Stereochemistry nucleophilic addition

A very important relationship between stereochemistry and reactivity arises in the case of reaction at an 5 carbon adjacent to a chiral center. Using nucleophilic addition to the carbonyl group as an example, it can be seen that two diastereomeric products are possible. The stereoselectivity and predictability of such reactions are important in controlling stereochemistry in synthesis. 

Stereoselective epoxidation can be realized through either substrate-controlled (e.g. 35 —> 36) or reagent-controlled approaches. A classic example is the epoxidation of 4-t-butylcyclohexanone. When sulfonium ylide 2 was utilized, the more reactive ylide irreversibly attacked the carbonyl from the axial direction to offer predominantly epoxide 37. When the less reactive sulfoxonium ylide 1 was used, the nucleophilic addition to the carbonyl was reversible, giving rise to the thermodynamically more stable, equatorially coupled betaine, which subsequently eliminated to deliver epoxide 38. Thus, stereoselective epoxidation was achieved from different mechanistic pathways taken by different sulfur ylides. In another case, reaction of aldehyde 38 with sulfonium ylide 2 only gave moderate stereoselectivity (41 40 = 1.5/1), whereas employment of sulfoxonium ylide 1 led to a ratio of 41 40 = 13/1. The best stereoselectivity was accomplished using aminosulfoxonium ylide 25, leading to a ratio of 41 40 = 30/1. For ketone 42, a complete reversal of stereochemistry was observed when it was treated with sulfoxonium ylide 1 and sulfonium ylide 2, respectively. ... 

I-Oialkoxy carbonyl compounds are a special class of chiral alkoxy carbonyl compounds because they combine the structural features, and, therefore, also the stereochemical behavior, of 7-alkoxy and /i-alkoxy carbonyl compounds. Prediction of the stereochemical outcome of nucleophilic additions to these substrates is very difficult and often impossible. As exemplified with isopropylidene glyceraldehyde (Table 15), one of the most widely investigated a,/J-di-alkoxy carbonyl compoundsI0S, the predominant formation of the syn-diastereomer 2 may be attributed to the formation of the a-chelate 1 A. The opposite stereochemistry can be rationalized by assuming the Felkin-Anh-type transition state IB. Formation of the /(-chelate 1C, which stabilizes the Felkin-Anh transition state, also leads to the predominant formation of the atm -diastereomeric reaction product. 

If the carbanion has even a short lifetime, 6 and 7 will assume the most favorable conformation before the attack of W. This is of course the same for both, and when W attacks, the same product will result from each. This will be one of two possible diastereomers, so the reaction will be stereoselective but since the cis and trans isomers do not give rise to different isomers, it will not be stereospecific. Unfortunately, this prediction has not been tested on open-chain alkenes. Except for Michael-type substrates, the stereochemistry of nucleophilic addition to double bonds has been studied only in cyclic systems, where only the cis isomer exists. In these cases, the reaction has been shown to be stereoselective with syn addition reported in some cases and anti addition in others." When the reaction is performed on a Michael-type substrate, C=C—Z, the hydrogen does not arrive at the carbon directly but only through a tautomeric equilibrium. The product naturally assumes the most thermodynamically stable configuration, without relation to the direction of original attack of Y. In one such case (the addition of EtOD and of Me3CSD to tra -MeCH=CHCOOEt) predominant anti addition was found there is evidence that the stereoselectivity here results from the final protonation of the enolate, and not from the initial attack. For obvious reasons, additions to triple bonds cannot be stereospecific. As with electrophilic additions, nucleophilic additions to triple bonds are usually stereoselective and anti, though syn addition and nonstereoselective addition have also been reported. 

If the substituents are nonpolar, such as an alkyl or aryl group, the control is exerted mainly by steric effects. In particular, for a-substituted aldehydes, the Felkin TS model can be taken as the starting point for analysis, in combination with the cyclic TS. (See Section 2.4.1.3, Part A to review the Felkin model.) The analysis and prediction of the direction of the preferred reaction depends on the same principles as for simple diastereoselectivity and are done by consideration of the attractive and repulsive interactions in the presumed TS. In the Felkin model for nucleophilic addition to carbonyl centers the larger a-substituent is aligned anti to the approaching enolate and yields the 3,4-syn product. If reaction occurs by an alternative approach, the stereochemistry is reversed, and this is called an anti-Felkin approach. 

Mechanistically, the nucleophilic addition can occur either by internal ligand transfer or by external attack. Generally, softer more stable nucleophiles (e.g., malonate enolates) are believed to react by the external mechanism and give anti addition, whereas harder nucleophiles (e.g., hydroxide) are delivered by internal ligand transfer with syn stereochemistry.120... 

In an investigation of the stereoselectivity of nucleophilic addition to larger ring systems, ethyl-, vinyl-, and ethynyl-lithium and -Grignard reagents have been added to 2-(3 -phenylpropyl)cycloheptanone (69). In all cases, the predominant product is the cw-alcohol, and calculations have been used to identify the steric and torsional effects in the transition state that favour this stereochemistry. 

