Magnesium compounds allylation reactions

The majority of catalytic enantioselective allylation reactions involve the chiral Lewis-acid-catalysed additions of allylsilanes or allylstannanes to carbonyl compounds. Monothiobinaphthol has been used by Woodward et al. as a chiral promoter in the enantioselective catalytic allylation of aryl ketones with impure Sn(allyl)4, prepared from allyl chloride, air-oxidised magnesium and SnCl4. Therefore, the allylation of arylketones in these conditions was achieved very efficiently, since the corresponding allylic alcohols were formed in... 

Copper derivatives, in the form of cuprates (RCu(X)Li), are usually prepared in situ from lithium, magnesium or zinc compounds, by reaction with a Cu(I) sonrce snch as CnCN. They are often used to improve conversions using, for example, an acid chloride or an allylic halide as electrophile - a number of examples appear in other sections of this book. They are also nsefnl as the organometallic partners in some crosscoupling reactions (using cobalt catalysts). ... 

Recently, Sarangi et al. (1995) discovered that the Barbier-type allylation of carbonyl compounds could be mediated by zero-valent copper. In the experimental procedure copper(ll) chloride in its hydrated form was mixed with magnesium powder. This reaction did not proceed with anhydrous CuCU, but addition of water to this anhydrous salt in the presence of magnesium allowed the allylation of aldehydes and ketones with allylic bromides. In the absence of halides, the hydrated reagent (CuCl2 2H20/Mg) turned out to be efficient in the reduction of aldehydes. However, the water of crystallization could not suffice and addition of water promoted the reduction process (Sarangi eta/., 1995). 

A modern variant is the intramolecular magnesium-ene reaction, e.g. the reaction of the alkene-allylic-Grignard compound 9 to give the five-membered ring product 10. This reaction proceeds regio- and stereoselectively, and is a key step in a synthesis of the sesquiterpenoid 6-protoilludene ... 

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