Optically active allyl carbonates, allylic alkylations

In 2002, Trost and his co-workers reported a stereospecific ruthenium-catalyzed allylic alkylation reaction (Equation (58)). Treatment of an optically active allylic carbonate with carbon-centered nucleophiles in the presence of a ruthenium complex gives the corresponding allylic alkylated compounds with enantiomeric purity being completely maintained. Additionally, the regioselectivity is revealed not to be highly dependent on the nature of the starting carbonates. 

Regio- and diastereoselective rhodium-catalyzed tandem allylic alkylation of 71 with stabilized carbon and heteroatom nucleophiles 72 followed by the PK annulation by the same catalyst was described by Evans and co-workers. Alkylation of an optically active allylic alcohol carbonate 71 proceeds in a regio- and stereospecific manner successfully at 30 °C by 7r-acidic Rh(i) catalysts (Equation (41)). The resultant product then undergoes the PKR with the aid of the pre-existing catalyst under GO pressure at elevated temperature. ... 

Asymmetric ene reaction of N-sulfinylcarbamatesf The ability of Lewis acids to promote ene reactions (11,413,414 12,389) is useful for asymmetric reactions. Thus the SnCU-promoted reaction of chiral N-sulfinylcarbamates (1) with alkenes results in thermally unstable adducts (2) in 65-91% yield. Use of trans-2-phenylcyclohexanol (13,244) or 8-phenylmenthol as the source of chirality results in high diastereoselective induction in generation of the new carbon to sulfur bond (usually >95 5). This reaction is applicable to both (E)- and (Z)-alkenes, but the former react more readily. These ene adducts can be transformed into optically active allylic alcohols (4) by N-alkylation and conversion to an aryl allylic sulfoxide (3), which undergoes rearrangement in the presence of a thiophile (piperidine) to 4, with retention of configuration at carbon imparted in the ene reaction. The overall process effects enantioselective allylic oxidation of an alkene with retention of the original position of the double bond. 

The reaction of optically active allyl(difluoro)phenylsilanes with aryl triflates affords optically active allylarenes with high stereoselectivities, wherein the absolute configuration of the newly generated chiral carbon can be controlled by the choice of a fluoride salt and the solvent polarity (Scheme 29). Aryl and alkenyl triflates are effective coupling partners not only for aUylsilanes but also for alkenyl-, aryl-, alkyl-, and alkynylsilanes as we have been seen in some examples of the preceding sections. 

Takemoto and his co-workers developed asymmetric allylic alkylation of allylic phosphates with (diphenyl-iminolglycinates as carbon-centered nucleophiles (Equation (56))/" " In this reaction system, use of optically active bidentate phosphites 142 bearing an (ethylthio)ethyl group as chiral ligands promotes the allylic alkylation, and chiral /3-substituted a-amino acids are obtained with an excellent enantioslectivity. 

As described in many reviews, Trost and his co-workers have carried out a pioneering work on the molybdenum-and tungsten-catalyzed allylic alkylation of allylic esters regioselectivity of the reaction is often complementary to the palladium-catalyzed allylic alkylation. The first asymmetric version was disclosed by Pfaltz and Lloyd-Jones in 1995 (Equation (63)). They used a catalytic amount of a novel tungsten complex, prepared from [W(CO)3(MeCN)3] or [W(cycloheptatriene) (COIs] and optically active (diphenylphosphino)phenyloxazolines 57, for the allylic alkylation of 3-aryl-2-propenyl phosphate with dimethyl sodiomalonate to isolate the corresponding branched alkylated compounds as a major isomer with an excellent enantioselectivity (96% ee). Unexpectedly, 3-aryl-2-propenyl carbonates are shown to be unreactive. It is worth noting that an isostructural molybdenum complex does not promote the catalytic alkylation under the same reaction conditions. In contrast, Lloyd-Jones and Lehmann reported the stereocontrolled... 

Finally, the hybridization of the carbon atom also has a marked effect on its willingness to attach to the transition metal. Allyl or benzyl halides undergo oxidative addition faster than aromatic or vinyl halides. The least reactive are alkyl halides which require the use of nickel(O)9 complexes or highly active catalyst systems.10 If we start from an optically active substrate, then the oxidative addition usually proceeds in a stereoselective manner. 

The catalytic activation of allylic carbonates for the alkylation of soft car-bonucleophiles was first carried out with ruthenium hydride catalysts such as RuH2(PPh3)4 [108] and Ru(COD)(COT) [109]. The efficiency of the cyclopen-tadienyl ruthenium complexes CpRu(COD)Cl [110] and Cp Ru(amidinate) [111] was recently shown. An important catalyst, [Ru(MeCN)3Cp ]PF6, was revealed to favor the nucleophilic substitution of optically active allycarbonates at the most substituted allyl carbon atom and the reaction took place with retention of configuration [112] (Eq. 85). The introduction of an optically pure chelating cyclopentadienylphosphine ligand with planar chirality leads to the creation of the new C-C bond with very high enantioselectivity from symmetrical carbonates and sodiomalonates [113]. 

The key step in all these transformations is without doubt the reaction of l-lithio-l,3-dithianes with organic halides and epoxides. The alkylation usually proceeds extremely rapidly with primary alkyl iodides (-78 C, 0.2 h) and with allylic and benzylic halides - - (Scheme 59, entry a) but is much slower with secondary alkyl iodides and bromides. The reaction is best carried out at low temperature in order to obtain good yields by lowering the competitive elimination reaction it has been found to proceed with inversion of the configuration at the asymmetric carbon when optically active alkyl halides are used. ... 

Thus, this Volume is divided into 12 Chapters encompassing different types of carbon-carbon bond forming reactions. The first two experimental Chapters cover alkylation reactions adjacent to carbonyl functionality (Chapter 2) and the asymmetric displacement of acetate groups situated in an allylic position with the resultant formation of optically active product possessing a new carbon-carbon bond (Chapter 3). 

In protic solvents, the allylic carbonium ion formed by acid-catalyzed alkyl carbon-oxygen bond fission can recombine either with the carboxylic acid molecule or with a solvent molecule. The electrostatic attraction between the carbonium and carboxylate ions, which is a major factor in isomerization of allylic esters by ion-pair internal return during solvolysis, is absent in the acid-catalyzed reaction. The more numerous, usually more nucleophilic, solvent molecules in the solvation shell of the carbonium ion should compete effectively with the departed carboxylic acid molecule and solvolysis rather than isomerization should be the predominant reaction. For example, in the presence of 0.05 M perchloric acid, solvolyses of cis- and //- //7.s-5-methyl-2-cyclohexenyl p-nitrobenzoates are not only very much faster than in the absence of the acid, but polarimetric and titrimetric rates of solvolysis of optically-active esters were identical within experimental error. For these esters, the acid-catalyzed solvolysis was not accompanied by a detectable amount of isomerization. Braude reported, on the basis of indirect evidence, that isomerization accompanies acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of a-ethynyl-y-methylallyl acetate in aqueous dioxane. It was shown that, under some experimental conditions, the spectrophotometrically determined rate of appearance of the rearranged 1 -yne-3-ene chromophore exceeds the titrimetrically determined rate of hydrolysis,... 

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