Malononitrile addition

Examples of nitrogen-containing heterocycle syntheses based on condensation reactions continue to be forthcoming. Examples include a tandem oxidation-annulation of propargyl alcohols in a one-pot synthesis of pyridines (Equation 148) <2003SL1443>, trifluoromethyl-substituted pyridines (Scheme 94) <2003S1531>, and standard malononitrile additions to a,/3-unsaturated ketones <1995JCM392>. 

As shown above, it was not so easy to optimize the Michael addition reactions of l-crotonoyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazole in the presence of the l ,J -DBFOX/ Ph-Ni(C104)2 3H20 catalyst because a simple tendency of influence to enantio-selectivity is lacking. Therefore, we changed the acceptor to 3-crotonoyl-2-oxazolidi-none in the reactions of malononitrile in dichloromethane in the presence of the nickel(II) aqua complex (10 mol%) (Scheme 7.49). For the Michael additions using the oxazolidinone acceptor, dichloromethane was better solvent than THF and the enantioselectivities were rather independent upon the reaction temperatures and Lewis base catalysts. Chemical yields were also satisfactory. 

Finally we have performed the Michael addition reactions of malononitrile and 3-(2-alkenoyl)-2-oxazolidinones in dichloromethane in the presence of the R,R-DBF0X/Ph-Ni(C104)2-31 20 and TMP (10 mol% each). Enantioselectivities were a little lower than 90% ee for acceptors having a variety of / -substituents. The best selectivity was 94% ee in the reaction of t-butyl-substituted acceptor (Scheme 7.50). 

Similar results are observed in the conjugative addition of CH-acidic methylene compounds with the metal derivatives of 2-nitro-5,10,15.20-tetraphenylporphyrin (6). The nickel porphyrin 6 (M = Ni) yields with an excess of dimethyl malonate the cyclopropane derivative 7 whereas the copper porphyrin 6 (M — Cu) forms with two equivalents of malononitrile the bisadduct 8.111... 

The same nitrotetraphenylporphyrin 14 (M = Cu) undergoes bisalkylation by conjugative addition with malononitrile to give the stereochemically pure chlorin 16 with the thermodynamically favored trans arrangement of the introduced malononitrile residues.22... 

Alkylisoselenocyanates 339 are also used in the synthesis of 2-methylidene-l,3-selenazolidine derivatives <06T3344>. Nucleophilic addition of the carbanion derived from malononitrile 347 to 339 leads to an intermediate kcten-A, -acetal 348, which reacts with 2-haloacetate ester and 1,2-dibromoethane to provide l,3-selenazolidin-4-ones 350 and 1,3-selenazolidines 352, respectively. 

In relation to palladium enolates, Yamamoto and co-workers reported palladium-catalyzed addition of malononi-trile derivatives to imines or aldehydes (Equation (110)).466,466a Oxidative addition of the C-H bond of the malononitrile to Pd(0) followed by insertion of an electrophile is proposed. 

A. Oximinomalononitrile. Malononitrile (Note 1) (25 g., 0.38 mole) is dissolved in a mixture of 20 ml. of water and 100 ml. of acetic acid in a 1-1. round-bottomed flask equipped with a stirrer, a thermometer, and a powder funnel. The solution is cooled to —10° with a dry ice-acetone bath, and 50 g. (0.72 mole) of granulated sodium nitrite is added in approximately 2-g. portions over a 30-minute period while the temperature is maintained at 0° to —10°. After the addition is complete a wet ice bath is used to maintain the temperature below 5° while the mixture is stirred for 4 hours. Four hundred milliliters of tetrahydrofuran (Note 2) and 400 ml. of ether are added in separate portions, and the mixture is stored at —40° overnight. The mixture is filtered rapidly, and the solid is washed with a mixture of 200 ml. of tetrahydrofuran (Note 2) and 200 ml. of ether. The filtrate and washings are combined and concentrated by distillation to a volume of 250 ml. by the use of a water aspirator and a bath at 40° (Note 3). This solution of oximinomalononitrile is used directly in the next step. 

Reactions of a,(3-unsaturated acylzirconocene chlorides with stable carbon nucleophiles (sodium salts of dimethyl malonate and malononitrile) at 0°C in THF afford the Michael addition products in good yields (Scheme 5.38). Direct treatment of the reaction mixture with allyl bromide in the presence of a catalytic amount of Cul -2LiCl (10 mol%) in THF at 0 °C gives the allylic ketone in a one-pot reaction. This sequential transformation implies the electronic nature of a,P-unsaturated acylzirconocene chloride to be of type E as shown in Scheme 5.37. 

The Stille reaction featuring bromoquinoxaline 84 and vinylstannane delivered vinylquinoxaline 85. In addition, 85 was further manipulated to a 5-aminomethylquinoxaline-2,3-dione 86 as an AMPA receptor antagonist [47]. Pd-catalyzed nucleophilic substitution on the benzene ring has also been described [48]. Thus, transformation of 5,8-diiodoquinoxalines to quinoxaline-5,8-dimalononitriles with sodium malononitrile was promoted by PdCl2,(Ph3P)2. 

Like the electrohydrodimerization and electrohydrocyclizahon reactions, this process also requires the consumphon of two electrons and two protons. It has been shown to occur via a sequence consisting of electron transfer followed by a ratedetermining protonation of the resulting radical anion, addihon of a second electron to generate a carbanion, cyclization of the carbanion onto the carbonyl acceptor unit and the addition of the second proton [16]. Carbon acids like dimethyl malonate and malononitrile are often used as a proton source. The course of this and other... 

Addition of indoles 171 to a mixture of salycylic aldehyde 157 and malononitrile 27a affords 4-(3-indolyl)-substituted 2-amino-4H-chromenes 172 (07TL6785), probably the result of an addition of indole to intermediate iminochromene 159 (Scheme 63). 

Electron-poor alkenes are suitable starting points for Michael additions. For example, the arylidene malononitrile 363 adds quantitatively to solid dimedone (255) upon milling at 80 °C followed by heating of the yellow powder to 100 °C. The initial Michael adduct 364 is not isolated, as it cyclizes in the solid state to give the pyrone 365 with 100% yield [107] (Scheme 58). The potentials for waste-free solid-state chemistry are manifold indeed and deserve further exploration. 

Scheme 6.69 Products obtained from the 12-catalyzed asymmetric Michael addition of malononitrile, nitromethane, and methyl a-cyanoacetate to N-cinnamoylbenzamide derivatives (acylic imides) and 12-catalyzed derivatization of the Michael adduct.

The addition of nitromethane (56% yield/168h 87% ee) or methyl a-cyanoacetate (94% yield/52h 82% ee) as alternative CH-acidic methylene compounds required increased reaction temperatures (60 to 80 °C) to furnish the adducts 7 and 8. As exemplarily depicted in Scheme 6.69 for benzylic alcohol thiourea 12 catalyzes the transformation of the obtained malononitrile Michael products to the respective carboxyhc acid derivatives (89% yield/88h). This method of derivatization also described for methanol (87% yield/24h rt), benzyl amine (77% yield/3h rt), and N,0-dimethylhydroxyamine (75% yield/20h 60°C) as nucleophiles was reported to be feasible as a one-pot strategy without isolation of the initially formed Michael adduct [222]. 

Scheme 6.70 Mechanistic proposal for the 12-catalyzed asymmetric Michael addition of malononitrile to (J-aryl and alkyl substituted N-acyl pyrrolidinones (cyclic imide) (A) and to a,P-unsaturated N-aryl substituted 2-methoxybenzamides such as N-cinnamoyl-2-methoxybenzamide (acyclic imide) (B).

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