Nitroalkenes aromatic

A review appeared on the determination of nitroalkanes, polynitroalkanes, nitroalkenes, aromatic nitro and polynitro compounds, heterocyclic nitro derivatives and inactive compounds after nitration, by polarography, voltammetry and HPLC with electrochemical detection441. 

Formic acid is a good reducing agent in the presence of Pd on carbon as a catalyst. Aromatic nitro compounds are reduced to aniline with formic acid[100]. Selective reduction of one nitro group in 2,4-dinitrotoluene (112) with triethylammonium formate is possible[101]. o-Nitroacetophenone (113) is first reduced to o-aminoacetophenone, then to o-ethylaniline when an excess of formate is used[102]. Ammonium and potassium formate are also used for the reduction of aliphatic and aromatic nitro compounds. Pd on carbon is a good catalyst[103,104]. NaBH4 is also used for the Pd-catalyzed reduction of nitro compounds 105]. However, the ,/)-unsaturated nitroalkene 114 is partially reduced to the oxime 115 with ammonium formate[106]... 

The mechanism is presumed to involve a pathway related to those proposed for other base-catalyzed reactions of isocyanoacetates with Michael acceptors. Thus base-induced formation of enolate 9 is followed by Michael addition to the nitroalkene and cyclization of nitronate 10 to furnish 11 after protonation. Loss of nitrous acid and aromatization affords pyrrole ester 12. 

The direct conversion of nitroalkenes into ketones is especially useful for the preparation of arylacetones. They are readily prepared by the condensation of aromatic aldehydes with nitroethane and by the subsequent Nef reaction. "Typical examples are presented in Eq. 6.22 and Eq. 6.23 the product of Eq. 6.23 is used for total synthesis of perylenequinone, calphosdn D, which is a potent inhibitor of protein kmase C. "... 

A great acceleration was also observed in the cycloadditions of alkylidene derivatives of 5-iminopyrazoles with nitroalkenes, as electron-poor dienophiles, under MW-irradiation in solvent-free conditions [40c]. Some results are illustrated in Scheme 4.10. All the reactions took place with loss of HNO2 and/or NHMei after the cycloaddition, inducing aromatization of the final product. 

The 3-nitro alcohols are generally obtained in good yield by the reaction of aldehydes with nitroalkanes in the presence of a catalytic amount of base. When aryl aldehydes are used, the (3-nitro alcohols formed may undergo elimination of water to give aryl nitroalkenes. Such side reactions are not always disadvantageous, for nitroalkenes are sometimes the ultimate target for the Henry reaction. The choice of reaction conditions is important to stop the reaction at the stage of 3-nitro alcohols in aromatic cases. 

In general, base-catalyzed reactions of aromatic aldehydes with nitroalkanes give nitroalkenes directly (Knoevenagel reaction).54 The reaction is very simple heating a mixture of aromatic aldehydes, nitroalkanes, and amines in benzene or toluene for several hours using a Dean-Stark water separator gives the desired nitroalkenes in good yield, as shown in Eqs. 3.31-3.34.54-58... 

Nitroalkenes prepared from aromatic aldehydes are especially useful for natural product synthesis. For example, the products are directly converted into ketones via the Nef reaction (Section 6.1) or indoles (Section 10.2) via the reduction to phenylethylamines (Section 6.3.2). The application of these transformations are discussed later here, some examples are presented to emphasize their utility. Schemes 3.3 and 3.4 present a synthesis of 5,6-dihydroxyindole66 and asperidophytine indole alkaloid,67 respectively. 

Seebach and Brenner have found that titanium enolates of acyl-oxazolidinones are added to aliphatic and aromatic nitroalkenes in high diastereoselectivity and in good yield. The effect of bases on diastereoselectivity is shown in Eq. 4.59. Hydrogenation of the nitro products yields y-lactams, which can be transformed into y-amino acids. The configuration of the products is assigned by comparison with literature data or X-ray crystal-structure analysis. 

Aromatization is often observed during the Diels-Alder reaction using nitroalkenes. Jung24 and Ono25 have reported that 2-phenylsulfinyl-l-nitroalkenes act as nitroacetylene equivalents in Diels-Alder reactions to give aromatic compounds, as shown in Eqs. 8.14 and 8.15, respectively. 

Another example of the preparing of aromatic compounds via the Diels-Alder reaction of nitroalkenes is presented in Eq. 8.16.26 Cycloaddition of methyl propiolate affords a high yield of the isomeric product. 

Node and coworkers have used this aromatization strategy for the synthesis of (-) aphanor-phine.27 The Diels-Alder reaction of chiral nitroalkene, prepared by the asymmetric nitroolefi-nation reaction of a-methyl-8-valerolactone, with the Danishefsky s diene followed by aromatization is used as a key step for this total synthesis, as shown in Scheme 8.6. 

