Lewis promoter

Lewis acid promoted condensation of silyl ketene acetals (ester enolate equiv.) with aldehydes proceeds via "open" transition state to give anti aldols starting from either E- or Z- enolates. 

Mukaiyarna-Johnson AJdoJ- Lewis acid promoted condensation of silyl enol ethers with acetals ... 

The D-A rxn is promoted by Lewis acids (T1CI4, BF3 AICI3, AIEt2CI, SnCLj,...)... 

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. 

Scheme 2.1. Lewis-acid catalysed organic reactions that are promoted by small amounts ofwater in organic solvents.

First of all, given the well recognised promoting effects of Lewis-acids and of aqueous solvents on Diels-Alder reactions, we wanted to know if these two effects could be combined. If this would be possible, dramatic improvements of rate and endo-exo selectivity were envisaged Studies on the Diels-Alder reaction of a dienophile, specifically designed for this purpose are described in Chapter 2. It is demonstrated that Lewis-acid catalysis in an aqueous medium is indeed feasible and, as anticipated, can result in impressive enhancements of both rate and endo-exo selectivity. However, the influences of the Lewis-acid catalyst and the aqueous medium are not fully additive. It seems as if water diminishes the catalytic potential of Lewis acids just as coordination of a Lewis acid diminishes the beneficial effects of water. Still, overall, the rate of the catalysed reaction... 

The selective addition of the second HCN to provide ADN requires the concurrent isomerisation of 3PN to 4-pentenenitrile [592-51 -8] 4PN (eq. 5), and HCN addition to 4PN (eq. 6). A Lewis acid promoter is added to control selectivity and increase rate in these latter steps. Temperatures in the second addition are significandy lower and practical rates may be achieved above 20°C at atmospheric pressure. A key to the success of this homogeneous catalytic process is the abiUty to recover the nickel catalyst from product mixture by extraction with a hydrocarbon solvent. 2-Methylglutaronitrile [4553-62-2] MGN, ethylsuccinonitfile [17611-82-4] ESN, and 2-pentenenitrile [25899-50-7] 2PN, are by-products of this process and are separated from adiponitrile by distillation. 

The HCFC-225 isomers designed to replace CFC-113 are manufactured by Lewis acid promoted addition of HCFC-21 to tetrafluoroethylene... 

GopolymeriZation Initiators. The copolymerization of styrene and dienes in hydrocarbon solution with alkyUithium initiators produces a tapered block copolymer stmcture because of the large differences in monomer reactivity ratios for styrene (r < 0.1) and dienes (r > 10) (1,33,34). In order to obtain random copolymers of styrene and dienes, it is necessary to either add small amounts of a Lewis base such as tetrahydrofuran or an alkaU metal alkoxide (MtOR, where Mt = Na, K, Rb, or Cs). In contrast to Lewis bases which promote formation of undesirable vinyl microstmcture in diene polymerizations (57), the addition of small amounts of an alkaU metal alkoxide such as potassium amyloxide ([ROK]/[Li] = 0.08) is sufficient to promote random copolymerization of styrene and diene without producing significant increases in the amount of vinyl microstmcture (58,59). 

Often the requisite THF oxonium ion is generated m situ by using a combination of reagents based on the Meerwein syntheses of trialkyl oxonium salts (150). These combinations include epichlorohydrin or a reactive haUde with a Lewis acid, a reactive hahde with a metal salt, or sometimes just a Lewis acid alone. The epoxide portion is often referred to as a promoter. 

The base-promoted closure of decaborane(14) yields salts of the [B qH q] anion (eq. 34). Relatively strong Lewis bases, such as trialkylamines, are required to accomplish this reaction as weaker bases, such as diethylsulfide and acetonitrile, form stable 6,9-L2B2qH22 species where L = (C2H )2S, H CCN, etc (90). 

Zinc chloride is a Lewis acid catalyst that promotes cellulose esterification. However, because of the large quantities required, this type of catalyst would be uneconomical for commercial use. Other compounds such as titanium alkoxides, eg, tetrabutoxytitanium (80), sulfate salts containing cadmium, aluminum, and ammonium ions (81), sulfamic acid, and ammonium sulfate (82) have been reported as catalysts for cellulose acetate production. In general, they require reaction temperatures above 50°C for complete esterification. Relatively small amounts (<0.5%) of sulfuric acid combined with phosphoric acid (83), sulfonic acids, eg, methanesulfonic, or alkyl phosphites (84) have been reported as good acetylation catalysts, especially at reaction temperatures above 90°C. 

