Lithium vinyl ethers

Another synthesis of the cortisol side chain from a C17-keto-steroid is shown in Figure 20. Treatment of a C3-protected steroid 3,3-ethanedyidimercapto-androst-4-ene-ll,17-dione [112743-82-5] (144) with a tnhaloacetate, 2inc, and a Lewis acid produces (145). Addition of a phenol and potassium carbonate to (145) in refluxing butanone yields the aryl vinyl ether (146). Concomitant reduction of the C20-ester and the Cll-ketone of (146) with lithium aluminum hydride forms (147). Deprotection of the C3-thioketal, followed by treatment of (148) with y /(7-chlotopetben2oic acid, produces epoxide (149). Hydrolysis of (149) under acidic conditions yields cortisol (29) (181). 

The refined grade s fastest growing use is as a commercial extraction solvent and reaction medium. Other uses are as a solvent for radical-free copolymerization of maleic anhydride and an alkyl vinyl ether, and as a solvent for the polymerization of butadiene and isoprene usiag lithium alkyls as catalyst. Other laboratory appHcations include use as a solvent for Grignard reagents, and also for phase-transfer catalysts. 

The vinyl ether may be further purified by dissolving it in 15 ml of dry ether and adding a solution of 0.25 g of lithium aluminum hydride in 10 ml of dry ether. The mixture is refluxed for 30 minutes, and excess hydride is destroyed by addition of ethyl acetate (1 ml). Ice-cold dilute (0.5 N) sulfuric acid (25 ml) is gradually added to the cooled mixture, the ethereal layer is rapidly separated, the aqueous layer is extracted once with 10 ml of ether, and the combined ethereal solution is washed once with water and dried over potassium carbonate. Removal of the solvent, followed by distillation of the residue affords about 85% recovery of the pure vinyl ether, bp 102-10376 mm, 1.5045. 

It is possible to treat ketones with allyl alcohol and an acid catalyst to give y,5-unsaturated ketones directly, presumably by initial formation of the vinylic ethers, and then Claisen rearrangement.In an analogous procedure, the enolates (126) of allylic esters [formed by treatment of the esters with lithium isopropylcyclohex-... 

Intermediate formation of nitrile oxides is, also proposed in reactions of nitroacetylene with furan and vinyl ethers (Scheme 1.9) (93) and of lithium (phenyl)acetylide with N2C>4 (94). 

Hydroxy-containing fluorovinyl ether monomers (5,6) were prepared in excellent yields (80-90%) in a single step from the corresponding esters (1,3)12"14 with sodium borohydride in absolute ethanol. Protection of the sensitive vinyl ether groups was not required during the reduction. In contrast, the use of a more powerful reducing agent, such as lithium aluminum hydride, resulted in the reduction of the double bond ... 

The nucleophilic addition of alcohols [130, 204-207], phenols [130], carboxylates [208], ammonia [130, 209], primary and secondary amines [41, 130, 205, 210, 211] and thiols [211-213] was used very early to convert several acceptor-substituted allenes 155 to products of type 158 and 159 (Scheme 7.25, Nu = OR, OAr, 02CR, NH2, NHR, NRR and SR). While the addition of alcohols, phenols and thiols is generally carried out in the presence of an auxiliary base, the reaction of allenyl ketones to give vinyl ethers of type 159 (Nu = OMe) is successful also by irradiation in pure methanol [214], Using widely varying reaction conditions, the addition of hydrogen halides (Nu= Cl, Br, I) to the allenes 155 leads to reaction products of type 158 [130, 215-220], Therefore, this transformation was also classified as a nucleophilic addition. Finally, the nucleophiles hydride (such as lithium aluminum hydride-aluminum trichloride) [211] and azide [221] could also be added to allenic esters to yield products of type 159. 

An ab initio study of the energetics of deprotonation of cyclic vinyl ethers by organolithium reagents has clarified the ring-size-dependent competition between vinylic and allylic deprotonation.The respective transition states involve preequilibrium complexation of lithium to the electron-rich vinyl ether oxygen, prior to deprotonation via a multi-centre process free ions are not formed during the lithiation. 

