Organomercurials from amines

The approach to polyketide synthesis described in Scheme 5.2 requires the relatively nontrivial synthesis of acid-sensitive enol acetals 1. An alternative can be envisioned wherein hemiacetals derived from homoallylic alcohols and aldehydes undergo dia-stereoselective oxymercuration. Transmetallation to rhodium could then intercept the hydroformylation pathway and lead to formylation to produce aldehydes 2. This proposal has been reduced to practice as shown in Scheme 5.6. For example, Yb(OTf)3-cata-lyzed oxymercuration of the illustrated homoallyhc alcohol provided organomercurial 14 [6]. Rhodium(l)-catalyzed hydroformylation of 14 proved successful, giving aldehyde 15, but was highly dependent on the use of exactly 0.5 equiv of DABCO as an additive [7]. Several other amines and diamines were examined with variation of the stoichiometry and none proved nearly as effective in promoting the reaction. This remarkable effect has been ascribed to the facilitation of transmetallation by formation of a 2 1 R-HgCl DABCO complex and the unique properties of DABCO when both amines are complexed/protonated. 

Over 35 years ago, Richard F. Heck found that olefins can insert into the metal-carbon bond of arylpalladium species generated from organomercury compounds [1], The carbopalladation of olefins, stoichiometric at first, was made catalytic by Tsutomu Mizoroki, who coupled aryl iodides with ethylene under high pressure, in the presence of palladium chloride and sodium carbonate to neutralize the hydroiodic acid formed (Scheme 1) [2], Shortly thereafter, Heck disclosed a more general and practical procedure for this transformation, using palladium acetate as the catalyst and tri-w-butyl amine as the base [3], After investigations on stoichiometric reactions by Fitton et al. [4], it was also Heck who introduced palladium phosphine complexes as catalysts, enabling the decisive extension of the ole-fination reaction to inexpensive aryl bromides [5],... 

The solvomercuration of alkenes has an important synthetic valne since it allows the asymmetric functionalization of olefins. Although a large number of organomercurials have been isolated from these reactions, more commonly, they are reduced with alkaline NaBELi to yield the corresponding metal-free organic species (see Section 4.1). In this way, olefins can be converted into a wide range of organic species such as alcohols, ethers, and amines. 

Aminomercuration leads to substituted organomercurials 5.5, which also suffer demercuration with sodium borohydride, preferentially under PTC conditions [BEl, EB4] (Figure 5.5). The mechanism proposed for this reduction in protic solvents is an ionic one, implying the intermediate formation of aziridinium salt [L3]. This method has been applied to the synthesis of cyclic amines from a,P-ethyienic precursors 5.6 [EB4] (Figure 5.5). When the reduction in run in alcohol or water, mixtures of five- and six-membered cyclic amines are obtained from each precursor 5.6 (n = 1 or 2). 

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