Lithium ynolates rearrangement

The reaction of thiol esters with lithium ynolates (equation 67) takes place by a route different than the one shown in equation 65 for alcohol esters. Thiol esters (162) undergo a two-carbon homologation to S-keto thiol esters 165 in good yield. Intermediates 163 undergo a two-step rearrangement to a S-keto thiol ester enolate (165), via elimination of lithium thiolate to yield a ketene (164), followed by the nucleophilic attack of the thiolate on 164. Finally, the homologated S-keto thioester (165 ) is obtained on acidification of the reaction mixture . ... 

Since sUyl ynol ethers have an electron-rich triple bond, they are useful for Lewis acid catalyzed synthetic reactions. Lithium ynolates 175 are silylated by TIPSCl or TIPSOTf and TBSCl to afford the corresponding silyl ynol ethers 176 and 177, which are thermally stable and isolable, but sensitive toward acids (equation 71) . See also equations 9 and 10 in Section ll.C. An experimentally improved procedure for the purification of 176 derived from Kowalski s method is described. Lithium ynolate derived from Julia s method is also used for the preparation of 176. TMSCl and TESCl provide silyl ketenes 179, however, by C-silylation. These small silyl chlorides primarily gave the silyl ynol ethers 178, but, upon warming the reaction mixture, isomerization to the more stable silyl ketenes takes place. The soft electrophilic silyl chlorides like PhsSiCl afford silyl ketenes. Disi-lyl ynol ethers, prepared from ynolate dianions, are rearranged to disilylketenes mediated by salts . 

Both types of reactivity of ynolate anion have been reported in the literature. The O-attack is typical for the reactions of lithium ynolates with trialkylchlorosilanes b24,25 dialkyIchlorophosphates. Lithium ynolates, generated as shown in equations 5-10, react with sterically hindered trialkylchlorosilanes in THF affording silyl ynol ethers as primary products (equation 12). However, in some cases the silyl ynol ethers are unstable at room temperature and isomerization to the more stable ketenes, or decomposition, occurs The ketene rearrangement usually occurs in reactions of lithium alkynolates with methyl substituted silyl chlorides a typical example of such a rearrangement is represented by reaction 13 ". ... 

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