Lithium enolates reactions

The aldol reaction is an addition of metal enolates to aldehydes or ketones to form P-hydroxy carbonyl compounds.1 The simplest aldol reaction would be the reaction of acetaldehyde lithium enolate with formaldehyde (Scheme 2.1). As the transition state of this reaction involves six atoms, the aldol reaction is another example where a six-membered transition state is presumed to be operating. The transition state of the aldol reaction is very similar to those of Claisen and Cope rearrangements, and therefore the remarkable facility of the lithium enolate reaction is attributed to the stability of an aromatic transition state.2... 

Shortly thereafter, acetate aldol reactions using camphor-derived imidazo-lidinone 27 vere reported by Palomo and co vorkers [15]. They reported moderate yields and enantioselectivity for a variety of unsaturated and aliphatic aldehydes (Table 2.4, entries 8-12). Interestingly, enantioselectivity for unsaturated aldehydes vas opposite that for aliphatic aldehydes. Also, enantioselectivity reported for titanium vas completely opposite that of the corresponding lithium enolate reactions. 

Stereoselectivities of 99% are also obtained by Mukaiyama type aldol reactions (cf. p. 58) of the titanium enolate of Masamune s chired a-silyloxy ketone with aldehydes. An excess of titanium reagent (s 2 mol) must be used to prevent interference by the lithium salt formed, when the titanium enolate is generated via the lithium enolate (C. Siegel, 1989). The mechanism and the stereochemistry are the same as with the boron enolate. 

Although ethereal solutions of methyl lithium may be prepared by the reaction of lithium wire with either methyl iodide or methyl bromide in ether solution, the molar equivalent of lithium iodide or lithium bromide formed in these reactions remains in solution and forms, in part, a complex with the methyllithium. Certain of the ethereal solutions of methyl 1ithium currently marketed by several suppliers including Alfa Products, Morton/Thiokol, Inc., Aldrich Chemical Company, and Lithium Corporation of America, Inc., have been prepared from methyl bromide and contain a full molar equivalent of lithium bromide. In several applications such as the use of methyllithium to prepare lithium dimethyl cuprate or the use of methyllithium in 1,2-dimethyoxyethane to prepare lithium enolates from enol acetates or triraethyl silyl enol ethers, the presence of this lithium salt interferes with the titration and use of methyllithium. There is also evidence which indicates that the stereochemistry observed during addition of methyllithium to carbonyl compounds may be influenced significantly by the presence of a lithium salt in the reaction solution. For these reasons it is often desirable to have ethereal solutions... 

A more detailed representation of the reaction requires more intimate knowledge of the enolate structure. Studies of ketone enolates in solution indicate that both tetrameric and dimeric clusters can exist Tetrahydrofliran, a solvent in which many synthetic reactions are performed, favors tetrameric structures for the lithium enolate of isobutyr-ophenone, for example. ... 

In contrast, fluorinated ketones have been used as both nucleophilic and electrophilic reaction constituents The (Z)-lithium enolate of 1 fluoro 3,3-di-methylbutanone can be selectively prepared and undergoes highly diastereoselec-tive aldol condensations with aldehydes [7] (equation 8) (Table 4)... 

Table 4. Directed Aldol Reaction of Lithium Enolate of l-Fluoro-3,3-dimethylbutanone [7]...

Common reagents such as lithium diisopropylamide (LDA see Chapter 11, Problem 5) react with carbonyl compounds to yield lithium enolate salts and diisopropylamine, e.g., for reaction with cyclohexanone. 

Some electrophile-nucleophile reactions are guided more by orbital interactions than by electrostatics. The key interaction involves the donor orbital on the nucleophile, i.e., the highest-occupied molecular orbital (HOMO). Examine the HOMO of enamine, silyl enol ether, lithium enolate and enol. Which atom is most nucleophilic, i.e., which site would produce the best orbital overlap with an electrophile ... 

Electrostatic and orbital interactions may steer reaction toward either carbon or oxygen. First, examine the electrostatic potential map for cyclohexanone lithium enolate. Which atom is more negatively charged, carbon or oxygen Is the difference significant If it is, what would be the favored mode of addition Does either methylation or silylation appear to be guided by electrostatics Explain. 

