Ketenes, preparation from esters

This catalytic enamine formation is limited to aldehydes and ketones as starting materials - it does not appear to be possible to prepare corresponding enamines , i.e. A,0-ketene acetals, from esters in this fashion. Nevertheless, the preparation of simple, reactive nucleophiles from normally electrophilic species, aldehydes and ketones, in a catalytic fashion sounds highly attfactive. Furthermore, the catalytic nature of these reactions allows the use of chiral amines, and the further possibility that these reactions can be rendered enantioselective. Enamines react readily with a wide variety of electrophiles, and the range of reactions that can be catalyzed by enamine catalysis is summarized in Scheme 2. 

Ketene acetals prepared from fluorinated esters by trimethylsilylation undergo Lewis acid-promoted aldol condensations giving satisfactory yields but low diastereoselectivity [27] (equation 22). 

Alcohols can also be prepared from support-bound carbon nucleophiles and carbonyl compounds (Table 7.4). Few examples have been reported of the a-alkylation of resin-bound esters with aldehydes or ketones. This reaction is complicated by the thermal instability of some ester enolates, which can undergo elimination of alkoxide to yield ketenes. Traces of water or alcohols can, furthermore, lead to saponification or transesterification and release of the substrate into solution. Less prone to base-induced cleavage are support-bound imides (Entry 2, Table 7.4 see also Entry 3, Table 13.8 [42]). Alternatively, support-bound thiol esters can be converted into stable silyl ketene acetals, which react with aldehydes under Lewis-acid catalysis (Entries 3 and 4, Table 7.4). 

Except for the well-documented conjugate additions of diethylaluminum cyanide,92 triethylaluminum-hydrogen cyanide and Lewis acid-tertiary alkyl isonitriles,93 examples of Lewis acid catalyzed conjugate additions of acyl anion equivalents are scant Notable examples are additions of copper aldimines (233),94, 94b prepared from (232), and silyl ketene acetals (234)940 to a,(3-enones which afford 1,4-ketoal-dehydes (235) and 2,5-diketo esters (236), respectively (Scheme 37). The acetal (234) is considered a glyoxylate ester anion equivalent. 

The methoxyketene 297, coordinated to Cr carbonyl, is formed from methoxy-carbene easily by insertion of CO under irradiation [90]. An ester is formed by the reaction of ketene with alcohol. The aminocarbene complex 298 was prepared from benzamide and converted to phenylalanine ester 300 under irradiation of sunlight in alcohol via ketene 299 [91]. The eight-membered lactone 304 was prepared in high yield by the reaction of the alkyne 301 having the OH group in a tether with Cr carbene without irradiation. The vinylcarbene 302 is formed at first and converted to the vinylketene intermediate 303 as expected. The keto lactone 304 is formed from 303 by intramolecular reaction with the OH group and hydrolysis [92],... 

The procedure is successful with ketene silyl acetals prepared from the enolate anions of methyl 2-methylpropanoate and methylpropanoate, and provides good yields of the propionic esters 7 in a single step (Scheme 10.20). The latter are known to be intermediates in the preparation of analgesic compounds. No significant difference in the yields is observed when 4-chloroaniline is used as the starting material in place of its dimethylated analogue [31]. 

Bioerodible poly(ortho ester) copolymers containing hydrophilic and hydrophobic blocks have been prepared from di(ketene acetals) and oligomeric diols. These materials form micelles in aqueous solution making them useful as hydrophobic encapsulation agents or as bioerodible matrices for the sustained release of medicaments. 

An interesting extension of the reaction is the preparation of a ketene carrying an ester group, such as ethylcarbethoxyketene, from a malonic ester derivative (34%). ... 

Later, the dimethylphenylsilyl adduct 75 d was not only converted to the vinyl-ketene acetal 81 by a Wittig-Horner reaction via the ester 80, but also by reduction of 80 to the aldehyde 84 followed by silylation of the corresponding anion to the silylenol ether 85. Vinylcyclohexenes without terminal substitution (e. g., 83) was prepared via an alcohol derived from 80 or 84 [73,74]. The least substituted diene 83 was alternatively prepared from the triflate 82 in a Stille coupling with trialkylvinyl stannane [75] (Scheme 24), a reaction also used by Toshima etal.[76]. 

Allene carboxylic acids have been cyclized to butenolides with copper(II) chloride. Allene esters were converted to butenolides by treatment with acetic acid and LiBr. Cyclic carbonates can be prepared from allene alcohols using carbon dioxide and a palladium catalyst, and the reaction was accompanied by ary-lation when iodobenzene was added. Diene carboxylic acids have been cyclized using acetic acid and a palladium catalyst to form lactones that have an allylic acetate elsewhere in the molecule. With ketenes, carboxylic acids give anhydrides and acetic anhydride is prepared industrially in this manner [CH2=C=0 + MeC02H (MeC=0)20]. 

