Lanthanides Diels-Alder reaction

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. 

First, the use of water limits the choice of Lewis-acid catalysts. The most active Lewis acids such as BFj, TiQ4 and AlClj react violently with water and cannot be used However, bivalent transition metal ions and trivalent lanthanide ions have proven to be active catalysts in aqueous solution for other organic reactions and are anticipated to be good candidates for the catalysis of aqueous Diels-Alder reactions. 

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-... 

In 1996, the first example of the catalytic enantioselective aza Diels-Alder reactions of azadienes using a chiral lanthanide catalyst was reported [4], In this article, successful examples of such catalytic reactions are surveyed. 

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]. 

The most frequently encountered, and most useful, cycloaddition reactions of silyl enol ethers are Diels-Alder reactions involving silyloxybutadicncs (Chapter 18). Danishefsky (30) has reviewed his pioneering work in this area, and has extended his studies to include heterodienophiles, particularly aldehydes. Lewis acid catalysis is required in such cases, and substantial asymmetric induction can be achieved using either a chiral lanthanide catalyst or an a-chiral aldehyde. 

Many Lewis-acid catalysts have been studied and used in the Diels-Alder reactions, ranging from the more commonly used strong Lewis acids such as AICI3, TiCU, SnCU, ZnCli, ZnBri, etc., to the milder lanthanide complexes and to the chiral catalyst. 

The 2-pyrones can behave as dienes or dienophiles depending on the nature of their reaction partners. 3-Carbomethoxy-2-pyrone (84) underwent inverse Diels-Alder reaction with several vinylethers under lanthanide shift reagent-catalysis [84] (Equation 3.28). The use of strong traditional Lewis acids was precluded because of the sensitivity of the cycloadducts toward decarboxylation. It is noteworthy that whereas Yb(OTf)j does not catalyze the cycloaddition of 84 with enolethers, the addition of (R)-BINOL generates a new active ytterbium catalyst which promotes the reactions with a moderate to good level of enantio selection [85]. 

Catalytic asymmetric aza-Diels-Alder reactions using a chiral lanthanide Lewis acid. Enantioselective synthesis of tetrahydroquinoline derivatives using a catalytic amount of a chiral source [98]... 

The aqueous aza-Diels-Alder reaction of an aldehyde and an amine hydrochloride with a diene is catalyzed by lanthanide(III) trifluoromethane sulfonates (Ln(OTf)3, triflates [24]). Some examples are reported in Schemes 6.12 and 6.13. With respect to uncatalyzed reactions, the lanthanide catalyst allows milder reaction conditions, increases the reaction yield and does not affect the diaster-eoselectivity of the reaction, but influences the regiochemistry as in the cycloaddition of 25 with 1,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene (Schemes 6.10 and 6.12). These results have been applied [24b-d] to the synthesis of azasugars (Scheme 6.14). 

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. 

Xie W., Yu L., Chen D., Li J., Ramirez J., Miranda N. F., Wang P. G. Lanthanide-Catalyzed Organic Synthesis in Protic Solvents in Green Chem. 1998 129, Ed.Anasts P. T. and Williamson T. C., Pb. Oxford Un. Press, Oxford Keywords aza-Diels-Alder reactions, rare earth metals... 

Bis(trifluoromethanesulfonylamides) ligand was also used by Mikami et al., in 1995, for the lanthanide-catalysed hetero-Diels-Alder reaction of Danishefsky s diene with butyl glyoxylate. This reaction produced the corresponding... 

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. 

Perhaps the most attractive method of introducing enantioselectivity into the Diels-Alder reaction is to use a chiral catalyst in the form of a Lewis acidic metal complex. In recent years, this area has shown the greatest progress, with the introduction of many excellent catalytic processes. Quite a number of ligand-metal combinations have been evaluated for their potential as chiral catalysts in Diels-Alder reactions. The most commonly used metals are boron, titanium, and aluminum. Copper, magnesium, and lanthanides have also been used in asymmetric catalytic Diels-Alder reactions. 

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... 

Kobayashi s chiral lanthanide complex 63 has been used for asymmetric Diels-Alder reactions, and very good results have been obtained (see Section 5.4.2). This kind of complex is also effective in asymmetric 1,3-dipolar reactions.87 The chiral ligand is prepared in situ by mixing Yb(OTf)3,... 

