Alkene Nucleophiles

The Japp-Klingeraann coupling of aryidiazonium ions with enolates and other nucleophilic alkenes provides an alternative route to arylhydrazones. The reaction has most frequently been applied to P-ketoesters, in which deacylation follow S coupling and the indolization affords an indole-2-carboxylate ester. 

The pyrolysis of sodium chlorodinuoroacetate is still a widely used, classical method for generating difluorocarbene, especially with enol and allyl acetates [48, 49, 50, 51] (equation 21) A convenient alternative that avoids the hygroscopic salt uses methyl chlorodifluoroacetate with 2 equivalents of a lithium chlonde-hexa-methylphosphoric triamide complex at 75-80 °C in triglyme [52], Yields are excellent with electron-rich olefins but are less satisfactory with moderately nucleophilic alkenes (4-5% yields for 2-bulenes)... 

Examine the eleetrostatic potential map of eaeh nueleophile (enamine, silyl enol ether, lithium enolate and enol) with emphasis on the face of the nucleophilic alkene carbon. Rank the nucleophiles from most electron rich to least electron rich. What factors are responsible for this order (Hint For each molecule, consider an alternative Lewis structure to that given above that places a negative charge on the nucleophilic carbon.)... 

Carbene reactivity is strongly affected by substituents.117 Various singlet carbenes have been characterized as nucleophilic, ambiphilic, and electrophilic as shown in Table 10.2 This classification is based on relative reactivity toward a series of both nucleophilic alkenes, such as tetramethylethylene, and electrophilic ones, such as acrylonitrile. The principal structural feature that determines the reactivity of the carbene is the ability of the substituent to act as an electron donor. For example, dimethoxycarbene is devoid of electrophilicity toward alkenes because of electron donation by the methoxy groups.118... 

There are also reactions in which electrophilic radicals react with relatively nucleophilic alkenes. These reactions are exemplified by a group of procedures in which a radical intermediate is formed by oxidation of readily enolizable compounds. This reaction was initially developed for /3-ketoacids,311 and the method has been extended to jS-diketones, malonic acids, and cyanoacetic acid.312 The radicals formed by the addition step are rapidly oxidized to cations, which give rise to the final product by intramolecular capture of a carboxylate group. 

Given their extraordinary reactivity, one might assume that o-QMs offer plentiful applications as electrophiles in synthetic chemistry. However, unlike their more stable /tora-quinone methide (p-QM) cousin, the potential of o-QMs remains largely untapped. The reason resides with the propensity of these species to participate in undesired addition of the closest available nucleophile, which can be solvent or the o-QM itself. Methods for o-QM generation have therefore required a combination of low concentrations and high temperatures to mitigate and reverse undesired pathways and enable the redistribution into thermodynamically preferred and desired products. Hence, the principal uses for o-QMs have been as electrophilic heterodienes either in intramolecular cycloaddition reactions with nucleophilic alkenes under thermodynamic control or in intermolecular reactions under thermodynamic control where a large excess of a reactive nucleophile thwarts unwanted side reactions by its sheer vast presence. 

Interestingly, Hoveyda and coworkers observed a second-order dependence of the reaction rate on the concentration of zirconium in these reactions, suggesting that the zirconacyclopentane is formed from a bimetallic alkene-zirconate complex such as A in Fig. 1 [21]. This finding suggests that olefin alkylations and substitutions occur via reaction of a nucleophilic alkene unit [23]. 

The reaction of 1,2,4-triazole with alkenes has also been studied 1,2,4-triazole was reacted with a variety of electrophilic and nucleophilic alkenes, both in the presence and absence of a catalyst, and the yield of the corresponding 1-alkyl-1,2,-4-triazoles determined <2002CHE981, 2002KGS1122>. 

Like styrene, acrylonitrile is a non-nucleophilic alkene which can stabilise the electron-rich molybdenum-carbon bond and therefore the cross-/self-metathe-sis selectivity was similarly dependent on the nucleophilicity of the second alkene [metallacycle 10 versus 12, see Scheme 2 (replace Ar with CN)]. A notable difference between the styrene and acrylonitrile cross-metathesis reactions is the reversal in stereochemistry observed, with the cis isomer dominating (3 1— 9 1) in the nitrile products. In general, the greater the steric bulk of the alkyl-substituted alkene, the higher the trans cis ratio in the product (Eq. 11). 

