Umpolung nucleophile

C2 is electrophilic, and C4 is. .. electrophilic To make a bond between them, C2 must be turned into a nucleophile (umpolung). This must be the purpose of the -CN. Aldehydes are not acidic at the carbonyl C, so the CN cannot simply deprotonate C2. Instead, it must add to C2. Now C2 is a to a nitrile, it is much more acidic, and it can be deprotonated by excess CN to give an enolate, which can add to C4. Finally, deprotonation of 01 and elimination of CN gives the observed product. 

Table 8.19. Ketene Dithioacetal 385 as a Nucleophilic Umpolung Reagent...

TABLE 8.1 Electrophilic and Nucleophilic Umpolung Reagents and Their Equivalents... 

After the umpolung of an aldehyde group by conversion to a l,3 dithian-2-ide anion (p. 17) it can be combined with a carbonyl group (D. Seebach, 1969, 1979 B.-T. GrO-bel, 1977 B). Analogous reagents are tosylmethyl isocyanide (TosMIC), which can be applied in the nucleophilic formylation of ketones (O.H. Oldenziel, 1974), and dichloromethyl lithium (G. KObrich, 1969 P. Blumbergs, 1972 H. Taguchi, 1973),... 

Allylic metal compounds useful for further transformations can be prepared by Pd-catalyzed reactions of allylic compounds with bimetallic reagents. By this transformation, umpolung of nucleophilic 7r-allylpalladium complexes to electrophilic allylmetal species can be accomplished. Transfer of an allyl moiety from Pd to Sn is a typical umpolung. 

In the oxidative Eschenmoser sulfide contraction (Scheme 11), thioamide 59 is oxidized by benzoyl peroxide to give either a symmetrical disulfide or the O-benzoate of the thiolactam-S-oxide. In any event, the once-nucleophilic thioamide sulfur atom is now forced to adopt the role of electrophile a reactivity umpolung has, in effect, been achieved.13 The nucleophilic enamide 65 attacks the sulfur atom leading to the formation of sulfur-bridged intermediate 66. The action of a phosphine or a phosphite thiophile on the putative episulfide then gives vinylogous amidine 67. 

Sulfur compounds are useful as nucleophilic acyl equivalents. The most common reagents of this type are 1,3-dithianes, which on lithiation provide a nucleophilic acyl equivalent. In dithianes an umpolung is achieved on the basis of the carbanion-stabilizing ability of the sulfur substituents. The lithio derivative is a reactive nucleophile toward alkyl halides and carbonyl compounds. 11... 

Recently, a further unique domino methodology has been reported by Lu and coworkers (Scheme 2.74) [173]. Herein, a triphenyl phosphine-catalyzed umpolung addition/cyclization of allenes and alkynes containing an electron-withdrawing group 2-316-2-318 followed by reaction with a double nucleophile 2-319 is assumed to account for the production of a broad palette of various heterocycles 2-321 and 2-323 via 2-320 and 2-322, respectively. Dihydrofurans, piperazines, morpholines and diazepanes were obtained during the process. 

An interesting umpolung effect has been found in the alkylation of pyrroles with carbon nucleophiles via the endoperoxide (6.6)612). 

The attack of the nucleophile on the acceptor-substituted allene usually happens at the central sp-hybridized carbon atom. This holds true also if no nucleophilic addition but a nucleophilic substitution in terms of an SN2 reaction such as 181 — 182 occurs (Scheme 7.30) [245]. The addition of ethanol to the allene 183 is an exception [157]. In this case, the allene not only bears an acceptor but shows also the substructure of a vinyl ether. A change in the regioselectivity of the addition of nucleophilic compounds NuH to allenic esters can be effected by temporary introduction of a triphenylphosphonium group [246]. For instance, the ester 185 yields the phos-phonium salt 186, which may be converted further to the ether 187. Evidently, the triphenylphosphonium group induces an electrophilic character at the terminal carbon atom of 186 and this is used to produce 187, which is formally an abnormal product of the addition of methanol to the allene 185. This method of umpolung is also applicable to nucleophilic addition reactions to allenyl ketones in a modified procedure [246, 247]. 

Dithiane as a nucleophile, serving as a masked carbonyl equivalent. This is an example of umpolung. 

The benzoin reaction dates back to 1832 when Wohler and Liebig reported that cyanide catalyzes the formation of benzoin 6 from benzaldehyde 5, a seminal example in which the normal mode of polarity of a functional group was reversed (Eq. 1) [26], This reversal of polarity, subsequently termed Umpolung [27], effectively changes an electrophilic aldehyde into a nucleophilic acyl anion equivalent. 

Stetter expanded Umpolung reactivity to include the addition of acyl anion equivalents to a,P-unsaturated acceptors to afford 1,4-dicarbonyls Eq. 5a [57-60]. Utilizing cyanide or thiazolylidene carbenes as catalysts, Stetter showed that a variety of aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes act as competent nucleophilic coupling partners with a wide range of a,p-unsaturated ketones, esters, and nitriles [61]. The ability to bring two different electrophilic partners... 

Amines are generally prepared by nucleophilic amination, which is a coupling of carbon electrophiles with a nucleophilic amination reagent, NR2, and Ni and Pd catalyzed reaction of aryl halides with arylamines (Hartwig-Buchwald amination) . Thus, the direct C—N bond formation between carbon nucleophiles and electrophilic nitrogen functionality R2N+ constitutes an example of the umpolung methodology. 

Umpolung The reversal of polarity of the carbonyl carbon atom is termed umpolung (German for polarity reversal). Normally the carbonyl carbon atom of an aldehyde (or a ketone) is partially positive i.e., electrophilic and therefore it reacts with nucleophiles. When the aldehyde is converted to a dithiane by reaction with 1,3-propanedithiol and reacted with butyl lithium the same carbon now becomes negatively charged to react with electrophiles. This reversed polarity of the carbonyl carbon is termed umpolung which increases the versatility of the carbonyl group in synthesis. The sulphur atoms stabilize... 

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