Ketones, methyl vinyl Diels-Alder reactions

Botta and coworkers have used the enyne metathesis in the synthesis of the enantiopure antifungal agent (5 )-bifonazole 130 [47]. In this work, the diene for the Diels-Alder reaction had to be synthesized from an alkyne. Reaction of alkyne (R)-131 with ethyl vinyl ether, in the presence of catalyst 2-Ru, thus afforded the desired diene 132 (Scheme 17.25) in an excellent yield of 88%. Next, the diene 132 was reacted with methyl vinyl ketone in a Diels-Alder reaction to afford compound 133. Exposure of compound 133 to acid and then DDQ yielded the aromatic product 134, where a newly formed benzene ring had been assembled. Further manipulations, including the formation of the required imidazole ring, allowed for the enantioselective synthesis of (S)-bifonazole 130. 

Figure 1.2. Endo and exo pathway for the Diels-Alder reaction of cyclopentadiene with methyl vinyl ketone. As was first noticed by Berson, the polarity of the endo activated complex exceeds that of the exo counterpart due to alignment of the dipole moments of the diene and the dienophile K The symmetry-allowed secondary orbital interaction that is only possible in the endo activated complex is usually invoked as an explanation for the preference for endo adduct exhibited by most Diels-Alder reactions.

Figure 1.5. Chemical potential of the initial state, the transition state and the product of the Diels-Alder reaction between methyl vinyl ketone and cyclopentadiene in water as compared to 1-propanol The data are taken from r. 56.

Tire results of a study of the effect of these catalysts on the model Diels-Alder reaction of methyl vinyl ketone (4.8) with cyclopentadiene (4.6) are summarised in Table 4.1... 

The ability of 1,2 (or l,6)-dihydropyridines to undergo a Diels-Alder reaction with dienophiles such as methyl vinyl ketone, methyl acrylate, and acrylonitrile has been utilized in the synthesis of polyfunctional isoquinuclidine as a key intermediate in the synthesis of aspidosperma- and iboga-type alkaloids (66JA3099). 

For example, the Diels-Alder reaction of A-benzyl-3-carboxamido-1,6-dihydro-pyridine (14a) andlV-benzyl-3-cyano-l,6-dihydropyridine (14b) with methyl vinyl ketone yielded isoquinuclidines 15a and 15b, respectively, which can be converted into ibogamine alkaloid (16). 

It is believed that clay minerals promote organic reactions via an acid catalysis [2a]. They are often activated by doping with transition metals to enrich the number of Lewis-acid sites by cationic exchange [4]. Alternative radical pathways have also been proposed [5] in agreement with the observation that clay-catalyzed Diels-Alder reactions are accelerated in the presence of radical sources [6], Montmorillonite K-10 doped with Fe(III) efficiently catalyzes the Diels-Alder reaction of cyclopentadiene (1) with methyl vinyl ketone at room temperature [7] (Table 4.1). In water the diastereoselectivity is higher than in organic media in the absence of clay the cycloaddition proceeds at a much slower rate. 

Table 4.1 Diels-Alder reactions of cyclopentadiene (1) with methyl vinyl ketone catalyzed by Fe(II)-K-10 montmorillonite in various solvents...

The Diels-Alder reactions of cyclopentadiene with methyl vinyl ketone and acrylonitrile are accelerated when carried out in water in the presence of jS-CD but are slower with a-CD [65a] (Scheme 4.16). This is in agreement with the observation that the transition states of these cycloadditions fit into the hydro-phobic cavity of P-CD but not in the smaller a-CD cavity. 

Rideout and Breslow first reported [2a] the kinetic data for the accelerating effect of water, for the Diels Alder reactions of cyclopentadiene with methyl vinyl ketone and acrylonitrile and the cycloaddition of anthracene-9-carbinol with N-ethylmaleimide, giving impetus to research in this area (Table 6.1). The reaction in water is 28 to 740 times faster than in the apolar hydrocarbon isooctane. By adding lithium chloride (salting-out agent) the reaction rate increases 2.5 times further, while the presence of guanidinium chloride decreases it. The authors suggested that this exceptional effect of water is the result of a combination of two factors the polarity of the medium and the... 

