Lanthanide triflates

A combination of the promoting effects of Lewis acids and water is a logical next step. However, to say the least, water has not been a very popular medium for Lewis-acid catalysed Diels-Alder reactions, which is not surprising since water molecules interact strongly with Lewis-acidic and the Lewis-basic atoms of the reacting system. In 1994, when the research described in this thesis was initiated, only one example of Lewis-acid catalysis of a Diels-Alder reaction in water was published Lubineau and co-workers employed lanthanide triflates as a catalyst for the Diels-Alder reaction of glyoxylate to a relatively unreactive diene . No comparison was made between the process in water and in organic solvents. 

Scandium triflate and lanthanide triflates also catalyze alkylation by secondary methane-sulfonates. ... 

Although the Lewis acids used as co-reagents in Friedel-Crafts acylations are often referred to as catalysts, they are, in fact, consumed in the reaction, with the generation of strong acids. There has been considerable interest in finding materials which could function as true catalysts. Considerable success has been achieved using lanthanide triflates. ... 

Kobayashi et al. have reported the use of a chiral lanthanide(III) catalyst for the Diels-Alder reaction [51] (Scheme 1.63, Table 1.26). Catalyst 33 was prepared from bi-naphthol, lanthanide triflate, and ds-l,2,6-trimethylpiperidine (Scheme 1.62). When the chiral catalyst prepared from ytterbium triflate (Yb(OTf)3) and the lithium or sodium salt of binaphthol was used, less than 10% ee was obtained, so the amine exerts a great effect on the enantioselectivity. After extensive screening of amines, ds-1,2,6-... 

To achieve catalytic enantioselective aza Diels-Alder reactions, choice of metal is very important. It has been shown that lanthanide triflates are excellent catalysts for achiral aza Diels-Alder reactions [5]. Although stoichiometric amounts of Lewis acids are often required, a small amount of the triflate effectively catalyzes the reactions. On the basis of these findings chiral lanthanides were used in catalytic asymmetric aza Diels-Alder reactions. The chiral lanthanide Lewis acids were first developed to realize highly enantioselective Diels-Alder reactions of 2-oxazolidin-l-one with dienes [6]. 

Scheme 5.1-43 Three-component reaction of benzaldehyde, aniline, and diethyl phosphonate in ionic liquids, catalyzed by lanthanide triflates and indium(lll) chloride.

Scandium triflate [33] is a more active catalyst than the lanthanide triflates and the cycloadditions can also be carried out in aqueous media (Chapter 4). The catalyst is easily recovered from the aqueous layer after the reaction is completed, and can be reused. Some of the cycloadditions carried out in DCM and catalyzed by Sc(OTf)3 are summarized in Table 3.2. 

Whereas lanthanide triflates are strong Lewis acids, lanthanide complexes such as Yb(fod)3 and Eu(fod)3 are mild catalysts that can be used when the cycloaddition involves acid-sensitive reagents and/or cycloadducts [34]. 

Interest in the aqueous medium spread quickly and many, sometimes surprising, discoveries were made [3]. Today pericyclic [4], condensation [5], oxidation [6] and reduction [7] reactions are routinely carried out in aqueous medium. The recent discovery of water-tolerant Lewis acids such as lanthanide triflates, Bi(OTf)j, Sc(OTf)j and Y(OTf)j has revolutionized organometallic chemistry [5a, 7]. 

Lanthanide triflates catalyze the Diels-Alder reaction of imines, generated from anilines and aldehydes, with both dienes and alkenes [26]. Thus N-benzyl-ideneaniline in the presence of Yb(OTf)3 (Scheme 6.16) reacts in organic solvent with open-chain dienes, such as Danishefsky s diene, to give tetrahy-dropyridine derivatives, while with cyclopentadiene and vinylethers and vinylthioethers it works like azadiene in both organic solvent and aqueous medium, affording tetrahydroquinoline derivatives. 

