Organocuprates, addition with ketones

There are two major reactions of organocuprates, and both give products reminiscent of a carbon nucleophile (1) reaction with alkyl halides and (2) conjugate addition with a,p-unsaturated ketones. Conjugate addition to a, 3-unsaturated ketones is promoted when ether is used as a solvent.381 The substitution reaction is promoted by the use of THF or ether-HMPA as a solvent. l As mentioned earlier, the mechanism of these reactions probably involves a one-electron transfer, although other mechanistic proposals are in the literature,but the synthetic result is that expected of a carbon nucleophile. 85 The general reactivity of organocuprates with electrophiles follows the order ... 

Acid chlorides react readily with organocuprates to give ketones. The reaction is chemoselective for the acid chloride and no addition to functional groups such as ketones, esters or nitriles takes place. For example, addition of lithium dibutylcuprate to the acid chloride 172 gave the ketone 173 (1.174). 

The reaction of carbon nucleophiles with ketones or aldehydes proceeds by acyl addition, as described in Chapter 18. The reaction of carbon nucleophiles with acid derivatives proceeds by acyl substitution, as described in Chapter 20. Carbon nucleophiles included cyanide, alkyne anions, Grignard reagents, organolithium reagents, and organocuprates. Alkyne anions are formed by an acid-base reaction with terminal alkynes (RC=C-H RCsCr). In this latter transformation, it is clear that formation of the alkyne anion relies on the fact that a terminal alkyne is a weak carbon acid. Other carbon acids specifically involve the proton on an a-carbon in aldehydes, ketones, or esters. With a siiitable base, these carbonyl compounds generate a new type of carbon nucleophile called an enolate anion. 

Reactions of highly electron-rich organometalate salts (organocuprates, orga-noborates, Grignard reagents, etc.) and metal hydrides (trialkyltin hydride, triethylsilane, borohydrides, etc.) with cyano-substituted olefins, enones, ketones, carbocations, pyridinium cations, etc. are conventionally formulated as nucleophilic addition reactions. We illustrate the utility of donor/acceptor association and electron-transfer below. 

Addition of RJCuLi to bridgehead enones.1 Ordinarily organocuprates do not react with a bridgehead halide. However, they can undergo conjugate addition to bridgehead enones generated in situ from p-bromo ketones with potassium t-butoxide or lithium 2,6-di-r-butyl-4-methylphenoxide (6,95). 

INT2, Scheme 10.7) undergoes further reaction (Li/Cu transmetalation) and generates a new organocuprate compound. (Note however that this difference could become more subtle since the product of conjugate addition (PD) might behave more like an a-cuprio(I) ketone complexed with a lithium cation [52] than a lithium enolate complexed with copper(I)). In neither reaction was any evidence of radical intermediates (i.e., SET) found by theoretical calculations [79]. 

R. A. J. Smith and A. S. Vellekoop, 1,4-Addition Reactions of Organocuprates with ,/3-Unsat-urated Ketones, in Advances in Detailed Reaction Mechanisms (J. M. Coxon, Ed.), Vol. 3, Jai Press, Greenwich, CT, 1994. 

Hydroboration of (5) with an excess of pinacolborane at room temperature for 3 days in the absence of solvent followed by oxidation with PDC in the presence of an excess of TMSC1 led to the aldehyde (4h) and the ketone (4i) (75 % and 50 % from (5h) and (5i) respectively after bulb to bulb purification) l2,13, Several other (3-kcto vinylboronates were obtained in good yields via the addition of organozinc or organocuprates to the aldehyde (4h) followed by a PCC oxidation of the corresponding allylic alcohols14. 

Thus far we have discussed numerous examples whereby selective ketone formation has been achieved through organometallic acylation. The problem was approached by choosing a less nucleophilic organometallic which can be acylated but does not interact wiA the desired product. Thus far, few reagents with this type of selectivity have been found (organocuprates). Most often, the strategy was to either preserve the tetrahedral intermediate formed upon nucleophilic addition or to activate the substrate... 

Several procedures are available for the preparation of the requisite p-hydroxysi-lanes such as addition of a-silyl carbanions to aldehydes and ketones, reaction of organocuprates with a,P-epoxysilanes, reduction of P-ketosilanes, and addition of organometallic regents to P-ketosilanes. The selection of a particular procedure is dictated by the structure and stereochemistry of the desired alkene. 

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