Michael addition Knoevenagel products

Various competitive reactions can reduce the yield of the desired Michael-addition product. An important side-reaction is the 1,2-addition of the enolate to the C=0 double bond (see aldol reaction, Knoevenagel reaction), especially with a ,/3-unsaturated aldehydes, the 1,2-addition product may be formed preferentially, rather than the 1,4-addition product. Generally the 1,2-addition is a kinetically favored and reversible process. At higher temperatures, the thermodynamically favored 1,4-addition products are obtained. 

A Knoevenagel condensation/Michael addition sequence has been reported by Barbas III and coworkers (Scheme 2.70) [158] using benzaldehyde, diethyl malonate, and acetone in the presence of the chiral amine (S)-l-(2-pyrrolidinyl-methyl)-pyrrolidine (2-301). As the final product the substituted malonate 2-302 was isolated in 52% yield with 49% ee. 

The mechanism of these MCRs involving Meldrum s acid should include Knoevenagel condensation and Michael addition cascade process [100, 113] (Scheme 37). To form positional isomeric reaction product, arylliden derivatives of Meldrum s acid are attacked by exocyclic NH2-group instead of endocyclic nucleophilic center. 

Table 7. Asymmetric Michael-Addition of Knoevenagel Condensation Products...

Both 1,3- and 1,4- bis[2-(2-arylethenesulfonyl)vinyl]benzenes, synthesized by a Knoevenagel reaction between the appropriate benzenedicarbaldehyde and 2-arylethenesulfonylacetic acid, behave as Michael acceptors and undergo double Michael addition reactions with activated methylene compounds. The products are phenylene-bis(tetrahy-drothiopyran 1,1-dioxides) 460 (Scheme 158) <2005JHC255>. 

The three-component reaction of indole (2) with sugar hydroxyaldehyde 281 and Meldrum s acid 282, with a catalytic amount of D,L-proline, afforded the 3-substitution product 283 as a single isomer [203]. The substituent possesses the czs-fused furo [ 3,2- b ] pyranonc skeleton. The proline catalyzes the Knoevenagel condensation of the sugar aldehyde 281 and Meldrum s acid 282 to provide the alkylidene derivative 284 of Meldrum s acid. Then a diastereo-selective Michael addition of indole and an intramolecular cyclization of this adduct 285 with evolution of carbon dioxide and elimination of acetone furnish the furopyranone in one-pot (Scheme 62). 

The Knoevenagel condensation is a base-catalyzed aldol-type reaction, and the exact mechanism depends on the substrates and the type of catalyst used. The first proposal for the mechanism was set forth by A.C.O. Hann and A. Lapworth Hann-Lapworth mechanism) In 1904." When tertiary amines are used as catalysts, the formation of a p-hydroxydlcarbonyl Intermediate is expected, which undergoes dehydration to afford the product. On the other hand, when secondary or primary amines are used as catalyst, the aldehyde and the amine condense to form an Imlnlum salt that then reacts with the enolate. Finally, a 1,2-ellmlnatlon gives rise to the desired a,p-unsaturated dicarbonyl or related compounds. The final product may undergo a Michael addition with the excess enolate to give a bis adduct. 

The first step of this process involves the Knoevenagel condensation of an aldehyde with malononitrile to form the corresponding Knoevenagel product (5). The second molecule of malononitrile then undergoes Michael addition to 5 followed by simultaneous thiolate addition to C N of the adduct and cyclization to dihydropyridine (6) which on aromatization and oxidation (air) under the reaction conditions leads to pyridine. 

The Knoevenagel condensation is the method of choice for the preparation of a,p-unsaturated dicarbonyl compounds and related compounds and only a few alternative methods have been developed. However, with the traditional Knoevenagel condensation there are problems with the reactivity of ketones, with the competitive Michael addition occuring in the reaction of some active methylene compounds. There is also a problem with steieocontrol in the synthesis of Knoevenagel products from unsymmetrical 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds. An alternative method is the addition of Grignard reagents to vinylogous carbamates (see Section 11.2.6). Another possibility is the reaction of a metal ketimate with malonodini-trile to yield ylidenemalonodinitriles (see Section 11.3.1.7). ... 

Lasperas et al. [73,74,78] have studied the Knoevenagel condensation between benzaldehyde (1) and ethyl cyanoacetate (2) in the presence of over-exchanged CsY zeolites. The reaction was performed under a nitrogen atmosphere in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), the best solvent for eliminating interference from the non-catalyzed reaction. The use of equimolar amounts of each reactant suppressed successive Michael addition between ethyl cyanoacetate and ethyl cyanocinna-mate (3) to give compound 4 (Scheme 5) this resulted in high selectivity for the Knoevenagel product (3) (95 % at 90 % conversion). 

Despite all these advantages, however, exchanged zeolites have rarely been used as basic catalysts in the production of fine chemicals. This is probably because of their weak basic character and because bulky reactants are involved in many chemical processes. Their basicity is, nevertheless, sometimes sufficient to catalyze Knoevenagel condensations and Michael additions. 

The stoichiometric reaction of aromatic aldehydes with Meldrum s acid at 50°C gave an intermediate melt from which products 139 crystallized quantitatively at the reaction temperature (Scheme 2.47). These Knoevenagel condensations were termed melt reactions with direct crystallization. Similar condensation with dimedone 140 afforded a cascade reaction starting with Knoevenagel condensation, which was followed by elimination and subsequent Michael addition (Scheme 2.48). Unlike the solution synthesis, yields are superior and no wastes was produced. 

The ability of L-Pro to promote the Knoevenagel reaction has been harnessed in domino reaction sequences for the preparation of important target products. Several bicyclic and polycyclic systems have been obtained by these means. As an example, coumarines were prepared by the one-pot condensation reaction of o-hydroxybenzaldehydes with active methylene compounds (Scheme 2.8). In a related procedure, flavanones were synthesised from aromatic (3-ketoesters and aldehydes (Scheme 2.8). The domino sequence comprises in this case, a proline-catalysed Knoevenagel condensation and an intramolecular Michael addition. 

Michael Addition. The Michael reaction is a typical base-catalyzed reaction used in organic chemistry to form a C—C bond. It is usually a consecutive side reaction accompanying the base-catalyzed synthesis of a, -unsaturated ketones, aldehydes, nitriles, or carbo lic acid derivatives. The reaction between an Q ,)S-unsaturated compoimd and an activated methylene compoimd is known as the Michael addition Scheme 9. The reaction is the nucleophilic addition of a car-banion intermediate to the ft carbon of the C—C double bond in the conjugated system (49) without releasing a water molecule. The carbanion is provided by the activated methylene compoimd, and contrarily to the Knoevenagel condensation the product retains the substituents of both reactant molecules. 

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