Ketones, reaction with alkyne anions

These compounds are sources of the nucleophilic anion RC=C and their reaction with primary alkyl halides provides an effective synthesis of alkynes (Section 9 6) The nucleophilicity of acetylide anions is also evident m their reactions with aldehydes and ketones which are entirely analogous to those of Grignard and organolithium reagents... 

Acylzirconocene chlorides 78, which are easily available through the hydrozirco-nation of alkenes or alkynes with Cp2Zr(H)Cl and subsequent CO insertion, can be used as acyl anion equivalents Cu(I)-catalyzed reactions with propargyl compounds 77 afford allenyl ketones 79 (Scheme 3.40) [86]. The use of an excess of 77 (2 equiv. to 78) is important for the selective preparation of 79, which prevents an undesirable side reaction of the allenic products 79 with 78. 

Alkynes from aldehydes or ketones. The reaction of the anion ef 1 with diaryl ketones, ArCOAr, to form alkynes, ArC=CAr, was reported first by Colvin and Hamill, but the method was said to fail or give low yield with substrates with enolizable hydrogens. Since then experimental details have been perfected, and the method has proved to be useful." The anion of 1 is prepared with potassium f-butoxide, and the reaction with the carbonyl compound is conducted for 12-16 hours at —78° before it is allowed to warm to the ambient temperature. Linder these conditions, alkynes can be obtained in 50-80% yield from aldehydes, diaryl ketones, and alkyl aryl ketones, but not from dialkyl ketones. The proposed mechanism is shown in equation (I). 

The additions of trialkylstannyl anions to aldehydes, ketones, enones, and alkynes also occur to afford tetraorganostannanes with various functional groups. a-Alkoxyalkylstannanes prepared by the reactions of trialkylstannyllithium with carbonyl compounds followed by the protection of their hydroxyl groups are the useful precursors of a-alkoxyalkyllithiums (eq (137)) [132]. 

The conjugate base of an alkyne is an alkyne anion (older literature refers to them as acetylides), and it is generated by reaction with a strong base and is a carbanion. It funetions as a nucleophile (a source of nucleophilic carbon) in Sn2 reactions with halides and sulfonate esters. Acetylides react with ketones, with aldehydes via nucleophilic acyl addition and with acid derivatives via nucleophilic acyl substitution. Acetylides are, therefore, important carbanion synthons for the creation of new carbon-carbon bonds. Some of the chemistry presented in this section will deal with the synthesis of alkynes and properly belongs in Chapter 2. It is presented here, however, to give some continuity to the discussion of acetylides. 

The other major synthetic use of alkyne anions is their reaction with ketones and aldehydes to give an alkynyl alcohol via nucleophilic acyl addition. The lithium salt of 1-propyne, for example, reacted with aldehyde 40 to give alcohol 41 as part of Smith s synthesis of (+)-acutiphycin.50 The reaction is selective for ketones and aldehydes in the presence of acid derivatives, if the acetylide is not present in large excess. l... 

The real value of this acid-base reaction is to transform a weak acid into an anion by using a powerful base the organolithium reagent. Such anions behave as nucleophiles in various reactions. In Chapter 11 (Section 11.3.6), alkyne anions underwent Sn2 reactions with alkyl halides. In Chapter 18 (Section 18.3.2), alkyne anions react with aldehydes and ketones. Both Grignard reagents and organolithium reagents react as nucleophiles with aldehydes and ketones (also described in Chapter 18, Section 18.4). Lithium amides such as 45 react as bases with aldehydes or ketones in Chapter 22 (Section 22.3). Many such examples are discussed in this book. 

The reaction of carbon nucleophiles with ketones or aldehydes proceeds by acyl addition, as described in Chapter 18. The reaction of carbon nucleophiles with acid derivatives proceeds by acyl substitution, as described in Chapter 20. Carbon nucleophiles included cyanide, alkyne anions, Grignard reagents, organolithium reagents, and organocuprates. Alkyne anions are formed by an acid-base reaction with terminal alkynes (RC=C-H RCsCr). In this latter transformation, it is clear that formation of the alkyne anion relies on the fact that a terminal alkyne is a weak carbon acid. Other carbon acids specifically involve the proton on an a-carbon in aldehydes, ketones, or esters. With a siiitable base, these carbonyl compounds generate a new type of carbon nucleophile called an enolate anion. 

If the carbon atom in 3 is electrophilic, then the carbon in 2 must be nucleophilic. This assumption is based on simple bond polarization and it makes it possible to correlate the imaginary 3 with a carbonyl compound that has an electrophilic carbon with a polarized C-0 bond. Nucleophilic acyl addition to a ketone is a known reaction, so 3 correlates with a real molecule—acetone. If 3 correlates with an electrophilic center, then 2 must be a nucleophilic center and an alkyne anion is a reasonable choice. It is known that an alkyne anion will react with a ketone via acyl addition (see Chapter 18, Section 18.3.2). The correlation of 2 with an alkyne simply requires adding a hydrogen atom to the red carbon to give terminal alkyne, 7. Conversion of alkyne 7 to the anion, followed by acyl addition to acetone, should lead to 1. Disconnection of 1 generates acetone and 7, and the reaction of 7 and acetone leads to 1. Recognizing the forward and reverse relationships is essential for correlating the disconnection (retrosynthesis) with the reactions that make the bond (synthesis). 

Reaction with Anions of Terminal Alkynes (Section 16.5C) Treating an aldehyde or a ketone with the alkali metal salt of a terminal alkyne followed by hydrolysis gives an a-aUcynylalcohol. 

Although the acylcobalt tetracarbonyls react with hydroxide ion under phase-transfer conditions, in the presence of alkenes and alkynes they form o-adducts rapidly via an initial interaction with the ir-electron system. Subsequent extrusion of the organometallic group as the cobalt tetracarbonyl anion leads to a,(J-unsaturated ketones (see Section 8.4). In contrast, the cobalt carbonyl catalysed reaction of phenylethyne in the presence of iodomethane forms the hydroxybut-2-enolide (5) in... 

Alkylidenes (alkylidene carbenes) are valence isomers of alkynes. They have been prepared by alkyne pyrolysis, by homologation of ketones, and by generation of alkenyl anions bearing oc-leaving groups. Generated by any of these means, an alkylidene will insert intramolecularly into a remote C- H bond to form a new C—C bond and thus a cyclopentene. A concerted two-electron process, this reaction proceeds with retention of absolute configuration at the C - H site. 

Reaction of carbanions with dialkynic ketones, the so-called skipped diynes, can produce pyranones through an initial Michael condensation. It should be noted however that diynones are vulnerable to attack at several sites and that mixed products can be formed. Addition of the anions derived from diethyl malonate and ethyl cyanoacetate to hepta-2,5-diyn-4-one (313 R1 = Me) gives the pyranones (314 R2 = C02Et or CN Scheme 91) (74JOC843). The former carbanion reacts similarly with the diynone (313 R1 = Bun) (68T4285). The second alkyne moiety appears to have little effect on the course of the reaction, which parallels the synthesis of pyranones from monoalkynic ketones. 

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