Nucleophilic substitution processes, heteroatomic nucleophiles

Once it is recognized that cyclohexadienyl anionic complexes of chromium (41) can be generated by addition of sufficiently reactive nucleophiles and that simple oxidizing techniques convert the anionic intermediates to free substituted arenes, a general substitution process becomes available which does not depend on a specific leaving group on the arene [2]. The process is general for carban-ions derived from carbon acids with pK >22 or so only one example of a heteroatom nucleophile is reported [102]. 

Enantiosdective allyic substitution processes have been developed over the course of 30 years. Initial observations of the reactions of nucleophiles with paUadium-allyl complexes led to the observation of catalytic substitutions of aUylic ethers and esters, and then catalytic enantioselective aUylic substitutions. The use of catalysts based on ottier metals has led to reactions that occur with complementary regiochemistry. Moreover, flie scope of the reactions has expanded to include heteroatom and unstabilized carbon nucleophiles. Suitable electrophiles for these reactions indude allyhc esters of various types, allyhc ethers, aUylic alcohols, and aUylic halides. Enantioselective reactions can be conducted with monoesters or by selection for deavage of one of two equivalent esters. The mechanism of these reactions occurs by initial oxidative addition to form a metal-aUyl complex. The second step involves nudeophilic attadc on ttie aUyl ligand for reaction of "soft" nudeophiles or inner-sphere reductive eUmination for reactions of "hard" nudeophiles. The external nudeophilic attack typicaUy occurs by reaction of the nudeophile with a cationic aUyl complex at the face opposite to that to which Uie metal is bound. Exceptions indude reactions of certain molybdenum-aUyl complexes. Dissociation of product then regenerates the starting catalyst. Because of the diversity of the classes of these reactions, aUylic substitution—in particular asymmetric aUylic substitution—has been used to prepare a wide variety of natural products. 

The conversion of a nontriazole ring system into a triazole most commonly involves the substitution of a nitrogen for another heteroatom in a five-membered ring. The process usually involves nucleophilic ring opening of the heterocycle followed by ring closure and loss of the other atom. Such reactions thus often involve the same intermediates as those described in the reactions of acyclic systems (Scheme 33). 

The introduction of nucleophiles onto haloazines in nucleophilic substitution has long been known, although most processes required forcing conditions. The palladium, nickel and copper-catalyzed carbon-heteroatom... 

Terminal monoalkenes were alkylated by stabilized carbanions (p a 10-18) in the presence of 1 equiv. of palladium chloride and 2 equiv. of triethylamine, at low temperatures (Scheme l).1 The resulting unstable hydride eliminate to give the alkene (path b), or treated with carbon monoxide and methanol to produce the ester (path c).2 As was the case with heteroatom nucleophiles, attack at the more substituted alkene position predominated, and internal alkenes underwent alkylation in much lower (=30%) yield. In the absence of triethylamine, the yields were very low (1-2%) and reduction of the metal by the carbanion became the major process. Presumably, the tertiary amine ligand prevented attack of the carbanion at the metal, directing it instead to the coordinated alkene. The regiochemistry (predominant attack at the more sub-... 

When heteroatom-substituted alkyl groups (Y = electronegative heteroatom) are oxidized, all three mechanisms lead to a common, cationic intermediate, 8.1 (Scheme 8.2). Water either attacks or deprotonates intermediate 8.1 depending on the identity of Y (Scheme 8.3). If water attacks as a nucleophile, an alkyl group will be lost from the parent drug. This process is known as an oxidative dealkylation. Two specific dealkylations of drugs are shown in Scheme 8.4. 

The SRN1 process has proven to be a versatile mechanism for replacing a suitable leaving group by a nucleophile at the ipso position. This reaction affords substitution in nonactivated aromatic (ArX) compounds, with an extensive variety of nucleophiles ( u ) derived from carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen to form new C—C bonds, and from tin, phosphorus, arsenic, antimony, sulfur, selenium, and tellurium to afford new C-heteroatom bonds. 

Besides the Michael addition of heteroatomic nucleophiles initiating cyclocondensations, acceptor substituted unsaturated systems can also be reacted with carbon nucleophiles stemming from aldehydes in the sense of an umpolung, generally referred to as the Stetter reaction [244-246]. This process is organocatalytic and furnishes in turn 1,4-dicarbonyl compounds, intermediates that are well suited for Paal-Knorr cyclocondensations giving rise to furans or pyrroles. Among numerous heterocycles furans and pyrroles have always been the most prominent ones since they constitute important classes of natural products [247-249], of synthetic... 

Even poor nucleophiles such as the amides 46 can react with azines in the presence of alkynes as activating agents [59, 60]. Various nucleophiles (including alkoxides, thiols, amines and nitrogen heterocycles) were recently employed in a related process with Ai-oxide azaindoles (Reissert-Henze reaction. Scheme 10). In the process, the oxygen is alkylated with dimethyl sulfate and, after the nucleophilic attack, methanol is released to aromatize the initial adduct [61,62]. Following similar mechanistic trends, V-heteroatom-activated azines afford the corresponding substituted adducts. Likewise, W-tosylated isoquinoline [63, 64] and W-fluoropyridinium salts [65] are also reactive substrates in Reissert-Henze type processes. 

Substitution of complexed dienols (244) or dienol acetates with carbon or heteroatom nucleophiles, in the presence of a Lewis acid, occurs with retention of configuration (Scheme 69). (Alkyl aluminum reagents act as both nucleophile and Lewis acid in this process). This reaction is believed to proceed via stereospecific ionization, with anchimeric assistance from the iron, to generate the transoid pentadienyl cation (247) followed by attack of the weak nucleophile on the face opposite to iron. The cross-conjugated pentadienyl cation can also be generated the substitution of (2-acetoxymethyl-l,3-butadiene)Fe(CO)3 (193) has previously been discussed (Section 6.1.1). 

---