Oxidative insertion of zinc

The oxidative insertion of zinc into a-halo carbonyl compounds and the subsequent reaction of the zinc enolates formed with various electrophiles can either be carried out in a one-pot Barbier-type fashion or in two consecutive steps.1-3 Zinc enolates exhibit a reasonably high stability over a wide temperature range (from -78°C to above 80°C for short periods of time) compared to other metal enolates. Although it has been reported that solutions of BrZnCH2COOtBu can be stored for several days without loss in activity,5 it is generally advisable to use freshly prepared reagents in order to avoid... 

Under these conditions, several 5-halofuranosides and 6-halopyranosides ring-opened to the corresponding pent-4-enals and hex-5-enals, respectively [16,17]. Mechanistically, the Bernet-Vasella reaction proceeds via oxidative insertion of zinc into the carbon-bromide bond, followed by reductive elimination with the loss of methoxide to give the aldehyde product (Scheme 3.2) [18]. 

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