Another example of the use of Lewis acids in organic reactions in water is the lan-thanide(III) triflate catalysed aza-Diels-Alder reaction, exemplified in Scheme 14. In this reaction the hetero-dienophile is formed in situ from a primary ammonium hydrochloride and a carbonyl compound followed by the actual Diels-Alder reaction288,289. This type of reaction proceeds readily in aqueous media290-296, and a dramatic increase in the yield upon addition of lanthanide triflates was observed288,289. The exact role of the catalyst, however, is not entirely clear. Although it was suggested that the catalyst binds to the dienophile, other mechanisms, such as simple proton catalysis, are also plausible. Moreover, these reactions are further complicated since they are often heterogeneous. 

SCHEME 14. Lanthanide(III) triflate catalysed aza-Diels-Alder reaction in water... 

The efficient and selective catalysis of some Diels-Alder reactions by lanthanide P-diketonate complexes has been known since 1975 [226, 227]. The fluorinated p-diketonate complexes Ln(fod)3 (cf. Scheme 12.5) selectively catalyze the Danishefsky transformation (Scheme 12.23) as a consequence of their mild Lewis acidity. Importantly, zeolites and Lewis acid modified silica or alumina also catalyze Diels-Alder reactions [228-232]. 

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... 

Although several Lewis acids are known to catalyze the hetero-Diels-Alder reaction involving imino-dienes or imino-dienophiles (aza-Diels-Alder reaction), a large amount of the catalyst is often necessary. Bi(0Tf)3-xH20 showed higher activity than lanthanide triflates in catalyzing the reactions of imines with Danishefsky s diene (Scheme 15) [72]. 

Hanessian and Compain have also reported a Lewis acid-promoted inverse electron demand hetero-Diels-Alder reaction between dihydrofurans and dihydropyrans with a-keto-/3,7-unsaturated phosphonates to give stmcturally related products <2002T6521>. High-pressure OTr/o-selective hetero-Diels-Alder reactions between a,/3-unsaturated aldehydes and enol ethers in the presence of lanthanide catalysts have also been reported and give 3,4-dihydro-27/-pyrans. Examples include the use of cyclic enol ethers to give 2,3,4,4a,5,8a-hexahydro-277,577-pyrano[2,3-. ]pyrans <1995T8383>. 

Lactam, ring formation, 288 Lactones, optically active, 31 Lanthanide complexes epoxy ring opening, 234 hetero-Diels-Alder reactions, 217 nitno-aldol reaction, 228 Laudanosine, 36 Leucine hydrocarboxylation, 168 Lewis acid complexes, 212 Ligands ... 

Kobayashi reported an asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction catalyzed by a chiral lanthanide(III) complex 24, prepared from ytterbium or scandium triflate [ Yb(OTf)3 or Sc(OTf)3], (Zf)-BINOL and tertiary amine (ex. 1,2,6-trimethylpiperidine) [30], A highly enantioselective and endose-lective Diels-Alder reaction of 3-(2-butenoyl)-l,3-oxazolidin-2-one (23) with cyclopentadiene (Scheme 9.13) takes place in the presence of 24. When chiral Sc catalyst 24a was used, asymmetric amplification was observed with regard to the enantiopurity of (/ )-BINOL and that of the endoadduct [31 ]. On the other hand, in the case of chiral Yb catalyst 24b, NLE was affected by additives, that is, when 3-acetyl-l,3-oxazolidin-2-one was added, almost no deviation was observed from linearity, whereas a negative NLE was observed with the addition of 3-pheny-lacetylacetone. 

In hetero-Diels-Alder reactions, the effect of ligand structure and acidity on the catalytic activity of lanthanide catalysts has been reviewed.191 The effect of different C(2)-symmetric bisoxazolines on the zinc(II)-catalysed hetero-Diels-Alder reaction of ethyl glyoxylate with conjugated 1,3-dienes has been investigated.192 The hetero-Diels-Alder reaction 4-dimethylamino-2-phenyl-l-thiabuta-1,3 -diene with methyl acrylate and /V-cnoyloxazolidinone produces cw-3,4-disubstituted 3,4-dihydro-2//-... 

Finally, 10 mol-% of the lanthanide perfluoroalkylsulfone amide complex Yb(N(S02C4F9)2)3 in QH5CF3 catalyzes both Friedel-Crafts acylation and the Diels-Alder reaction [26]. The high Lewis acidity of the metal complexes seems to be crucial. 

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