Elimination ketones

Tosylates also undergo elimination upon treatment with lithium salts in amide solvents. The a,/ -unsaturated ketone (106) is formed from the a-hy-droxy ketone tosylate in a fashion analogous to a-halo ketone eliminations. 

Thermal decomposition of 3-azido-2-formylfuran, -thiophene, and -selenoles has also been used to prepare furo[3,2-c]isoxazole (97), thieno[3,2-c]isoxazole (4), and selenolo[3,2-c]isoxazoles (98) (Equation (27)) <76CS165>. In contrast, some azido ketones eliminate nitrogen at ambient temperature and cyclize as exemplified in the reactions of 2-chloro-3-acetylindole (99) (Equation (28)) and 3-chloro-2-benzoylbenzothiophene dioxide (101) (Equation (29)) with sodium azide (78CB1521, 92JOC2127). 

Several mechanisms have been proposed for acid decarboxylation to ketones. Gonzalez et al. and Pestman et al. proposed similar schemes (Scheme 1) involving the coupling of adsorbed ketene and carboxylate intermediates, shown here for an acetic acid/carboxylic acid condensation. A carboxylate intermediate is formed on a coordinatively unsaturated metal site, and a surface ketene intermediate is formed on another site by the dehydrogenation of the acid. The surface ketene then reacts with an adsorbed carboxylate to ultimately form the ketone, eliminating CO2. The details of the coupling step are not clear it is likely that more than one distinct step is involved. 

SCHEME 11.5 Proposed mechanism of aldehyde or ketone elimination following Meisenheimer rearrangement of fert-amine A-oxides. 

When an aldehyde Is heated In aqueous sodium hydroxide, an aldol condensation reaction occurs, and the product is an a,p-unsaturated aldehyde or ketone. Elimination of water occurs via an Elcb mechanism. 

Claisen condensation Condensation of an ester with another ester, a ketone or a nitrile in the presence of sodium ethoxide, sodium or sodamidc, with the elimination of an alcohol. The result is the formation of a / -ketonic ester, ketone, or nitrile respectively, e.g. 

Claisen reaction Condensation of an aldehyde with another aldehyde or a ketone in the presence of sodium hydroxide with the elimination of water. Thus benzaldehyde and methanal give cinnamic aldehyde, PhCH CH-CHO. 

This Reaction should be carefully distinguished from the Claisen Conden-tation, which is the condensation of an ester, under the influence of sodium ethoxide, with (i) another ester, (ii) a ketone, or (iii) a nitrile, with the elimination of alcohol. For details of this condensation, see Ethyl Acetoacetate, p. 264. 

An important general method of preparing indoles, known as the Fischer Indole synthesis, consists in heating the phenylhydrazone of an aldehyde, ketone or keto-acld in the presence of a catalyst such as zinc chloride, hydrochloric acid or glacial acetic acid. Thus acrtophenone phenylhydrazone (I) gives 2-phenyllndole (I V). The synthesis involves an intramolecular condensation with the elimination of ammonia. The following is a plausible mechanism of the reaction ... 

AJdoJ Condensation -Aldol condensation Initially give p-hydroxy ketones which under certain conditions readily eliminated to give a,p-unsaturated carbonyls. 

Alkylation of the product (a Matinich Base A) gives a compound (B) which gives the required vinyl ketone on elimination in base. This last step is usually carried out in the basic medium of the Michael reaction itself so that the reactive vinyl ketone (TM 122) need never be isolated. 

There also exists an acidregioselective condensation of the aldol type, namely the Mannich reaction (B. Reichert, 1959 H. Hellmann, 1960 see also p. 291f.). The condensation of secondary amines with aldehydes yields Immonium salts, which react with ketones to give 3-amino ketones (=Mannich bases). Ketones with two enolizable CHj-groupings may form 1,5-diamino-3-pentanones, but monosubstitution products can always be obtained in high yield. Unsymmetrical ketones react preferentially at the most highly substituted carbon atom. Sterical hindrance can reverse this regioselectivity. Thermal elimination of amines leads to the a,)3-unsaturated ketone. Another efficient pathway to vinyl ketones starts with the addition of terminal alkynes to immonium salts. On mercury(ll) catalyzed hydration the product is converted to the Mannich base (H. Smith, 1964). 

In the reaction of Q,/3-unsaturated ketones and esters, sometimes simple Michael-type addition (insertion and hydrogenolysis, or hydroarylation, and hydroalkenylation) of alkenes is observed[53,54]. For example, a simple addition product 56 to methyl vinyl ketone was obtained by the reaction of the heteroaromatic iodide 55[S5]. The corresponding bromide affords the usual insertion-elimination product. Saturated ketones are obtained cleanly by hydroarylation of o,/3l-unsaturated ketones with aryl halides in the presence of sodium formate, which hydrogenolyses the R—Pd—I intermediate to R— Pd—H[56]. Intramolecular hydroarylation is a useful reaction. The diiodide 57 reacts smoothly with sodium formate to give a model compound for the afla-toxin 58. (see Section 1.1.6)[57]. Use of triethylammonium formate and BU4NCI gives better results. 

When allylic alcohols are used as an alkene component in the reaction with aryl halides, elimination of /3-hydrogen takes place from the oxygen-bearing carbon, and aldehydes or ketones are obtained, rather than y-arylated allylic alcohoIs[87,88]. The reaction of allyl alcohol with bromobenzene affords dihydrocinnamaldehyde. The reaction of methallyl alcohol (96) with aryl halides is a good synthetic method for dihydro-2-methylcinnamaldehyde (97). 

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