Michael addition of ketone enolates

Michael additions of ketone enolates. The stereochemistry of Michael additions of lithium enolates of ketones to a,(3-enones is controlled by the geometry of the enolate. Addition of (Z)-enolates results in anti-products with high diaster-eoselectivity, which is not changed by addition of HMPT. Reaction of (E)-enolates is less stereoselective but tends to favor syn-selectivity, which can be enhanced by addition of HMPT. 

TABLE 8. Conditions for the Michael addition of ketone enolates to a, 6-unsaturated esters, according to equation 37... 

Highly substituted 6-keto-esters [e.g. (215)] having vicinal quaternary centres can be prepared by Michael additions of ketone enolates to highly active acceptors containing two electron withdrawing groups.200 Substituted 6-keto-esters (218) have been obtained with good to excellent enantiomeric enrichments by Michael... 

The application of auxiliary control in the asymmetric Michael addition of chiral enolates derived from ketones is rare the only example known is the use of (27 ,37 )-2,3-butancdiol as an auxiliary. The ketal of (27 ,37 )-2,3-butanediol with 3-methyl-l,2-cyclohexanedione reacts with 3-buten-2-one using as base a catalytic amount of sodium ethoxide in ethanol195. 

CsF in the presence ol tetraalkoxysilanes also effects Michael addition of ketones lo a,/ -unsaturaied ketones, esters, and nitriles. Presumably the enolate is generated and is converted by Si(OR)a into the silyl enol ether, which reacts in situ.2 Examples ... 

The stability of an a-silyl carbanion is responsible for the unproved synthetic utility of the Stork annulation over other annulations195,196. These reactions involve the Michael addition of an enolate ion to an enone, and in the absence of a a-silyl substituent suffer drawbacks due to the reversibility of the Michael reaction. However, the addition of enolate ions to a-trimethylsilylvinyl ketones is not reversible, owing to a-silicon stabilization of the canonical form 152 shown in equation 122. 

A new method of kinetically controlled generation of the more substituted enolate from an unsymmetrical ketone involves precomplexation of the ketone with aluminium tris(2,6-diphenylphenoxide) (ATPH) at —78°C in toluene, followed by deprotonation with diisopropylamide (LDA) highly regioselective alkylations can then be performed.22 ATPH has also been used, through complexation, as a carbonyl protector of y./)-unsaturated carbonyl substrates during regioselective Michael addition of lithium enolates (including dianions of /i-di carbonyl compounds).23... 

If a Michael addition of an enolate forms a ketone enolate as the primary reaction product, this enolate will be almost completely protonated to give the respective ketone. The reaction medium is of course still basic, since it still contains OH or RO ions. The Michael adduct, a ketone, is therefore reversibly deprotonated to a small extent. 

The essential requirement for a Robinson annelation is a Michael addition of an enolate to an enone that has a second enolizable group on the other side of the ketone. The classic enone is butenone (methyl vinyl ketone) and the classic Robinson annelation is the synthesis of rings A and B of the steroid nucleus. 

Michael addition of metal enolates to a,/3-unsaturated carbonyls has been intensively studied in recent years and provides an established method in organic synthesis for the preparation of a wide range of 1,5-dicarbonyl compounds (128) under neutral and mild conditions . Metal enolates derived from ketones or esters typically act as Michael donors, and a,-unsaturated carbonyls including enoates, enones and unsaturated amides are used as Michael acceptors. However, reaction between a ketone enolate (125) and an a,/3-unsaturated ester (126) to form an ester enolate (127, equation 37) is not the thermodynamically preferred one, because ester enolates are generally more labile than ketone enolates. Thus, this transformation does not proceed well under thermal or catalytic conditions more than equimolar amounts of additives (mainly Lewis acids, such as TiCU) are generally required to enable satisfactory conversion, as shown in Table 8. Various groups have developed synthons as unsaturated ester equivalents (ortho esters , thioesters ) and /3-lithiated enamines as ketone enolate equivalents to afford a conjugate addition with acceptable yields. 

The blend SnC -ZnCli is an effective catalyst in the aldol reaction of silyl enol ethers with aldehydes (Eq. 87), acetals (Eq. 88), or ketones [122]. Product antilsyn ratios vary (32 69 to 89 11). The blend also catalyzes the Michael addition of silyl enol ethers with a,/3-unsaturated ketones (Eq. 89), yielding alkylation products (84-100 %) with anti selectivity antilsyn = 55 45 to 87 23). 

The Robinson annulation has three distinct steps the Michael addition of the enol or enolate across the double bond of the a,(3-unsaturated ketone to produce a 1,5-diketone (Michael adduct), followed by an intramolecular aldol reaction, which affords a cyclic (3-hydroxy ketone (keto alcohol), and finally a base-catalyzed dehydration which gives rise to the substituted cyclohexenone. An alternative mechanism via disrotatory electrocyclic ring closure is possible. ... 

An alternative tandem Michael addition/aldol condensation for the synthesis of 3,5-diaryl-substituted phenols 121 employs, instead of 1-(2-oxopropyl)pyridinium chloride (112), l-(benzotriazol-l-yl)propan-2-one (119) in the presence of excess of NaOH in refluxing ethanol (equation 106) ". Under these conditions, several types of 3,5-diaryl-substituted phenols 121 have been obtained in 52-94% yield. The reaction proceeds by Michael addition of the enolate of 119 to the a,/3-unsaturated ketone 118 to afford intermediate 120, which then undergoes an intramolecular aldol condensation with elimination of benzotriazole. 