Now, examine the orbital on cyclohexanone lithium enolate most able to donate electrons. This is the highest-occupied molecular orbital (HOMO). Identify where the best HOMO-electrophile overlap can occur. Is this also the most electron-rich site An electrophile will choose the best HOMO overlap site if it is not strongly affected by electrostatic effects, and if it contains a good electron-acceptor orbital (this is the lowest-unoccupied molecular orbital or LUMO). Examine the LUMO of methyl iodide and trimethylsilyl chloride. Is backside overlap likely to be successful for each The LUMO energies of methyl iodide and trimethylsilyl chloride are 0.11 and 0.21 au, respectively. Assuming that the lower the LUMO energy the more effective the interaction, which reaction, methylation or silylation, appears to be guided by favorable orbital interactions Explain. 

These results were confirmed by later studies, which proved that the lithium enolate, generated from the reaction of 163b with LDA, reacted with 2-chloroben-zaldehyde to give the corresponding 5-hydroxyfuranone 167 (R= o-Cl—C6H4) (96H191). 

When a cold (-78 °C) solution of the lithium enolate derived from amide 6 is treated successively with a,/ -unsaturated ester 7 and homogeranyl iodide 8, intermediate 9 is produced in 87% yield (see Scheme 2). All of the carbon atoms that will constitute the complex pentacyclic framework of 1 are introduced in this one-pot operation. After some careful experimentation, a three-step reaction sequence was found to be necessary to accomplish the conversion of both the amide and methyl ester functions to aldehyde groups. Thus, a complete reduction of the methyl ester with diisobutylalu-minum hydride (Dibal-H) furnishes hydroxy amide 10 which is then hydrolyzed with potassium hydroxide in aqueous ethanol. After acidification of the saponification mixture, a 1 1 mixture of diastereomeric 5-lactones 11 is obtained in quantitative yield. Under the harsh conditions required to achieve the hydrolysis of the amide in 10, the stereogenic center bearing the benzyloxypropyl side chain epimerized. Nevertheless, this seemingly unfortunate circumstance is ultimately of no consequence because this carbon will eventually become part of the planar azadiene. 

Darzens reactions between the chiral imine 52 and a-halo enolates 53 for the preparation of nonracemic aziridine-2-carboxylic esters 54 (Scheme 3.17) were studied by Fujisawa and co-workers [61], It is interesting to note that the lithium enolate afforded (2K,3S)-aziridirie (2i ,3S)-54 as the sole product, whereas the zinc enolate give rise to the isomer (2S,3i )-54. The a-halogen did not seem to affect the stereoselectivity. 

More recently, Davis and co-workers developed a new method for the asymmetric syntheses of aziridine-2-carboxylates through the use of an aza-Darzens-type reaction between sulfinimines (N-sulfinyl imines) and a-haloenolates [62-66]. The reaction is highly efficient, affording cis- N-sulfmylaziridine-2-carboxylic esters in high yield and diastereoselectivity. This method has been used to prepare a variety of aziridines with diverse ring and nitrogen substituents. As an example, treatment of sulfinimine (Ss)-55 (Scheme 3.18) with the lithium enolate of tert-butyl bromoacetate gave aziridine 56 in 82% isolated yield [66],... 

Scheme 8.37 Use of the lithium enolate of acetaldehyde DMH in an epoxide ring-opening reaction.

Only moderate induced diastereoselectivity is achieved in the addition reactions of lithium enolates of the following a-silyloxy ketones43 and carbohydrate-derived ketones44, deproto-nated in each case at the methylene group in a regioselective manner to benzaldehyde. 

Reaction of lithium enolate 2 with prochiral 3-buten-2-one (4) proceeds with minimal selectivity to produce nearly equal amounts of the two diastereomers of structure 540,41. 

Transmetalation of lithium enolate 1 a (M = Li ) by treatment with tin(II) chloride at — 42 °C generates the tin enolate that reacts with prostereogenic aldehydes at — 78 °C to preferentially produce the opposite aldol diastereomer 3. Diastereoselectivities of this process may be as high as 97 3. This reaction appears to require less exacting conditions since similar results are obtained if one or two equivalents of tin(ll) chloride arc used. The somewhat less reactive tin enolate requires a temperature of —42 C for the reaction to proceed at an acceptable rate. The steric requirements of the tin chloride counterion are probably less than those of the diethyla-luminum ion (vide supra), which has led to the suggestion26 44 that the chair-like transition state I is preferentially adopted26 44. This is consistent with the observed diastereoselective production of aldol product 3, which is of opposite configuration at the / -carbon to the major product obtained from aluminum enolates. 