Kobayashi S. Lanthanide Triflate-Catalyzed Carhon-Carhon Bond-Forming Reactions in Organic Synthesis Top. Organomet. Chem. 1999 2 63-118 Keywords lanthanide triflates, rare earth compounds... 

Kobayashi S (1999) Lanthanide Triflate-Catalyzed Carbon-Carbon Bond-Forming Reactions in Organic Synthesis. 2 63-118... 

As mentioned several times Lewis acids are highly valuable catalysts but the most commonly used ones such as aluminium chloride and boron trifluoride are highly water sensitive and are not usually recovered at the end of a reaction, leading to a significant source of waste. In recent years there has been much research interest in lanthanide triflates (trifluoro-methanesulfonates) as water stable, recyclable Lewis acid catalysts. This unusual water stability opens up the possibility for either carrying out reactions in water or using water to extract and recover the catalyst from the reaction medium. 

The lanthanide salts are unique among Lewis acids in that they can be effective as catalysts in aqueous solution.61 Silyl enol ethers react with formaldehyde and benzaldehyde in water-THF mixtures using lanthanide triflates such as Yb(03SCF3)3. The catalysis reflects the strong affinity of lanthanides for carbonyl oxygen, even in aqueous solution. 

Lanthanide triflates have similar catalytic effects. Yb(03SCF3)3 and Lu(03SCF3)3, for example, were used in selective acylation of 10-deacetylbaccatin III, an important intermediate for preparation of the antitumor agent paclitaxel.111... 

Lanthanide triflates are also good catalysts for Fries rearrangements.61... 

Instead of Bronsted acids, lanthanide triflates can be used to catalyze the reaction of indole with benzaldehyde (Eq. 7.7). The use of an ethanol/water system was found to be the best in terms of both yield and product isolation. The use of organic solvent such as chloroform resulted in oxidized byproducts.17... 

Indium-mediated allylation of an unreactive halide with an aldehyde132 was used to synthesize an advanced intermediate in the synthesis of antillatoxin,133 a marine cyanobacteria (Lyngbya majus-cula) that is one of the most ichthyotoxic compounds isolated from a marine plant to date. In the presence of a lanthanide triflate, the indium-mediated allylation of Z-2-bromocrotyl chloride and aldehyde in saturated NH4C1 under sonication yielded the desired advanced intermediate as a 1 1 mixture of diastereomers in 70% yield. Loh et al.134 then changed the halide compound to methyl (Z)-2-(bromomethyl)-2-butenoate and coupled it with aldehyde under the same conditions to yield the desired homoallylic alcohol in 80% yield with a high 93 7 syn anti selectivity (Eq. 8.55). 

The indium-mediated allylation of trifluoroacetaldehyde hydrate (R = H) or trifluoroacetaldehyde ethyl hemiacetal (R = Et) with an allyl bromide in water yielded a-trifluoromethylated alcohols (Eq. 8.56).135 Lanthanide triflate-promoted indium-mediated allylation of aminoaldehyde in aqueous media generated (i-airiinoalcohols stereoselectively.136 Indium-mediated intramolecular carbocyclization in aqueous media generated fused a-methylene-y-butyrolactones (Eq. 8.57).137 Forsythe and co-workers applied the indium-mediated allylation in the synthesis of an advanced intermediate for azaspiracids (Eq. 8.58).138 Other potentially reactive functionalities such as azide, enone, and ketone did not compete with aldehyde for the reaction with the in situ-generated organo-indium intermediate. 

Polar polyoxyethylene-polyoxypropylene (POEPOP) resin, deriva-tized with a 4-hydroxymethyl phenoxy linker, was used as a solid support for lanthanide triflate-catalyzed Mukaiyama-type solid-phase aldol reactions.282 The use of an aqueous solvent was found to be crucial. The reactions on an N-terminal peptide aldehyde substrate proceeded in very high yields. 

