Ketones, hydroxy from diesters

Aside from oxidative dimerizations [175-186] vanadium catalysts are able to induce C-C and C-0 bond cleavages. Momose and coworkers developed a catalytic system to fragment a-hydroxy ketones 101 to diesters or ketoesters 102 (Fig. 31) [190]. Using 1 mol% of EtOVOCl2 as a catalyst and oxygen as the terminal oxidant, 55-87% of 102 was obtained. The reaction mechanism is not known, but the reaction is inhibited by 2,6-di-tert-butylcresol (BHT) pointing to the involvement of a radical process. 

Acyloin condensation Formation of cyclic a-hydroxy ketones from diesters. 4... 

Whereas condensation of a-hydroxy ketones such as benzoin and acetoin on heating with formamide [240] or ureas in acetic acid [239, 242] to form imidazoles such as 769 or 770 is a well known reaction, only two publications have yet discussed the amination of silylated enediols, prepared by Riihlmann-acyloin condensation of diesters [241], by sodium, in toluene, in the presence of TCS 14 [241, 242]. Thus the silylated acyloins 771 and higher homologues, derived from Riihl-... 

Evans et al. recently reported the use of structurally well-defined Sn(II) Lewis acids for the enantioselective aldol addition reactions of a-heterosubstituted substrates [47]. These complexes are readily assembled from Sn(OTf)2 and C2-symmetric bis(oxazoline) ligands. The facile synthesis of these ligands commences with optically active 1,2-diamino alcohols, which are themselves readily available from the corresponding a-amino acids. The Sn(II)-bis(oxazoline) complexes were shown to function optimally as catalysts for enantioselective aldol addition reactions with aldehydes and ketone substrates that are suited to putatively chelate the Lewis acid. For example, use of 10 mol % Sn(II) catalyst, thioacetate, and thiopropionate derived silyl ketene acetals added at -78 °C in dichloromethane to glyoxaldehyde to give hydroxy diesters in superb yields, enantioselectivity, and diastereoselectivity (Eq. 27). The process represents an unusual example wherein 2,3-ant/-aldol adducts are obtained stereoselec-tively. 

In the initial step of the reductive coupling, electron transfer from Na or K to the diester leads to a di(radical anion) species (two ketyl radical anions), which then combine. Elimination of alkoxide produces the 1,2-diketone, which is further reduced to an enediolate by transfer of two electrons. Protonation of the dianion with dilute aqueous acid leads to the enediol, which tautomerizes to the a-hydroxy ketone. ... 

Another variation of this oxazole synthesis consists in the utilization of diesters of enediols (diacyl derivatives of the enol tautomer of a-hydroxy ketones). In the aliphatic series, enediol esters can directly be prepared from acyl chlorides and metallic sodium in ether containing a trace of water. When the esters react with ammonium acetate, symmetrical... 

Rare examples of normal Michaelis-Becker reactions which involve co-chloroalkanal diethyl acetals are to be found, and although the formation of dialkyl acylphosphonates from sodium dialkyl phosphites and, for example, benzoyl chloride, is to be observed at -85 °C, the system is further complicated, even at -10 °C, by further addition steps followed by rearrangements which would seem to render the process of little value for the synthesis of oxoalkyl phosphonic esters On the other hand, in a more detailed and systematic study of reactions between sodium dialkyl phosphites, (RO)2PONa(R = Et or Bu), and the ketones R CO(CH2) Cl, Sturtz and others have observed the formation of epoxides when n = 1 and (1-hydroxy alk-2-enyl)phosphonic diesters when n = 2(R = Me or Pr ), according to the displacement in 532, and of derivatives of tetrahydrofuran or tetrahy-dropyran, according to 533 n = 3 or 4) when R = Et, the formation of the cyclic ethers was accompanied by low yields of the expected (oxoalkyl)phosphonic diester, but otherwise the latter were isolated as a single product only for R = Me, n = 5, and R = Et or Pr when n = 2. 

Oxazole itself has been prepared from its 4,5-diester, by hydrolysis then decarboxylation though this formally falls into the same category of synthesis, it is probable that the ring oxygen derives from the 2-hydroxy-ketone, and not from the formamide the reaction of acyloins with formamide can be looked on as a general approach to oxazoles. " The use of cyanamide gives 2-amino-oxazoles. ... 

This reaction was first reported by Bouveault and Blanc in 1903, and was further extended by Bouveault and Locquin. It is the synthesis of symmetrical a-hydroxy ketones via the reductive condensation of esters in an inert solvent in the presence of sodium. Since symmetrical a-hydroxy ketones, the aliphatic analogs of benzoins, are generally known as acyloins, the formation of a-hydroxy ketones from esters is simply referred to as acyloin condensation. In a few cases, it is also referred to as acyloin reaction." For the individual acyloin, the name is derived by adding the suffix oin to the stem name of corresponding acid, e.g., acetoin prepared from acetate. The most common method used to make acyloin is the reductive condensation of aliphatic esters with sodium in inert solvents, such as ether, xylene or even in liquid NH3 The yield of this reaction can be greatly improved when trimethylchlorosilane presents." " Intromolecular acyloin condensation from aliphatic diesters affords cyclic ketones of different ring sizes. 

A variant in the production of an intermediate in the Robinson synthesis, the tricyclic ABC diketone (18), was developed by Banerjee and co-workers [635, 636] (Scheme 58). The triester (22) was obtained from a-ethoxycarbonylcyclohexanone (21) by the Michael reaction with methyl acrylate, alkaline cleavage, and esterification, and it was then cyclized by Dieckmann s method with subsequent bromination and dehydrogenation to give the unsaturated keto diester (23). The addition of cyanoacetic ester gave compound (26) from which the keto triester (25) was obtained by methylation, acid hydrolysis, and esterification. The latter, by Dieck-mann cyclization and hydrolysis, gave the BC fragment (24). Selective ketalization, reduction, and hydrolysis of the ketal led to the hydroxy-ketone (27). The trans-B/C linkage present in it required the protection... 

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