This high diastereoselectivity contrasts dramatically with the nearly nonexistent selectivity of the lithium enolate of the corresponding triphenylphosphane complexes (vide supra). The diastereomer preferentially obtained from the fluorophenyl lithium enolate 9 corresponds to the major product produced by reaction of the aluminum enolate 1 b derived from the parent triphenylphosphane complex. 

The lithium enolate 2a (M = Li ) prepared from the iron propanoyl complex 1 reacts with symmetrical ketones to produce the diastercomers 3 and 4 with moderate selectivity for diastereomer 3. The yields of the aldol adducts are poor deprotonation of the substrate ketone is reported to be the dominant reaction pathway45. However, transmetalation of the lithium enolate 2a by treatment with one equivalent of copper cyanide at —40 C generates the copper enolate 2b (M = Cu ) which reacts with symmetrical ketones at — 78 °C to selectively produce diastereomer 3 in good yield. Diastereomeric ratios in excess of 92 8 are reported with efficient stereoselection requiring the addition of exactly one equivalent of copper cyanide at the transmetalation step45. Small amounts of triphcnylphosphane, a common trace impurity remaining from the preparation of these iron-acyl complexes, appear to suppress formation of the copper enolate. Thus, the starting iron complex must be carefully purified. 

Conducting the aldol reaction at temperatures below —78 "C increases the diastereoselectivity, but at the cost of reduced yields45. Transmetalation of the lithium enolate 2 a by treatment with diethylaluminum chloride generated an enolate species that provided high yields of aldol products, however, the diastereoselectivity was as low as that of the lithium species45. Pre treatment of the lithium enolate 2a with tin(II) chloride, zinc(II) chloride, or boron trifluoridc suppressed the aldol reaction and the starting iron-acyl complex was recovered. 

The a-alkoxy iron-acyl complex 5 may be deprotonated to generate the lithium enolate 6, which undergoes a highly diastereoselective aldol reaction with acetone to generate the adduct 7 as the major product. Deprotonation of acetone by 6 is believed to be a competing reaction 30% of the starting complex 5 is found in the product mixture48 40. 

The diastereoselectivity of this reaction contrasts dramatically with the generally low selectiv-ities observed for aldol reactions of lithium enolates of iron acyls. It has been suggested thal this enolate exists as a chelated species48 the major diastereomer produced is consistent with the transition state E which embodies the usual antiperiplanar enolate geometry. 

Reaction of the lithium enolate 2 with prochiral aldehydes at low temperature proceeds with little selectivity, producing all four possible diastereomers 3, 4, 5, and 6 in similar amounts50. Transmetalation of the lithium enolate by treatment with three equivalents of diethylaluminum chloride or with one equivalent of copper cyanide generates the corresponding cthylaluminum and copper enolates which react at — 100°C with prochiral aldehydes to produce selectively diastereomers 1 and 2, respectively50. The reactivity of tin enolates of iron- propanoyl complexes has not been described. 

The lithium enolate of a-alkoxy substituted complex 9 also exhibited little selectivity upon reaction with aldehydes all four possible diastereomers were produced when it was treated with acetaldehyde49. 

In contrast, transmetalation of the lithium enolate at —40 C by treatment with one equivalent of copper cyanide generated a species 10b (M = Cu ) that reacted with acetaldehyde to selectively provide a 25 75 mixture of diastereomers 11 and 12 (R = CH3) which are separable by chromatography on alumina. Other diastereomers were not observed. Similar transmetalation of 10a (M = Li0) with excess diethylaluminum chloride, followed by reaction with acetaldehyde, produced a mixture of the same two diastereomers, but with a reversed ratio (80 20). Similar results were obtained upon aldol additions to other aldehydes (see the following table)49. 

The addition of lithium enolates to 2-alkoxyaldehydes occurs either in a completely non-stereoselective manner, or with moderate selectivity in favor of the product predicted by the Cram-Felkin-Anh model28 ( nonchelation control 3, see reference 28 for a survey of this type of addition to racemic aldehydes). Thus, a 1 1 mixture of the diastereomeric adducts results from the reaction of lithiated tert-butyl acetate and 2-benzyloxypropanal4,28. 

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