Oxirane isomerizations

The -deprotonation reaction was initially considered as the normal mode of oxirane isomerization in basic media with a-deprotonation appearing as an alternative pathway when the principal process was slowed. Recent studies based on kinetic studies, calculations and labeling experiments, along with advances in the determination of the organolithium... 

The interest in oxirane isomerization is reflected in the patent litera-... 

One possible explanation of the formation of the primary alcohol is that the oxirane isomerizes to aldehyde in the first step (Eq. 142) the aldehyde then being hydrogenated to alcohol. This is not probable, for oxiranes participate in hydrogenolysis under conditions where oxo compounds do not react at all with hydrogen or only very slowly moreover, the reduction of the oxo compound does not occur on a surface covered with the oxirane. Thus, formation of alcohols and oxo compounds is the result of simultaneous processes. 

For oxiranes, isomerization occurs exothermically due mainly to the strain energy in the ring (ca 120kJmol ). It is probable that oxirane isomerization proceeds via chemically activated CH3CHO. 

In the presence of catalytic amounts of Lewis acids, e.g. boron trifluoride, magnesium iodide, or nickel complexes, oxiranes isomerize to give carbonyl compounds. Oxirane itself gives acetaldehyde ... 

The isomerization of vinyl- or ethynyl-oxiranes provides a frequently exploited source of dihydrofurans or furans, but analogous conversions of vinylaziridines have not been applied so often. While most of the examples in Scheme 87 entail cleavage of the carbon-heteroatom bond of the original heterocycle, the last two cases exemplify a growing number of such rearrangements in which initial carbon-carbon bond cleavage occurs. 

The conversion of small rings to smaller ones, without loss, is not common. 3-Chloroazetidine isomerizes reversibly to 2-chloromethylaziridine (Section 5.09.2.2.5). Flash vacuum pyrolysis can convert isoxazoles to azirines (Section 5.04.4.3). More common is the isomerization of medium-sized, i.e. five- or six-membered rings, e.g. certain succinimides (Scheme 23) (81JOC27) to azetidinediones, or bicyclic 1,2-dioxetanes to bis-oxiranes (Section 5.05.4.3.2). 

These are discussed in (B-71MS4). Oxirane itself shows a strong molecular ion peak and a slightly stronger base peak at mje 29 (CHO ) due to isomerization to ethanal and loss of a methyl radical. Substituted oxiranes tend to show only weak molecular ion peaks, because of rearrangement and fragmentation. 

Oxiranes have been isomerized by palladium compounds to allylic alcohols and enones (79JA1623), and to 1,3-diketones (80JA2095). 

Molecular orbital calculations predict that oxirane forms the cyclic conjugate acid (39), which is 30 kJ moF stabler than the open carbocation (40) and must surmount a barrier of 105kJmoF to isomerize to (40) (78MI50500). The proton affinity of oxirane was calculated (78JA1398) to be 807 kJ mol (cf. the experimental values of 773 kJ moF for oxirane and 777-823 kJ moF for dimethyl ether (80MI50503)). The basicity of cyclic ethers is discussed in (B-67MI50504). 

The commonest of these for oxirane opening are amines and azide ion [amide ions promote isomerization to allylic alcohols (Section 5.05.3.2.2)]. Reaction with azide can be used in a sequence for converting oxiranes into aziridines (Scheme 49) and this has been employed in the synthesis of the heteroannulenes (57) and (58) (80CB3127, 79AG(E)962). 

Finally, metalated epoxides undergo isomerization processes characteristic of traditional carbenoids (Scheme 5.2, Path C). The structure of a metalated epoxide is intermediate in nature between the structures 2a and 2b (Scheme 5.2). The existence of this intermediacy is supported by computational studies, which have shown that the a-C-O bond of oxirane elongates by -12% on a-lithiation [2], Furthermore, experimentally, the a-lithiooxycarbene 4a (Scheme 5.3) returned cydo-pentene oxide 7 among its decomposition products indeed, computational studies of singlet 4a suggest it possesses a structure in the gas phase that is intennediate in nature between an a-lithiocarbene and the lithiated epoxide 4b [3],... 

The isomerization of acetylenic oxiranes cis- and trows-91 to allenic ketone 94 has recently been described (Scheme 5.18). It is proposed that the rearrangement proceeds via a dilithium ynenolate [33]. 

A comparison of the configuration of the substrates and reaction products shows that the oxiranyl anions arc configurationally stable under the reaction conditions. Only one example is known in which isomerization was observed. When the ci.v-tm-butyl-substituted epoxysilane27 was metalated and quenched with 2-cyclohexenone, addition product 27 was obtained under inversion of the anionic center. Presumably the strain created in forcing the ter/-butyl and the trimethylsilyl group cis on the oxirane ring facilitates the isomerization process13. 

The strict geometrical requirements for elimination can be put to further use, as illustrated by elegant procedures for the geometrical isomerization of alkenes. Trimethylsilyl potassium (10) and phenyldimethylsilyl lithium (11) both effect smooth conversion of oxiranes into alkenes, nucleophilic ring opening being followed by bond rotation and spontaneous syn fi-elimination ... 

In the case of the cyclopentane oxirane 424, fluorination [KHFj, Me0(CH2)20H] proceeded to give preferably one fluoroalcohol, 426 (61%) over the isomeric one, 425 (7%), possibly by the influence of the benzyloxy-methyl group. Similarly (KHF2, ethylene glycol, 160°), another oxirane, 427, was converted into 428 (30%). 2-C-(Fluoromethyl)-/ T6>-inositol (429)... 

Alkenylbenzotriazoles 865 are readily prepared by isomerization of the corresponding allyl derivatives catalyzed by Bu OK. Lithiated compounds 865 are treated with electrophiles to provide a-substituted derivatives 866. Epoxidation of the double bond with ///-chloroperbenzoic acid converts intermediates 866 into oxiranes 867 that can be hydrolyzed to furnish a-hydroxyketones 868 in good yields (Scheme 140) <1996SC2657>. 

To link the two half moieties of the molecule, a Julia-Kocienski olefmation was carried out between the C19 building block 59 (again prepared by syn-SN2 -substitu-tion of a propargylic oxirane with DIBAH) and the C20 building block 60, formed via oxidation of 58 with Mn02 (Scheme 18.19). Although this reaction initially led to the formation of the Z-isomer as the major product, the latter was readily isomerized at room temperature to the desired all-trans-polyene peridinin (6). 

Upon slow warming of the matrix, the colour disappeared and a new species with A = 3.24 mT and gy = 2.0038 appeared, assigned to the formation of the chloro spin adduct [12] (32) after melting of the matrix at 240 K the characteristic solution epr spectrum of [12] was recorded. By y-radiolysis of the isomeric oxirane [13], which cannot sustain spin trapping, another way of direct matrix generation of PBN + was available and thus made possible further confirmation of these results (Zubarev and Brede, 1995). 

---