Michael addition enamine catalysis

The majority of the Michael-type conjugate additions are promoted by amine-based catalysts and proceed via an enamine or iminium intermediate species. Subsequently, Jprgensen et al. [43] explored the aza-Michael addition of hydra-zones to cyclic enones catalyzed by Cinchona alkaloids. Although the reaction proceeds under pyrrolidine catalysis via iminium activation of the enone, and also with NEtj via hydrazone activation, both methods do not confer enantioselectivity to the reaction. Under a Cinchona alkaloid screen, quinine 3 was identified as an effective aza-Michael catalyst to give 92% yield and 1 3.5 er (Scheme 4). 

Barbas, one of the pioneers of enamine catalysis, has incorporated iminium ion intermediates in complex heterodomino reactions. One particularly revealing example that uses the complementary activity of both iminium ion and enamine intermediates is shown in Fig. 12 [188]. Within this intricate catalytic cycle the catalyst, L-proline (58), is actively involved in accelerating two iminium ion catalysed transformations a Knoevenagel condensation and a retro-Michael/Michael addition sequence, resulting in epimerisation. 

A much more generally useful process was developed by Robinson to prepare cyclohexenones from ketones and methyl vinyl ketone or its derivatives. Again, because good compilations of the Robinson annulation exist,8 only a few examples are given here. The first step of this process, the Michael addition, is carried out by normal base catalysis, while the second step, the aldol condensation, is best accomplished by the use of a secondary amine to form the enamine of the acyclic ketone, which then cyclizes... 

L-Prolinamides (71) with a pendant alcohol act as recoverable bifunctional catalysts of direct nitro-Michael addition of ketones to -nitrostyrenes, giving syn-de s up to 94% and ees up to 80%.204 The pyrrolidine provides enamine catalysis, and the side-chain donors can hydrogen-bond the nitro oxygens. 

Chen and coworkers have reported a new domino Michael-Michael addition reaction between a,a-dicyanoalkene [26] derived from cyclohexanone and benzyli-deneacetone, resulting in a stepwise [4 + 2]-type cycloaddition to afford almost enantiopure bicyclic adduct 15. In contrast to the completely inert function of secondary ammonium salt, a primary amine, 9-amino-9-deoxyepiquinine lo [27], in combination with trifluoroacetic acid, was found to be highly efficient in the activation of the a, 3-unsaturated ketone by tandem iminium-enamine catalysis (Scheme 10.21) [28],... 

A variety of a,a-dicyanoalkenes derived from aryl ketones have also been extensively explored under the same catalytic conditions, and in general the vinylogous Michael adducts were obtained due to the steric hindrance in the following enamine catalysis by primary amine lo [28]. Nevertheless, an interesting domino Michael-Michael-retro-Michael reaction was observed for a,a-dicyanoalkenes derived from acetophenone and propiophenone, giving a facile process to chiral 2-cyclohexen-l-one derivatives. It was noteworthy that a kinetic resolution was observed in the intramolecular Michael addition step (Scheme 10.22). 

Scheme 10.21 Domino Michael-Michael addition by iminium-enamine catalysis.

The diketo-aldehyde 37 has four electrophilic carbon atoms (A-D) and three positions for enolisation (1-3). Cyclisation could occur in twelve different ways. Three can be regioselectively realised by different conditions.6 With morpholine catalysis, the aldehyde forms an enamine which does a Michael addition on the enone (B) to give 39. Enamine formation with PhNHMe also gives the aldehyde enamine, but this time it does an aldol condensation with the simple ketone (D) to give 38. 

A wide variety of carbon nucleophiles have been successfully used in the organocatalytic asymmetric inter- and intramolecular Michael addition to different a,p-unsaturated systems. Among them, the addition of aldehydes to diverse Michael acceptors such as, a,p-unsaturated ketones, alkylidene malonates, P-nitrostyrenes, and vinyl sulfones, is one of the most studied reactions. Enamine catalysis is the most frequently employed chiral activation found in the literature. 

Sequential Iminium-Enamine Catalysis. Directed Electrostatic Activation. A comparison of the standard catalytic cycles for enamine activation (Scheme 2.1) and for iminium ion activation (Scheme 2.12) show that iminium catalysis proceeds, after the addition of the nucleophile, via an ( )-enamine. In the presence of a suitable electrophile, this enamine gives rise to an iminium ion that after hydrolysis can give rise to an a,p-diftmctionalyzed carbonyl (Scheme 2.13) [85]. Scheme 2.13 also shows that when using a chiral 2-substituted pyrrohdine or an imidazolidinone as the catalyst, the sequential apphcation of the steric model for Michael addition to iminium ions (Figure 2.15) and of the steric model for electrophilic attack to enamines (Figure 2.IB) predicts the absolute stereochemistry of the major isomer obtained in the reaction. 

The first organocatalytic asymmetric Michael addition of unmodified aldehydes with nitroalkenes was reported by Barbas and co-workers [4]. In light of the concept of enamine catalysis, many chiral amines have been screened and (5)-2-(morpho-linomethyl)pyrrolidine 1 (Scheme 5.1) proved to be an effective catalyst to furnish the 7-formyl nitro products in high yields (up to 96%) with moderate enantiose-lectivity (up to 78%). Encouraged by this pioneering research on using chiral secondary... 

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