Kobayashi has found that scandium triflate, Sc(OTf)3,36 and lanthanide triflate, Ln(OTf)3, are stable and can be used as Lewis catalysts under aqueous conditions. Many other Lewis acids have also been reported to catalyze Diels-Alder reactions in aqueous media. For example, Engberts reported37 that the cyclization reaction in Eq. 12.7 in an aqueous solution containing 0.010 M Cu(N03)2 is 250,000 times faster than that in acetonitrile and about 1,000 times faster than that in water alone. Other salts, such as Co2+, Ni2+, and Zn2+, also catalyze the reaction, but not as effectively as Cu2+. However, water has no effect on the endo-exo selectivity for the Lewis-acid catalyzed reaction. 

As in the case of Diels-Alder reactions, aqueous aza-Diels-Alder reactions are also catalyzed by various Lewis acids such as lanthanide triflates.113 Lanthanide triflate-catalyzed imino Diels-Alder reactions of imines with dienes or alkenes were developed. Three-component aza-Diels-Alder reactions, starting from aldehyde, aniline, and Danishefsky s diene, took place smoothly under the influence of HBL4 in aqueous media to afford dihydro-4-pyridone derivatives in high yields (Eq. 12.46).114... 

Aqueous aza-Diels-Alder reactions of chiral aldehydes, prepared from carbohydrates and with benzylamine hydrochloride and cyclopentadiene, were promoted by lanthanide triflates (Eq. 12.65).137 The nitrogen-containing heterocyclic products were further transformed into aza sugars, which are potential inhibitors against glycoprocessing enzymes. 

Addition of ketene silyl acetals to a,N-diarylnitrones, catalyzed by lanthanum trifloromethanesulfonate [lanthanide triflate, La(OTf)3], affords addition... 

Lanthanide(III) isopropoxides show higher activities in MPV reductions than Al(OiPr)3, enabling their use in truly catalytic quantities (see Table 20.7 compare entry 2 with entries 3 to 6). Aluminum-catalyzed MPVO reactions can be enhanced by the use of TFA as additive (Table 20.7, entry 11) [87, 88], by utilizing bidentate ligands (Table 20.7, entry 14) [89] or by using binuclear catalysts (Table 20.7, entries 15 and 16) [8, 9]. With bidentate ligands, the aluminum catalyst does not form large clusters as it does in aluminum(III) isopropoxide. This increase in availability per aluminum ion increases the catalytic activity. Lanthanide-catalyzed reactions have been improved by the in-situ preparation of the catalyst the metal is treated with iodide in 2-propanol as the solvent (Table 20.7, entries 17-20) [90]. Lanthanide triflates have also been reported to possess excellent catalytic properties [91]. 

In the presence of a catalytic amount of chiral lanthanide triflate 63, the reaction of 3-acyl-l,3-oxazolidin-2-ones with cyclopentadiene produces Diels-Alder adducts in high yields and high ee. The chiral lanthanide triflate 63 can be prepared from ytterbium triflate, (R)-( I )-binaphthol, and a tertiary amine. Both enantiomers of the cycloaddition product can be prepared via this chiral lanthanide (III) complex-catalyzed reaction using the same chiral source [(R)-(+)-binaphthol] and an appropriately selected achiral ligand. This achiral ligand serves as an additive to stabilize the catalyst in the sense of preventing the catalyst from aging. Asymmetric catalytic aza Diels-Alder reactions can also be carried out successfully under these conditions (Scheme 5-21).19... 

S. Kobayashi, H. Ishitani, M Ueno, Facile Synthesis of a-Amino Nitriles Using Lanthanide Triflate as a Lewis Acid Catalyst Synlett. 1997,115-116. 

Sulfoxide-mediated intramolecular aglycone delivery has been conducted with a temporary linker formed in situ by the reaction of lanthanide triflates with the donor and acceptor-based alcohols (Scheme 4.66) [336], However, as the selectivities recorded were modest, it has to be assumed that intermolecular glycosylation was an important side reaction in this chemistry. 

Catalysis of the aminolysis of epoxides by lanthanide triflates (ytterbium, neodymium and gadolinium trifluoromethanesulphonate) has been reported (e.g. equation 26)68. 

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