Vinyl ethers were reductively cleaved by lithium, sodium or potassium in liquid ammonia especially in the absence of alcohols (except terf-butyl alcohol) A mixture of l-methoxy-1,3- and l-methoxy-l,4-cyclohexadiene gave in this way first methoxycyclohexene and, on further reduction, cyclohexene Reductive cleavage of a-alkoxytetrahydrofurans and pyrans will be discussed in the chapter on acetals (p. 104). 

In view of the fact that alkyl vinyl ethers are that easily metalated, the generation of lithiated vinyl ethers by halogen-lithium or tin-lithium exchange is seldom applied. Nevertheless, 1-lithio-l-methoxyethene 56 can be generated in this way... 

Whereas carbenoid character is definitely present in metalated alkyl vinyl ethers, lithiated alkyl and aryl vinyl sulfides and thioesters, which are easily available by hydrogen-lithium exchange, do not display carbenoid-typical reactions . They rather behave like nucleophilic reagents, so that their discussion is beyond the scope of this overview despite their utility in synthesis The same appiies to various derivatives of enamines, deprotonated in the vinyiic a-nitrogen position - . 

Chain end functionalization of reactive carbocationic monomers, like isobutyl vinyl ether, can occur using ionic nucleophilic quenching reagents, i.e., methanol, alkyl lithium, etc. (6). 

It is reported that methyl acrylate, allyl acetate, vinyl acetate and dimethyl maleate give only low yields of oligomers with butyllithium under all experimental conditions (31). Furukawa and coworkers (32) confirm that vinyl acetate will not polymerize and that n-butyl-vinyl-ether will not either. High polymers can be formed from isopropyl acrylate (39) in toluene at —70° and from t-butyl acrylate (65). The reported failure of methyl acrylate and butyl acrylate to yield high polymers could reflect a genuine difference in behaviour connected with the side group or. could simply result from failure to choose the most favourable conditions for polymerization. Vinyl acetate can be polymerized by lithium metal (49) but co-polymerization experiments suggest that the polymer is formed by a radical mechanism. 

Bicyclic nitroso acetals were able to be synthesised by employing ethyl vinyl ether (dienophile), styrene (dipolarophile) and the previously discussed resin-bound ni-troalkenes in a one-pot tandem [4+2]/[3+2]. As illustrated in Scheme 7.30, several aromatic and aliphatic substituents could be introduced to the bicyclic scaffold. Reductive cleavage of the cycloadducts with lithium aluminium hydride (LLAIH4) gave rise to the 3a-methyl alcohol substituted nitroso acetals in moderate overall yields. All these examples demonstrate that resin-bound nitroalkenes can be readily synthesised by microwave synthesis and thereafter can be used as starting materials, in a variety of high pressure-promoted cycloadditions. 

An alternative was used by Baldwin in the work that led to his famous rules for cyclisation.8 He needed to study the cyclisation of the hydroxy-enone 36 and an obvious aldol disconnection led back to the a-hydroxy-ketone 37. The same disconnection requires the addition of an acyl anion equivalent 39 to cyclohexanone and Baldwin chose the lithium derivative 40 of a vinyl ether. 

Desimoni and Righetti have been thoroughly investigating the effect of solvents, acid catalysis and salts on hetero Diels-Alder and ene reactions of 1-oxa-1,3-butadienes for a long time [ 154-156]. Recently, for the cycloaddition of 2-154 and ethyl vinyl ether 2-83 in the presence of lithium perchlorate in different solvents as diethyl ether, acetonitrile, acetone, methanol, iso-propanol to give... 

Desperation can be an important stimulant for the development of new methodology and our next example exemplifies creative circumvention necessitated by the failure of more conventional methods for cleaving a MEM ether during a synthesis of Tirandamycic Acid, Ireland and co-workers497 resorted to n-BuLi in heptane to generate a vinyl ether 270 2 (by elimination of lithium methoxide from 270.1) which was subsequently hydrolysed with mercury(II) acetate [Scheme 4.270] and the method has been used by others,498-499... 

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