Nucleophilic reactions Brpnsted base catalysts

On the basis of this finding, Shibasaki s group developed a series of asymmetric reactions using soft copper(I) Brpnsted base catalysts and a wide variety of pre-nucleophiles (thioamides [34 3], isocyanide [44, 45], unsaturated butyrolactones [46, 47], nitroalkanes [48], allyl cyanide [49, 50], and a-trifluoromethylacetamide [51]) via proton transfer strategy (Fig. 5). 

An ammonium betaine of type (R)-16 could be considered as an intramolecular version of ammonium phenoxide. The potential of chiral ammonium betaine (R)-16 as Brpnsted base catalyst has been demonstrated in asymmetric Mamiich reactions (Scheme 14.9) [6b, 32]. The basic phenoxide anion is responsible for abstraction of the active methine proton of a nucleophile 18 and thus gives the corresponding chiral ammonium enolate. Subsequent stereoselective bond formation with imine 17 afforded ammonium amide that can be rapidly protonated by the in situ formed phenolic hydrogen to regenerate the ammonium betaine (R)-16. 

Organocatalysts can be broadly classified as Lewis bases, Lewis acids, Brpnsted bases, and Brpnsted acids (for a review, see Seayad and List 2005). The corresponding (simplified) catalytic cycles are shown in Scheme 1. Accordingly, Lewis base catalysts (B ) initiate the catalytic cycle via nucleophilic addition to the substrate (S). The resulting complex undergoes a reaction and then releases the product (P) and the catalyst for further turnover. Lewis acid catalysts (A) activate nucleophilic substrates (S ) in a similar manner. Brpnsted base and acid catalytic cycles are initiated via a (partial) deprotonation or protonation, respectively. 

Many chemical reactions involve a catalyst. A very general definition of a catalyst is a substance that makes a reaction path available with a lower energy of activation. Strictly speaking, a catalyst is not consumed by the reaction, but organic chemists frequently speak of acid-catalyzed or base-catalyzed mechanisms that do lead to overall consumption of the acid or base. Better phrases under these circumstances would be acid promoted or base promoted. Catalysts can also be described as electrophilic or nucleophilic, depending on the catalyst s electronic nature. Catalysis by Lewis acids and Lewis bases can be classified as electrophilic and nucleophilic, respectively. In free-radical reactions, the initiator often plays a key role. An initiator is a substance that can easily generate radical intermediates. Radical reactions often occur by chain mechanisms, and the role of the initiator is to provide the free radicals that start the chain reaction. In this section we discuss some fundamental examples of catalysis with emphasis on proton transfer (Brpnsted acid/base) and Lewis acid catalysis. 

Instead of using Br0nsted bases, chiral Br0nsted acids can also be utilized to enanti-oselectively acquire Mannich products. The acidic catalyst assists in the Mannich reaction by protonating the imine, thereby forming an iminium ion to which the deprotonated Brpnsted acid catalyst coordinates. This chiral counterion directs the incoming nucleophile and leads to an optically active Mannich product. 

The asymmetric 1,4-addition of nucleophiles to a,p-unsaturated carbonyl and related compounds is also an important and valuable method for preparation of highly functionalized aUcyl chains. While chiral Brpnsted base-catalyzed asymmetric transformation has been intensively explored (for reviews of asymmetric 1,4-addition reactions of 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds, see [26-33] for reviews of asymmetric 1,4-addition reactions of glycine Schiff bases, see [34—37] for reviews of asymmetric [3-1-2] cycloaddition reactions, see [38-41]), chiral alkaline-earth metal catalysts have been also successfully employed in this reaction. 

Besides their use as Brpnsted bases, chiral tertiary amines have very successfully been used as asymmetric nucleophilic catalysts. Their catalytic potential has been known for decades, and systematic investigations have led to the development of a variety of powerful (a)chiral methodologies [88, 92]. Some of the most prominent applications involve the in situ generation of chiral ammonium enolates, which can then be employed for an impressively diverse variety of reactions as illustrated in Scheme 6.32 (for a detailed overview of this rather broad application field of chiral tertiary amines, please see more focused reviews and the literature cited therein [92]). Besides the good... 

As outlined in the previous paragraph, chiral Brpnsted base organocatalysts appear to be most effective when equipped with an additional Brpnsted acidic moiety, for example, hydrogen bond donors like (thio)urea. Apparently, both functionalities catalyze the asymmetric Mannich reaction in a cooperative fashion, that is, simultaneous activation of both the nucleophile and the electrophile. However, activation of the electrophile can also be accomplished with a single, enantiomerically pure Brpnsted acid. In this respect, readily available chiral phosphoric acids are most commonly applied [88-90]. In 2004, the groups of Akiyama and Terada independently from each other reported the first asymmetric Mannich reaction of silyl ketene acetals or acetyl acetone with imines utilizing chiral phosphoric acid catalysts, which... 

The Mukaiyama aldol reaction is beyond doubt a brilliant triumph of modem synthetic organic chemistry however, the reaction products are contaminated with pre-activated silyl enol ethers derived from the carbonyl compounds with stoichiometric amounts of silylation agent and base. In addition, silylated wastes are inherently formed. Circumventing the pre-activation process improves atom efH-ciency in this case, the carbonyl nucleophiles react directly with the carbonyl electrophiles in the presence of catalyst. The first Bronsted acid-catalyzed direct aldol reactions have been achieved using chiral Hg-BINOL-derived phosphoric acid 96 (Scheme 28.12) [66], The aldol products (127) have syn-configurations and, thus, this reaction is complementary to (S)-proHne catalysis in Brpnsted acids, which in general yields the anti configuration [11]. 

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