From a practical standpoint, this reaction is subject to many of the same limitations as cyclopropanation. Decomposition of the iodinane to toluenesulfonamide is competitive necessitating a high relative concentration of alkene. The use of a large excess of alkene is unnecessary if the concentration of the medium is kept relatively high (1 M in alkene). The exception to this statement is the use of more nucleophilic alkenes such as enolsilanes. Aziridination of acetophenone enolsilane proceeds in high yield at -20°C using only 1.5 equiv of alkene. It is significant to note that the products of these reactions are a-amino ketones (74). 

The hetero-Diels-Alder reaction between a,p-unsaturatcd ketoesters and nucleophilic alkenes has been described in two concurrent and independent reports (220, 222). As with acylphosphonates, these proved to be excellent substrates for catalyst 269c. The reaction proceeds efficiently in THF at low temperatures providing the cycloadduct in >99% ee at -78°C. Indeed, the impressive selectivity exhibited under these conditions allows the reaction to be conducted at a convenient temperature of 0°C, using the hydrated catalyst 266c in the presence of molecular sieves, Eq. 181. Observed diastereoselectivities... 

Anodic addition of nucleophiles to olefins can be achieved via oxidation of the alkene to a radical cation.This means that a nucleophile can be added to a nucleophilic alkene by reversing its polarity to an electrophilic radical cation... 

Table I records the results obtained in the preparation of 30 cycloaddition products from the acridizinium cation. As was demonstrated by Fields, Regan, and Dignan, even preparative experiments done at different temperatures and in different solvents are adequate to prove the inverse electron demand character of the reaction. Nucleophilic alkenes, like ketene diethyl acetal, reacted in minutes at room temperature while the strongly electrophilic alkene, tetracyanoethylene, failed to react under any conditions.

The catalytic preparation of esters and amides under mild and waste free reaction conditions using readily available starting materials is a desirable goal. The first redox process of this type using heterocyclic carbenes was reported by Castells and co-workers in 1977 in which aldehydes were oxidized to esters in one-pot in the presence of nitrobenzene [104], Furfural 169 is converted into methyl 2-furoate 170 in 79% yield Eq. 15. Nitrobenzene is the presumed stoichiometric oxidant for the oxidation of the nucleophilic alkene XXX to the acyl azolium XXXI by successive electron transfer events. The authors observe nitrosobenzene as a stoichiometric byproduct. This type of reactivity is also observed when cyanide is used as the catalyst. Miyashita has expanded the scope of this transformation using imida-zolylidene carbenes [105-107]. 

The benzoxazoles 59 and 60 can act as azadienes in Diels-Alder reactions with nucleophilic alkenes such as vinyl ethers <98JCS(P1)3389>. ... 

Enamines represent nucleophilic alkenes which undergo cycloaddition reactions readily with electrophilic alkenes. For example, acrylonitrile (5) reacts with cyclic enamines 10 to give bicyclic aminocyclobutanenitrilcs 11, albeit in poor yields.29... 

Donor-acceptor cycloaddition between electrophilic allencs and nucleophilic alkenes, or nucleophilic allenes and electrophilic alkenes, proceeds more efficiently and with high regiose-lectivity. Thus, cycloaddition between 1-morpholinocyclohexene (20) and buta-2,3-dienenitrile occurs to give the bicyclic cyclobutane derivative 21.18 This corrected an earlier erroneous structural assignment of a [3 + 2] adduct for the same reaction.19... 