The Mukaiyama-Michael addition of silyl enolates to a, -unsaturated thioesters is promoted by an SbCl5-Sn(OTf)2 binary catalyst to afford d-keto thioesters with high anti selectivity (Scheme 14.23) [60]. The successive treatment of lactones with a ketene silyl acetal and silyl nucleophiles in the presence of an SbCl5-Me3SiCl-Snl2 ternary catalyst yields a-mono- and a/ -disubstituted cyclic ethers (Scheme 14.24) [61]. SbFs promotes the condensation of a,y5-unsaturated aldehydes and ketones with a-diazo-carbonyl compounds to give cyclopropane derivatives in high isomeric purity [62]. 

As will be shown, the stereochemistry of Mukaiyama-Michael additions is in many instances insensitive to the stereochemistry of the silyl enol ether used. This method is potentially advantageous relative to the direct conjugate addition of ketone enolates when it is impossible to obtain the enolate or silyl enol ethers in a stereoisomerically pure form. 

NaBHj/NiC or Raney nickel, the menthyloxy group is removed with NaBH /KOH to give 3,4-disubstituted butyrolactones with a high diastereo- and enantioselectivity (Figure 7.69). Corey and Houpis [1458] have described asymmetric Michael reactions of ketone enolates with a 2-thiophenyl crotonate of 8-phenmenthol. Chirality has also been introduced on the amino group of 2-ami-nomethyiacrylates to perform the asymmetric addition of the anion of the tert-Bu ester of cyclopentanecarboxylate [1459], More important developments have been reported with chiral a,p-unsaturated sulfoxides and nitro compounds as Michael acceptors (see below). 

Scheme 5.29. Proposed chelated transition structures (and topicities) for Michael additions of lithium enolates of ketones, esters, and amides to enones [157,158]. Only one enantiomeric transition structure and product is shown for each topicity (Si face of the acceptor).

Michael additions. Despite tremendous efforts spent in achieving catalytic asymmetric Michael additions, effective additives of wide applicability are still quite rare. Interestingly, a polyamine ligand 29 promotes the addition of ketone enolates. With JV-methoxy-N-methyl amides of a,p-unsaturated acids as acceptors, the addition of lithium fS)-(a-methylbenzyl)benzylamide proceeds in a highly diastereo- and enantioselective manner, ascribable to a six-centered transition state in which the conjugated amide adopts an s-cis conformation, ... 

The mechanisms of the primary amine-thiourea-catalyzed Michael additions of ketones to nitroolefins [184] and of Mannich additions of ketones to A -benzoyl hydrazones [185] have been theoretically studied by Tsogoeva and co-workers. While in the first case the calculations support a transition state according to the conceptual framework of Figure 2.42, involving an enamine intermediate (Figure 2.44A), in the second one the calculations provide evidence in favor of a nonconventional enol mechanism (Figure 2.44B) [186]. 

The Robinson annulation combines two of the reactions above to create a cyclic product. It begins with the Michael addition of an enolate nucleophile (often a cyclic ketone) onto methyl vinyl ketone (MVK), or a derivative of MVK. The resulting 1,5-dicarbonyl product can undergo an intramolecular aldol reaction with dehydration to give a cyclohexenone structure. If this pattern is present in a target molecule, it is an indication that the TM could be the result of a Robinson annulation. 

We have two options from which to choose Michael addition of the enolate of acetone to 2-phenylpropenal (above, left), and Michael addition of the enolate of 2-phenylacetaldehyde to 3-buten-2-one (above, right). Which is better Michael additions are normally carried out under basic conditions, and we know (Section 18-5) that aldehydes undergo aldol condensation with base much more readily than do sin5)le ketones. Thus, the second option above risks interference from the aldol reaction between two molecules of 2-phenylacetaldehyde. The first option is better because the enolate of acetone will undergo Michael addition to the aldehyde much more easily than aldol condensation with itself. Thus, we have all the pieces we need to put the synthesis together in the forward direction—it is a Robinson annulation ... 

The highly electrophilic cationic bis(8-quinolinolato)aluminum complex 407 enabled Yamamoto and coworkers to perform Mukaiyama-Michael additions of silyl enol ethers to crotonylphosphonates 406. The procedure was not only applicable to enol silanes derived from aryl methyl and alkyl methyl ketones (a-unsubstituted silicon enolates) but also to several cycfic a-disubstituted silyl enol ethers, as illustrated for the derivatives of a-methyl tetralone and indanone 405 in Scheme 5.105. Despite the steric demand of that substitution pattern, the reaction occurred in relatively high chemical yield with varying diastereoselectivity and excellent enantiomeric excess of the major diastereomer. The phosphonate residue was replaced in the course of the workup procedure to give the methyl esters 408. The protocol was extended inter alia to the silyl enol ether of 2,6,6-tetramethylcyclohexanone. The relative and absolute configuration of the products 408 was not elucidated [200]. 

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