Rappoport and co-workers work has continued in a study of the substitution of ( )-and (Z)-/3-bromo- or chloro-styrenes, (1) and (2), by MeS in DMSO-d 6 (sometimes in admixture with CD3OD) as solvent. Product studies indicated retention stereochemistry rate measurements found only a small Br/Cl element effect, slower reactions of the p-OMe bromo compounds, and retardation by CD3OD. These results are consistent with Tiecco s suggestion in 1983 that even this system, activated by only a single phenyl group, reacts through the nucleophilic addition-elimination multistep route. 

The enantioselective lithiation of anisolechromium tricarbonyl was used by Schmalz and Schellhaas in a route towards the natural product (+)-ptilocaulin . In situ hthi-ation and silylation of 410 with ent-h M gave ewf-411 in an optimized 91% ee (reaction carried ont at — 100°C over 10 min, see Scheme 169). A second, substrate-directed lithiation with BuLi alone, formation of the copper derivative and a quench with crotyl bromide gave 420. The planar chirality and reactivity of the chromium complex was then exploited in a nucleophilic addition of dithiane, which generated ptilocaulin precnrsor 421 (Scheme 172). The stereochemistry of componnd 421 has also been used to direct dearomatizing additions, yielding other classes of enones. ... 

Electron transfer-induced nucleophilic addition to several otho cyclopropane compounds was also studied. The nucleophilic addition of methanol to quadricy-clane radical cation 8 produces the two methanol adducts 53 and 54. The stereochemistry of the methoxy groups in these structures identifies the preferred direction of nucleophilic attack upon the intermediate radical cations 8. Detailed NOE experiments delineate the structure of 53 and establish conclusively that the norbomene derivative 54 contains a 7-fl ri-methoxy group. The stereochemistry of both is compatible with stereospecific nucleophilic attack exclusively firom the exo-position. 7-Methylenequadricyclane also is attacked exclusively from the exo-face.These results can be explained via backside attack with inversion of configuration. 

These examples clearly show the utility of LUMO maps to assign stereochemistry in nucleophilic additions to complex substrates. 

Substituted cyclopropane systems also undergo nucleophilic addition of suitable solvents (MeOH). For example, the photoinduced ET reaction of 1,2-dimethyl-3-phenylcyclopropane (112, R = Me) with p-dicyanobenzene formed a ring-opened ether by anti-Markovnikov addition. The reaction occurs with essentially complete inversion of configuration at carbon, suggesting a nucleophilic cleavage of a one-electron cyclopropane bond, generating 113. The retention of chirality confirms that the stereochemistry of the parent molecule is unperturbed in the radical cation 112 " ". 

By virtue of their high stereoselectivity, nucleophilic additions to cyclobutanone derivatives have been utilized to prepare the five-membered rings of prostaglandins with complete control of stereochemistry. This chemistry has been reviewed.65 The conversion of 3-emio-(tert-butyldimethylsiloxy)tricyclo[3.2.0.02,7]heptan-6-one (30) to 7-am7-(3-terf-butyldimethylsiloxy-oct-l-enyl)-5- ,wdy-( rt-butyldimethylsiloxy)bicyclo[2.2.1]heptan-2-one (31) in 88% yield provides a good example.66... 

Backwall and coworkers have extensively studied the stereochemistry of nucleophilic additions on 7r-alkenic and ir-allylic palladium(II) complexes. They concluded that nucleophiles which preferentially undergo a trans external attack are hard bases such as amines, water, alcohols, acetate and stabilized carbanions such as /3-diketonates. In contrast, soft bases are nonstabilized carbanions such as methyl or phenyl groups and undergo a cis internal nucleophilic attack at the coordinated substrate.398,399 The pseudocyclic alkylperoxypalladation procedure occurring in the ketonization of terminal alkenes by [RCC PdOOBu1], complexes (see Section 61.3.2.2.2)42 belongs to internal cis addition processes, as well as the oxidation of complexed alkenes by coordinated nitro ligands (vide in/ra).396,397... 

The mechanism of the Michael condensation is not actually a 1,2-addition as implied in Equations 7.51 and 7.52, but rather a 1,4-addition as shown in Equation 7.54. Protonation occurs first on the oxygen atom because 64b contributes more to the overall structure of the anion than 64a. The stereochemistry of 1,2-addition in the Michael condensation is therefore irrevelant to the mechanism of the condensation.124 Other nucleophilic additions to alkenes125 and alkynes126 go either syn or anti depending on the particular reaction. 

Given that nucleophile addition to (dienyl)Fe(CO)3 complexes proceeds stereospecifically trans to the metal, the question arises as to whether this can be used to control relative stereochemistry during multiple functionalization of cyclohexadienes and cycloheptadienes. A hypothetical example is shown in Scheme 29, where nucleophile addition is followed by a second hydride abstraction, or its equivalent, to generate a substituted dienyl complex. Addition of a second nucleophile, assuming steieocontrol from the metal, would generate a disubstituted derivative with defined relative stereochemistry. 

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