Construction of the suitably substituted geranic acid for making the furan ring has been effected too. For example, Poulter et al. have prepared the substituted geranate 865 by reaction of 4-methyl-3-pentenylcopper with the acetylenic ester 866. The ester 865 then underwent cyclization in the presence of acid to the lactone 867, related to scobinolide (161), and the action of acid on the lactol produced from 867 with diisobutylaluminum hydride gave perillene (849). The lactone 867 has also been prepared by a slightly different method the C9 alcohol 868 was made (in poor yield) from isobutenol and prenyl chloride with butyllithium. The extra carbon atom was introduced by the action of sodium cyanide on the epoxide of 868, and hydrolysis of the cyano group followed by dehydration yielded the lactone 867. The dimethylthioacetal of 867 has been used to synthesize perillene (849). This thioacetal was made from the suitably substituted ketene thioacetal 869 and dimethylsulfonium methylide. Thus the ketene thioacetal 870 (readily prepared from acetone, carbon disulfide, and sodium amylate, followed by methylation °) can be prenylated with lithium... 

RCO2H, R OH, DCC/DMAP, EtjO, 25°C, l-24h, 70-95% yield. This method is suitable for a large variety of hindered and unhindered acids and alcohols. The use of Sc(OTf)3 as a cocatalyst improves the esterification of 3° alcohols. Carboxylic acids that can form ketenes with DCC react preferentially with aliphatic alcohols in the presence of phenols whereas those that do not show the opposite selectivity. In some sterically congested situations the 0-acyl urea will migrate to an unreactive A-acyl urea in competition with esterification. Carbodi-imide I was developed to make the urea by-product water soluble and thus easily washed out. Isoureas are prepared from a carbodiimide and an alcohol which upon reaction with a carboxylic acid give esters in excellent yield. A polymer supported version of this process has been developed. This process has been reviewed. Note that DCC is a potent skin irritant in some individuals. 

Formylation of amines and alcohols. Behai,8 discoverer of the reagent, found that it reacts unidirectionally with simple alcohols to produce alkyl formates free from acetates. Hurd et al. J found that acetic-formic anhydride (prepared from formic acid and ketene) reacts quantitatively with aniline to give formanilide. Another study10 established that acetic-formic anhydride mixes endothermally with 2-nitro-2-methyl-l-propanol, exothermally with 2-nitro-2-methyl-l,3-propanediol, and displays no appreciable temperature effect with either 2-nitro-l-butanol or tris-(hydroxymethyl)-nitromethane. Formic esters are favored by avoiding a high reaction temperature and by not using sulfuric acid as catalyst. The mixed anhydride has been used for the preparation of formyl fluoride.11... 

An interesting route to a-carboxy-8-lactones (81) and a-methylenelactones (80), based on hydrolysis of Knoevenagel products (79) of Meldrum s acid with cyclic aliphatic ketones (78), has been developed (Scheme 14). Reduction of 5-methylene derivatives of Meldrum s acid has been performed catalyti-caiiyi30 or by use of LAH. Imidoylation reaction of Meldrum s acid and subsequent solvolysis of the resulting (82) yields -enamino esters (83) in good yields.Flash vacuum pyrolysis of alkylidene derivatives of Meldrum s acid can be used to prepare methylene ketenes (84), a class of compounds difficult to prepare by conventional methods. By this procedure, methylene ketenes are obtained from aromatic aldehydes and ketones and from aliphatic ketones in only two steps. Intramolecular trapping of the methylene ketene obtained from the ketone (85) has been used successfully in the synthesis of the naphthol (86). ... 

Geometric isomers of silyl ketene acetals can be prepared from the acyclic ester precursors, depending on the solvent used. Treatment of ethyl propanoate with LDA in THF, followed by reaction with TMS-... 

The silyl ketene acetals 2, prepared from the lactone enolates, usually rearrange before or during workup of the corresponding silyl esters. However, the large-ring acetals (n = 4, 7 Table 21, entries 5 and 6) are isolable and require heating in toluene to effect the rearrangement328. 

Ketene 0,5-acetal derivatives can be readily prepared from the reaction of [methoxy(phenylthioXtrimethylsilyl)methyl]lithium with aldehydes and ketones108 (equation 103). It is interesting to point out that the methyl enol ether was converted to the enol silyl ether by reaction with trimethyliodosilane. This was then hydrolyzed to the thio ester 53 (equation 104). 

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