The aqueous medium also has beneficial effects on the diastereoselectivity of the Diels-Alder reactions. The endo addition that occurs in the classical cycloadditions of cyclopentadiene with methyl vinyl ketone and methyl acrylate is more favored when the reaction is carried out in aqueous medium than when it is performed in organic solvents (Table 6.4) [2b, c]. 

Indium trichloride [30] and methylrhenium trioxide [31] catalyze the aqueous Diels-Alder reaction of acrolein and acrylates with cyclic and open-chain dienes. Some examples of the cycloaddition of methyl vinyl ketone with 1,3-cyclohexadiene are reported in Scheme 6.18. MeReOs does not give satisfactory yields for acroleins and methyl vinyl ketones with substituents at the jS-position and favors the self-Diels-Alder reaction of diene. 

An ab initio MO calculation by Jorgensen revealed enhanced hydrogen bonding of a water molecule to the transition states for the Diels-Alder reactions of cyclopentadiene with methyl vinyl ketone and acrylonitrile, which indicates that the observed rate accelerations for Diels-Alder reactions in aqueous solution arise from the hydrogenbonding effect in addition to a relatively constant hydrophobic term.7,76 Ab initio calculation using a self-consistent reaction field continuum model shows that electronic and nuclear polarization effects in solution are crucial to explain the stereoselectivity of nonsymmetrical... 

Rare-earth-metal triflates are efficient catalysts in Diels-Alder reactions, and Sc(OTf)3 is clearly more effective than Ln(OTf)3 as a catalyst.45,53-55 In the presence of 10mol.% Y(OTf)3 or Yb(OTf)3, only a trace amount of the adduct was obtained in the Diels-Alder reaction of methyl vinyl ketone (MVK) with isoprene. In contrast, the reaction proceeded smoothly to give the adduct in 91% yield in the presence of 10mol.% Sc(OTf)3 (Scheme 13).45 Sc(OTf)3 has also proved to be an efficient catalyst for the Diels-Alder reaction of imines (aza Diels-Alder reactions).56,57... 

The first report suggesting specific activation of an organic reaction by MW was that of Berlan et al. [28] who observed that some Diels-Alder reactions occurred more rapidly on MW heating than under conventional heating at the same temperature (95 °C). The reactions were performed in two different solvents, xylene and dibutyl ether and the rate enhancements were slightly higher in xylene, the less polar solvent. For example the rate enhancement of the reaction of 2,3-dimethyl-l,3-butadiene 21 with methyl vinyl ketone 22 was 8 times in xylene and 2.3 times in dibutyl ether, based on the half lives of the reactions. Reaction of anthracene 3 with diethyl maleate 23 in xylene (Scheme 4.12) resulted in an approximately fourfold rate in-... 

Linders et al. [73] studied the Diels-Alder reaction of 6-demethoxy-/J-dihydrothe-baine with an excess of methyl vinyl ketone (used both as reactant and solvent), which gives a mixture of two isomeric adducts. When the reaction was performed using classical heating extensive polymerization occurred, whereas much less poly-... 

In an attempt to prepare new diprenorphine analogs, Linders, in one of the first examples of microwave-induced organic reactions, reported the reaction between methyl vinyl ketone and 6-demethoxy-/J-dihydrothebaine (48) [53], The Diels-Alder reaction, when performed under classical conditions, led to extensive polymerization of the dienophile. A dramatic improvement was achieved when the cycloaddition was conducted in a modified microwave oven at the reflux temperature of methyl vinyl ketone. By use of these conditions adducts 49 and 50 were obtained in a 3 2 ratio, according to HPLC (Scheme 9.12). 

Kelly and colleagues91 explored the use of bisphenylenediol 103 as a catalyst in Diels-Alder reactions of a,/i-unsaturated carbonyl compounds. Activation of the dieno-phile occurred through double hydrogen bonding of the two hydroxyl functions on 103 to the carbonyl group on the dienophile. The reaction of cyclopentadiene with methyl vinyl ketone (equation 31) at ambient temperature showed, after a reaction time of 10 minutes, 3% of product formation in the absence of 103 against 90% of product formation in the presence of 0.4 equivalents of 103. 

TABLE 1. Rate constants for the Diels-Alder reaction of cyclopentadiene and methyl vinyl ketone in different solvents... 

