Organozinc compounds synthesis

Conversely, other processes are totally original. This is especially encountered when the electrochemical act is associated with a transition metal complex catalysis. These methods have the advantage of affording the organozinc compound synthesis under simple and mild conditions that are compatible with the presence of reactive functional groups on the substrate. Importantly, these procedures are reproducible and can be run by any chemist. Besides, the preparation from a few millimoles to tens of millimoles of the organometallic compound is easy at the laboratory scale. 

An organozinc compound that occupies a special niche in organic synthesis is iodo-methylzinc iodide (ICH2ZnI). It is prepared by the reaction of zinc-copper couple [Zn(Cu), zinc that has had its surface activated with a little copper] with diiodomethane in diethyl ether. 

Synthesis of heterocycles with participation of organozinc compounds 98T8275. 

Because of the separation of this chapter into fundamental synthetic and structural aspects of organozinc compounds and the applications of these compounds in organic synthesis, many topics are treated twice, but with decidedly different emphases. By way of example, the important organozinc alkoxides are covered first in the inorganometallic section, where the emphasis is on their syntheses, structures, and applications other than in organic synthesis. Later, in Section 2.06.16.2, the uses of such compounds as chiral catalysts in asymmetric addition reactions are discussed. 

Downs et al. reported the synthesis of methylzinc tetrahydridoborate 164 by the two routes shown in Scheme 99.230 The compound is an extremely moisture and oxygen sensitive, colorless, polycrystalline solid, whose solid-state structure was determined by X-ray analysis. Figure 76 shows that 164 consists of helical polymers of alternating methylzinc and tetrahydridoborate ions. The zinc atom is formally pentacoordinate, making this one of the few organozinc compounds with five-coordinate zinc atom. 

The report of the first zinc compound with a Zn-Zn core elicited a number of critical comments on the structure and bonding of decamethyldizincocene, and the interpretation of the results.236,237 None of the authors of these commentaries questioned the data or their interpretation. Parkin, however, has pointed out that the formal oxidation state of +1 for zinc in this compound is merely due to the convention that metals are assigned an oxidation state of 0 when they form bonds with like atoms.237 If the conventional definition of valence, namely the capacity of atoms to form bonds to other atoms is used, then the zinc atoms in decamethyldizincocene are not monovalent, but divalent. The synthesis of a paramagnetic organozinc compound in which zinc uses only one of its two 4s electrons will remain an interesting challenge to many synthetic organometallic chemists. 

Perhaps the most investigated reaction of organozinc compounds is their addition to the carbonyl group of aldehydes. A broad range of simple and functionalized diorganozincs and a great variety of aldehydes have been studied in this transformation. The reaction furnishes chiral secondary alcohols, which are essential building blocks in the synthesis of natural products and other important compounds. Recent studies of this transformation have been devoted to its asymmetric catalytic versions (Scheme 103). 

The first examples of microwave-assisted cross-couplings with organozinc compounds were recently reported [47]. In addition, the first high-speed synthesis of aryl boronates (Suzuki coupling reactants) has been performed under the action of single-mode irradiation with an in-situ-generated palladium carbene catalyst [48],... 

Organozinc compounds have been known for more than 150 years, but their application in organic synthesis was formerly rather limited [39], due to their... 

The synthesis of functionalized zinc organometallics can be accomplished with a variety of methods that have been developed in recent years. The intrinsic moderate reactivity of organozinc reagents can be dramatically increased by the use of the appropriate transition metal catalyst or Lewis acid. Furthermore, the low ionic character of the carbon-zinc bond allows the preparation of a variety of chiral zinc organometallics with synthetically useful configurational stability. These properties make organozinc compounds ideal inteimediates for the synthesis of complex and polyfunctionalized organic molecules. 

Regarding the cobalt-catalyzed reactions, the electrochemical analyses of the involved processes allowed the discovery of a chemical way for the synthesis of these organozinc compounds. This chemical way will be evoked in this chapter. 

The synthesis of organozinc compounds by electrochemical processes from either low reactive halogenated substrates (alkyl chlorides) or pseudo-halogenated substrates (phenol derivatives, mesylates, triflates etc.) remains an important challenge. Indeed, as mentioned above, the use of electrolytic zinc prepared from the reduction of a metal halide or from zinc(II) ions does not appear to be a convenient method. However, recent work reported by Tokuda and coworkers would suggest that the electroreduction of a zinc(II) species in the presence of naphthalene leads to the formation of a very active zinc capable of reacting even with low reactive substrates (equation 23)11. 

Nevertheless, this electrochemical zinc activation procedure, which looks like the chemical activation developed by Rieke, does not appear to be very convenient for the electrochemical synthesis of organozinc compounds in one step (equation 24) without preparation of the active zinc in a preliminary step4,13. 

In all events, the activation/reduction of RX occurs at potential values higher than that observed for the Znn/Zn(s) couple. As a consequence, the electrochemical synthesis of organozinc compounds can be achieved by nickel-catalyzed processes. 

This led us to find new catalytic systems able to turn the electrochemical process to the synthesis of organozinc compounds. In this context, a simple cobalt halides salt can be used advantageously6. As a matter of fact, the work devoted to the study of the... 

More importantly, the association of synthesis and molecular electrochemistry has allowed one to discover new and original chemical approaches in the preparation of organozinc compounds as well as to develop original chemical reactions concerning the selective activation of functionalized substrates54-56. 

A closely related synthesis of /8-hydroxy esters is provided by the Refor-matsky reaction. This synthesis starts with an aldehyde or ketone, RCOR, and an a-bromo ester, such as ethyl bromoethanoate. Zinc in a nonhydroxylic solvent (usually benzene) transforms the bromo ester into an organozinc compound, which then adds to the aldehyde or ketone carbonyl. Hydrolysis produces the /3-hydroxy ester ... 

---