Propargylic compounds nucleophilic reactions

Most of the synthetic routes to allenes utilize the reaction of propargylic compounds as electrophiles. In contrast, if the propargylic compounds serve as nucleophiles, a wide variety of substituted allenes, which are not easily accessible by the reaction of propargylic compounds with nucleophiles, are available. However, in order to synthesize enantioenriched allenes by this method, it is necessary to generate configurationally stable propargyl or allenylmetal reagents (cf. Chapter 9). 

Allenyl- and propargyl-phosphonium salts have also been used as precursors of heterocyclic compounds in the presence of various functionalized nucleophiles279, via the intermediacy of vinylphosphonio compounds however, an ylide extrusion has been sometimes observed815,816, depending on the nature of the functions in the nucleophile (reaction 250). Allenylphosphonium salts are able to add such weak CH acids as in ketones, even in absence of basic catalysts817,818, without any modification of the keto group (reaction 251). 

In allylic and propargylic compounds the 8, 2 reaction in addition to undergoing nucleophilic substitution takes place with a rearrangement of a double bond (Fig. 3). 

In general, Pd-catalyzed reaction of propargyl compounds provides synthetically valuable allenyl compounds through addition, transmetallation, or oxypalladation of allenylpalla-dium intermediates. Exceptionally, soft carbon nucleophiles such as malonate and methyl acetoacetate attack the sp carbon of allenylpalladium intermediates to afford allylic compounds and furan derivatives. 

Among several propargylic derivatives, the propargylic carbonates 3 were found to be the most reactive and they have been used most extensively because of their high reactivity[2,2a]. The allenylpalladium methoxide 4, formed as an intermediate in catalytic reactions of the methyl propargylic carbonate 3, undergoes two types of transformations. One is substitution of cr-bonded Pd. which proceeds by either insertion or transmetallation. The insertion of an alkene, for example, into the Pd—C cr-bond and elimination of/i-hydrogen affords the allenyl compound 5 (1.2,4-triene). Alkene and CO insertions are typical. The substitution of Pd methoxide with hard carbon nucleophiles or terminal alkynes in the presence of Cul takes place via transmetallation to yield the allenyl compound 6. By these reactions, various allenyl derivatives can be prepared. 

Propargylic substitution reaction is one of the most important routes to allenic compounds [1, 2], As shown in Scheme 3.1, replacement of a leaving group at the propargylic position with an incoming nucleophile via an SN2 pathway rearranges the C=C-C skeleton into a C=C=C moiety to give a propadienyl species. With certain... 

As described in the previous sections, a variety of nucleophiles attack the Cy atom of ruthenium-allenylidene intermediates. Aromatic compounds should also be suitable candidates and this was found to be the case [30]. Thus, reactions of propargylic alcohols with heteroaromatic compounds such as furans, thiophenes, pyrroles, and indoles in the presence of a diruthenium catalyst such as la proceeded smoothly to afford the corresponding propargylated heteroaromatic compounds in high yields with complete regioselectivity (Scheme 7.25). The reaction is considered to be an electrophilic aromatic substitution if viewed from the side of aromatic compounds. 

Common reactions of the ylide include (i) [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement of allylic, propargylic, and allenic ylides (ii) [l,2]-shift (Stevens rearrangement) (iii) 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of the ylide generated from carbonyl compounds or imines with dipolarophiles, usually G=G or C=C bonds and (iv) nucleophilic addition/elimination, leading to the formation of epoxides or cyclopropanes (Figure 2). 

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