Dipolar addition to nitroalkenes provides a useful strategy for synthesis of various heterocycles. The [3+2] reaction of azomethine ylides and alkenes is one of the most useful methods for the preparation of pyrolines. Stereocontrolled synthesis of highly substituted proline esters via [3+2] cycloaddition between IV-methylated azomethine ylides and nitroalkenes has been reported.147 The stereochemistry of 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides derived from aromatic aldehydes and L-proline alkyl esters with various nitroalkenes has been reported. Cyclic and acyclic nitroalkenes add to the anti form of the ylide in a highly regioselective manner to give pyrrolizidine derivatives.148... 

In recent years, the importance of aliphatic nitro compounds has greatly increased, due to the discovery of new selective transformations. These topics are discussed in the following chapters Stereoselective Henry reaction (chapter 3.3), Asymmetric Micheal additions (chapter 4.4), use of nitroalkenes as heterodienes in tandem [4+2]/[3+2] cycloadditions (chapter 8) and radical denitration (chapter 7.2). These reactions discovered in recent years constitute important tools in organic synthesis. They are discussed in more detail than the conventional reactions such as the Nef reaction, reduction to amines, synthesis of nitro sugars, alkylation and acylation (chapter 5). Concerning aromatic nitro chemistry, the preparation of substituted aromatic compounds via the SNAr reaction and nucleophilic aromatic substitution of hydrogen (VNS) are discussed (chapter 9). Preparation of heterocycles such as indoles, are covered (chapter 10). 

The preparation of imines, enamines, nitroalkenes and N-sulfonylimines proceeds via the azeotropic removal of water from the intermediate in reactions that are normally catalyzed by p-toluenesulfonic acid, titanium(IV) chloride, or montmorillonite K 10 clay. A Dean-Stark apparatus is traditionally used which requires a large excess of aromatic hydrocarbons such as benzene or toluene for azeotropic water elimination. 

Individual aspects of nitrile oxide cycloaddition reactions were the subjects of some reviews (161 — 164). These aspects are as follows preparation of 5-hetero-substituted 4-methylene-4,5-dihydroisoxazoles by nitrile oxide cycloadditions to properly chosen dipolarophiles and reactivity of these isoxazolines (161), 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of isothiazol-3(2//)-one 1,1-dioxides, 3-alkoxy- and 3-(dialkylamino)isothiazole 1,1-dioxides with nitrile oxides (162), preparation of 4,5-dihydroisoxazoles via cycloaddition reactions of nitrile oxides with alkenes and subsequent conversion to a, 3-unsaturated ketones (163), and [2 + 3] cycloaddition reactions of nitroalkenes with aromatic nitrile oxides (164). 

Akiyama and coworkers extended the scope of electrophiles applicable to asymmetric Brpnsted acid catalysis with chiral phosphoric acids to nitroalkenes (Scheme 57). The Friedel-Crafts alkylation of indoles 29 with aromatic and aliphatic nitroalkenes 142 in the presence of BINOL phosphate (7 )-3r (10 mol%, R = SiPhj) and 3-A molecular sieves provided Friedel-Crafts adducts 143 in high yields and enantioselectivities (57 to >99%, 88-94% ee) [81]. The use of molecular sieves turned out to be critical and significantly improved both the yields and enantioselectivities. 

Scheme 6.5 Nitroalkene activation via double hydrogenbonding enhances electrophilicity at (J-position and facilitated Michael-type attack of the (hetero)aromatic nucleophile resulting in Friedel-Crafts adducts.

Scheme 6.94 Typical products obtained from the 86-catalyzed Michael addition of aryl methyl-ketone-derived morpholine enamines to various aromatic nitroalkenes and subsequent acidic hydrolysis.

Scheme 6.103 Representative products provided from the 100-catalyzed asymmetric Michael addition of a,a-disubstituted aldehydes to aliphatic and aromatic nitroalkenes.

Scheme 6.104 Key intermediates of the proposed catalytic cycle for the 100-catalyzed Michael addition of a,a-disubstituted aldehydes to aliphatic and aromatic nitroalkenes Formation of imine (A) and F-enamine (B), double hydrogen-bonding activation of the nitroalkene and nucleophilic enamine attack (C), zwitterionic structure (D), product-forming proton transfer, and hydrolysis.

In the presence of thiourea catalyst 122, the authors converted various (hetero) aromatic and aliphatic trons-P-nitroalkenes with dimethyl malonate to the desired (S)-configured Michael adducts 1-8. The reaction occurred at low 122-loading (2-5 mol%) in toluene at -20 to 20 °C and furnished very good yields (88-95%) and ee values (75-99%) for the respective products (Scheme 6.120). The dependency of the catalytic efficiency and selectivity on both the presence of the (thio) urea functionality and the relative stereochemistry at the key stereogenic centers C8/C9 suggested bifunctional catalysis, that is, a quinuclidine-moiety-assisted generation of the deprotonated malonate nucleophile and its asymmetric addition to the (thio)urea-bound nitroalkene Michael acceptor [279]. 

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