Lewis acids Reformatsky reactions

Scheme 7.5 gives some examples of the Reformatsky reaction. Zinc enolates prepared from a-haloketones can be used as nucleophiles in mixed aldol condensations (see Section 2.1.3). Entry 7 is an example. This type of reaction can be conducted in the presence of the Lewis acid diethylaluminum chloride, in which case addition occurs at -20° C.171... 

The influence of a Lewis acid in favouring the ring closure was confirmed by the use of a catalytic amount of CpiTiCL in imino-Reformatsky reactions with a-bromoesters, -bromocrotonates and a-bromomethylacrylates the corresponding cis /9-lactams were obtained in excellent yields in THF at rt129. 

The gallium-mediated Reformatsky reaction gives /3-hydroxy esters in excellent yields with yy/z-selectivity. The effect of the molar ratio of gallium a-iodoacetate 4-chlorobenzaldehyde shows that the stoichiometric ratio may be 1 1.5 1 and two-thirds of the CH2C02Et group react with the aldehyde. Some Lewis acids obviously affect the stereochemistry of the reaction (Scheme 130).404... 

Condensation reactions of simple carboxylic acids with imines are of intense interest because of their applications to 3-lactam synthesis. Activation of the carboxylic acid derivative is accomplished by preforming the enolate in situ or by using a silyl ketene acetal derivative with Lewis acid catalysis. The first example of an enolate-imine condensation of this type can be attributed to Gillman and Speeter, who in 1943 reported the synthesis of 3-lactams from Reformatsky reagents and Schiff bases. Subsequently, other workers have investigated the mechanism and syn-anti selectivity of this reaction. A review of these studies by Evans et al. covering work through 1980 has appeared in their review, Stereoselective Aldol Condensations . ... 

Only a few enantioselective approaches to optically active 2,2-difluoro-3-hjrdroxy esters, key S)mthetic interme ates for a variety of important chiral fluorinated molecules, have been reported. Braun et al and Andrds et al. have independently reported that the Reformatsky reagents generated from bromodifluoroacetates react with aromatic aldehydes in the presence of stoichiometric amounts of chiral amino alcohols such as iV-methylephediine to afford the corresponding desired aldols in good optical yields (22,23). However, these methods are not catalytic, and the decrease in quantity of the chiral ligands dramatically suppresses the enantioselectivity. Thus, we became very interested in developing an unprecedented catalytic asymmetric aidol reaction of difluoroketene silyl acetals promoted by chiral Lewis acids. 

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