Titanium(IV) is a powerful but selective Lewis acid which can promote the coupling of allylsilanes with carbonyl compounds and derivatives In the presence of titanium tetrachlonde, benzalacetone reacts with allyltnmethylsilane by 1,4-addition to give 4-PHENYL-6-HEPTEN-2-ONE. Similarly, the enol silyl ether of cyclopentanone is coupled with f-pentyl chloride using titanium tetrachlonde to give 2-(tert-PENTYL)CYCLOPENTANONE, an example of a-tert-alkylation of ketones. 

The Friedel-Crafts reaction is a very important method for introducing alkyl substituents on an aromatic ring. It involves generation of a carbocation or related electrophilic species. The most common method of generating these electrophiles involves reaction between an alkyl halide and a Lewis acid. The usual Friedel-Crafts catalyst for preparative work is AICI3, but other Lewis acids such as SbFj, TiC, SnCl4, and BF3 can also promote reaction. Alternative routes to alkylating ecies include protonation of alcohols and alkenes. 

Ketene acetals prepared from fluorinated esters by trimethylsilylation undergo Lewis acid-promoted aldol condensations giving satisfactory yields but low diastereoselectivity [27] (equation 22). 

Lewis acids promote migration of fluorine m halofluoroalkenes to yield isomers, which can be transformed easily into perfluorinated alkynes [27. 22] (equation 6)... 

Detailed mechanistic studies by Fodor demonstrated the intermediacy of both imidoyl chlorides (6) and nitrilium salts (7) in Bischler-Napieralski reactions promoted by a variety of reagents such as PCI5, POCI3, and SOCh)/ For example, amide 1 reacts with POCI3 to afford imidoyl chloride 6. Upon heating, intermediate 6 is converted to nitrilium salt 7, which undergoes intramolecular electrophilic aromatic substitution to afford the dihydroisoquinoline 2. Fodor s studies showed that the imidoyl chloride and nitrilium salt intermediates could be generated under mild conditions and characterized spectroscopically. Fodor also found that the cyclization of the imidoyl chlorides is accelerated by the addition of Lewis acids (SnCU, ZnCh), which provides further evidence to support the intermediacy of nitrilium salts. ... 

However, Dondoni improved the synthesis by using Yb(OTf)3 as the Lewis acid promoter in THE at reflux to deliver 62 in 95% yield/ ... 

B. Lewis or Protic Acid Promoted Cyclizations 1. Synthesis of IndoloquinoUzines... 

Chiral aluminum catalyst 2, prepared from Et2AlCl and a Vaulted biaryl ligand, is reported to be an effective Lewis acid catalyst of the Diels-AIder reaction between methacrolein and cyclopentadiene, affording the adduct in 97.7% ee [4] (Scheme 1.2). Although the Diels-AIder reaction with other a,/ -unsaturated aldehydes has not been described, that only 0.5 mol% loading is sufficient to promote the reaction is a great advantage of this catalyst. 

To overcome these problems with the first generation Brmsted acid-assisted chiral Lewis acid 7, Yamamoto and coworkers developed in 1996 a second-generation catalyst 8 containing the 3,5-bis-(trifluoromethyl)phenylboronic acid moiety [10b,d] (Scheme 1.15, 1.16, Table 1.4, 1.5). The catalyst was prepared from a chiral triol containing a chiral binaphthol moiety and 3,5-bis-(trifluoromethyl)phenylboronic acid, with removal of water. This is a practical Diels-Alder catalyst, effective in catalyzing the reaction not only of a-substituted a,/ -unsaturated aldehydes, but also of a-unsubstituted a,/ -unsaturated aldehydes. In each reaction, the adducts were formed in high yields and with excellent enantioselectivity. It also promotes the reaction with less reactive dienophiles such as crotonaldehyde. Less reactive dienes such as isoprene and cyclohexadiene can, moreover, also be successfully employed in reactions with bromoacrolein, methacrolein, and acrolein dienophiles. The chiral ligand was readily recovered (>90%). 

With few exceptions chiral Lewis acids are usually moisture-sensitive and require anhydrous conditions, but bench-stable aquo complexes such as [Cu(S,S)-t-Bu-box)(H20)2](SbF6)2 were found to promote the Diels-Alder reaction as effectively as the anhydrous copper reagent. 

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