FIGURE 2. The Diels-Alder reaction of cyclopentadiene with methyl vinyl ketone. The selectivity leading to the endo-product (endo-selectivity of Diels-Alder reactions) is rationalized by secondary orbital interactions in the endo-transition state... 

The activation of various reactions by Lewis acids is now an everyday practice in synthetic organic chemistry. In contrast, solvent effects on Lewis acid catalysed Diels-Alder reactions have received much less attention. A change in the solvent can affect the association step leading to the transition structure. Ab initio calculations on the Diels-Alder reaction of cyclopentadiene and methyl vinyl ketone in aqueous media showed that there is a complex of the reactants which also involves one water molecule119. In an extreme case solvents can even impede catalysis120. The use of inert solvents such as dichloromethane and chloroform for synthetic applications of Lewis acid catalysed Diels-Alder reactions is thus well justified. General solvent effects, in particular those of water, will be discussed in the following section. 

In the Mukaiyama aldol additions of trimethyl-(l-phenyl-propenyloxy)-silane to give benzaldehyde and cinnamaldehyde catalyzed by 7 mol% supported scandium catalyst, a 1 1 mixture of diastereomers was obtained. Again, the dendritic catalyst could be recycled easily without any loss in performance. The scandium cross-linked dendritic material appeared to be an efficient catalyst for the Diels-Alder reaction between methyl vinyl ketone and cyclopentadiene. The Diels-Alder adduct was formed in dichloromethane at 0°C in 79% yield with an endo/exo ratio of 85 15. The material was also used as a Friedel-Crafts acylation catalyst (contain-ing7mol% scandium) for the formation of / -methoxyacetophenone (in a 73% yield) from anisole, acetic acid anhydride, and lithium perchlorate at 50°C in nitromethane. 

Lanthanide salts have also been found to catalyze Diels-Alder reactions. For example, with 10 mol % Sc(03SCF3)3 added, isoprene and methyl vinyl ketone react to give the expected adduct in 91% yield after 13 h at 0°C.18... 

Total synthesis of racemic limonene by Diels-Alder reaction of isoprene with methyl vinyl ketone and subsequent Wittig reaction of the resulting ketone with methylene triphenylphosphorane... 

Butadienes substituted with alkoxy groups in the 2-position, e.g., 2-ethoxy-1,3-butadiene,6 have been prepared from methyl vinyl ketone, but they required several conversions and a tedious spinning-band distillation to purify the product. This slight modification of the House procedure has been used to conveniently prepare 2-trimethylsilyloxy-l,3-butadiene from the readily available methyl vinyl ketone. This one-step procedure has provided large amounts of a new and reactive diene for Diels-Alder reactions, as illustrated in Table I. 

Diels-Alder reactions. This reagent is a useful partner in Diels-Alder reactions because it is possible to obtain monoadducts in good yield and then add a different dienophile to the monoadduct. Such a sequence has been used for a synthesis of 4, a known precursor to (+ )-4-demethoxydaunomycinone (5) as outlined in scheme (I) The two dicnophilcs arc methyl vinyl ketone and dehydrobenzene, used in this... 

Bis(desoxy)-l-methoxydaunomycinone (6) has been prepared from 1 in a reaction sequence starting with two Diels-Alder reactions, first with benzoquinone and then methyl vinyl ketone.3... 

A particular example is the Diels-Alder reaction,21,22 which attracted interest after a publication23 reporting large rate enhancement and a change in stereochemistry in water for the reaction between cyclopentadiene and methyl vinyl ketone. Hydrophobic interactions between the reacting molecules and hydrogen bonding of water to the carbonyl moiety were found to play the major role in the observed phenomena.14,24,25... 

The competition between Michael addition of a,(3-unsaturated ketones and Diels-Alder reactions involving furan and 2-methylfuran is affected by the catalyst used. Methyl vinyl ketone gives the alkylation product with furan and 2-methylfuran in the presence of silica gel (88TL175). Bis(alkylated) products have also been obtained in reactions of 2-methylene-1,3-dicarbonyl compounds (90H(31)1699). An intramolecular proton catalyzed alkylation reaction of an a,(3-unsaturated ketone provided a straightforward synthesis of norpinguisone (90TL4343) and in the example shown in Equation (4) the cyclization reaction involved an a,(3-y,8-dienone (94TL4887). 

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