Methylene difluorocyclopropanes are relatively rare and their rearrangement chemistry has been reviewed recently [14]. In addition, electron deficient alkenes such as sesquiterpenoid methylene lactones may be competent substrates. Two crystal structures of compounds prepared in this way were reported recently [15,16]. Other relatively recent methods use dibromodifluoromethane, a relatively inexpensive and liquid precursor. Dolbier and co-workers described a simple zinc-mediated protocol [17], while Balcerzak and Jonczyk described a useful reproducible phase transfer catalysed procedure (Eq. 6) using bromo-form and dibromodifluoromethane [18]. The only problem here appears to be in separating cyclopropane products from alkene starting material (the authors recommend titration with bromine which is not particularly amenable for small scale use). Schlosser and co-workers have also described a mild ylide-based approach using dibromodifluoromethane [19] which reacts particularly well with highly nucleophilic alkenes such as enol ethers [20], and remarkably, with alkynes [21] to afford labile difluorocyclopropenes (Eq. 7). 

Di-tert-butyl methylenemalonate was originally prepared by phenyl-sulfenylation of di-tert-butyl methylmalonate and thermal elimination of the related sulfoxide.8 Because methylenemalonate esters are customarily prepared by Knoevenagel-type condensation of malonic esters with formaldehyde equivalents, the considerably more convenient procedure described herein was subsequently adapted from Bachman and Tanner s study using paraformaldehyde under metal ion catalysis.39 The approximately 6% di-tert-butyl malonate accompanying the product has presented no interference in the aforementioned reactions with nucleophilic alkenes under neutral or acidic conditions, but its presence should be taken into consideration in other applications. 

There are several examples of the addition reactions of caibonyl-substituted radicals to alkenes by the tin hydride method. The first reaction cited in Scheme 32 is a clear-cut example of reversed electronic requirement an electrophilic radical pairing with a nucleophilic alkene.60 Because enol ethers are not easily hydrostannylated, the use of a chloride precursor (which is activated by the esters) is possible. Indeed, the use of a bromomalonate results in a completely different product (Section 4.1.6.1.4). The second example is more intriguing (especially in light of die recent proposals on the existence of ambiphilic radicals) because it appears to go against conventional wisdom in the pairing of radicals and acceptors.118,119... 

As in the case of the reaction between ketenes and imines, the [2+2] cycloaddition between isocyanates and alkenes [106, 107] can take place via concerted and stepwise mechanisms. However, with the exception of highly nucleophilic alkenes (vide infra), concerted mechanisms were postulated, since isocyanates are suitable candidates to act as antarafacial partners in thermal [2+2] cycloadditions (Fig. 1). Aside from the [n2s + n2J mechanism, in principle [n2s + (A + A) [108] and [A + (A + A s)] [109] mechanisms can be envisaged (Fig. 5). 

Therefore mercury(II) acetate interacts as an electrophilic transition metal with the nucleophilic alkene to form the three-membered ring 52. This mercurinium ion is opened by relatively feeble nucleophiles like alcohols - or in this reaction water. Similar to a hydroboration the attack happened at the more substituted end of the mercurinium ion according to Markovnikov s rule. To get rid of the metal, solid potassium iodide is added. This means insoluble mercury(Il) iodide is formed, followed by loss of the methoxy group and formation of enol ether 54, which subsequently tautomerizes to the desired aldehyde 55. 

The epoxide 6 is naturally electrophilic, but where does the epoxide come from By far the most important method of epoxide synthesis is the treatment of alkenes 19 with peroxy acids RCO3H 21. Alkenes are naturally nucleophilic 2 they react with bromine to give dibromides 20 and with electrophilic peroxyacids 21 to give epoxides. Again, these reactions convert nucleophilic alkenes into electrophilic derivatives. A very popular reagent for epoxidation is mCPBA (meta-chloro-perbenzoic acid) 21 R = 3-chlorophenyl but many other compounds are used. 

Sodium in liquid ammonia does the reduction and the more substituted, and hence more nucleophilic, alkene reacts with the peroxyacid to give the target molecule.12 Peroxyphthalic acid 71 was used as the oxidant. 

The chemistry of pyrrol-1-ylbenzylidene pentacarbonyl chromium, molybdenum and tungsten complexes was investigated. Reaction with electrophilic alkenes gives l-(phenylcyclo-propyl)pyrroles Under photolytic decarbonylation conditions 2 + 2 cycloaddition products were obtained with nucleophilic alkenes, cyclic dienes and imines. <950M2522>... 

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