extremely mild conditions, to give the corresponding 1,5-dicarbonyl compounds in high yields after acid work-up (Eq. 2). Silyl enolates derived from ketones, thioesters, and esters were applicable, and no 1,2-addition products were obtained. The products could, furthermore, be isolated as synthetically valuable silyl enol ethers (I) when acid-free work-up was performed. The catalyst could be recovered almost quantitatively and could be re-used. 

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