Phosphine Phosphinic acids, silylation, activation

The phosphine-alane is expected to displace PPh at Ni, but no reaction takes place in the absence of substrate due to strong intramolecular P Al interactions. Lewis bases such a triethylamine are able to split the head-to-tail phosphine-alane dimer and consistently, further increase catalytic activity. The precise role of the Lewis acid moiety in the catalytic cycle remains unknown. It is supposed to interact with the methyl group at Ni and to facilitate methyl/silyl exchange. The key active species 36a could not be characterized, but its Lewis base adduct 36b was identified by NMR (Figure 19). 

The role of silylated reagents in the formation of oligopeptides has been explored . Here, the bis(trimethylsilyl) ester of the [l-(trimethylsilylamino)alkyl]phosphonic acid is coupled with an activated A -cbz-amino acid and the silyl groups are subsequently removed under aqueous conditions the process can then be repeated. Oligopeptides have also been obtained as the result of enzyme catalysis when the condensations between amino carboxylic esters and (a) A -protected (aminoalkyl)phosphonic esters or (b) A -protected [(aminoalkyl)methyl]phosphinic esters is brought about in the presence of (a) alkaline phosphatase (Ej) and phosphodiesterase (E2) and (b) alkaline phosphatase and total bee venom (E3) (the latter aiding in the removal of both carboxylate ester and A -acetyl groups) ... 

The synthesis of aminophosphinic acids with subsequent formation of the second P-C bond via an NP-i-C strategy has also been investigated as a shorter and faster alternative toward phosphinic peptides. The research group of Haemers coupled the addition of BTSP to tritylimines with a subsequent Michael addition of acrylates by activating in situ intermediate A-Trt-A-TMS-protected silyl aminopho-sphinates with BSA and adding acrylates to the resulting phosphonite 14... 

A hydrophobic polymer-supported scandium(III) catalyst was also successfully used in the Michael reaction of unsaturated ketones with silyl enol ethers. Recently, an amphiphilic resin-supported rhodium/phosphine complex was used as catalyst in the 1,4-addition of various boronic acids to enones in water at 25°C. High yields were obtained and the catalyst was easily separated and subjected to a second and third round of reactions with no decrease in activity. ... 

Silyl cyanides react enantioselectively with such electrophiles as aldehydes, ketones, imines, activated azines, or,/ unsaturated carbonyl compounds, epoxides, and aziridines in the presence of chiral Lewis acid catalysts to give functionalized nitriles, versatile synthetic intermediates for hydroxy carboxylic acids, amino acids, and amino alcohols (Tables 3-6, 3-7, 3-8, and 3-9, Figures 3-6, 3-7, and 3-8, and Scheme 3-154). ° Soft Lewis acid catalytst, the reaction of epoxides with trimethylsilyl cyanide often leads to isonitriles, which are derived from silylisonitrile spiecies (Schemes 3-155 and 3-156). Soft Lewis base such as phosphine oxide also catalyzes the reaction and cyanohydrin silyl ethers of high ee s are isolated. 

Shibasaki has described the use of bifunctional catalysis in asymmetric Strecker reactions, using BlNOL-derived Lewis acid-Lewis base catalyst 160 (Equation 24) [114]. The aluminum complex had previously been shown to catalyze enantioselective cyanohydrin formation (Chapter 2, Section 2.9) [115]. In the proposed catalytic cycle, the imine is activated by the Lewis acidic aluminum while TMSCN undergoes activation by association of the silyl group with the Lewis basic phosphine oxide. Interestingly, the addition of phenol as a putative proton source was beneficial in facilitating catalyst turnover. The nature of the amine employed for the formation of the N-substituted aldimine proved to be vital for enantioselectivity, with optimal results obtained for N-fluorenyl imines such as 159, derived from aliphatic, unsaturated, and aromatic aldehydes (70-96% ee) [114],... 

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