Radical reactions reductive alkylation

Radical chemistry has seen tremendous progress in the past two decades and can now be considered as an eminent sub discipline in synthetic organic chemistry [1-6]. Diastereoselective radical chemistry is well established and many examples of enantioselective radical reactions have appeared in the recent literature. For reviews on diastereoselective radical chemistry see [7-11] for reviews on enantioselective radical chemistry see [12-16] and for reviews on conjugate additions, see [17,18]. This review will detail different ways to introduce asymmetry during a radical reaction. These transformations can be broadly classified into atom transfer reactions, reductive alkylations, fragmentations, addition and trapping experiments, and electron transfer reactions. 

The secondary reduction of the terminal radical by Sml2 generates samarium alkyl species which are suitable for classical organometallic reactions, e.g. protonation, acylation, reactions with carbon dioxide, disulfides, diselenides, or the Eschenmoser salt. A broad variety of products is available (hydroxy-substituted alkanes, esters, carboxylic acids, thioethers, selenoethers, tertiary amines) by use of the double-redox four-step (reduction-radical reaction-reduction-anion reaction) route (Scheme 20) [73]. 

The free radical chain reaction between PhCOCHjHgCl and 1-morpholinocyclohex-cne has been reported to involve addition of the acceptor radical PhCOCHj- to the jS-position of the enamine followed by electron transfer to regenerate the attacking radical (Scheme 19). Photostimulated reactions of simple alkylmercury halides failed since an electrophilic radical is required. Photolysis of p-nitrobenzyl chloride in the presence of enamines gave the -/>-nitrobenzyl ketone on hydrolysis . Radical mediated reductive alkylation of acyclic-enamines has also been reported with radical precursors such as PhSCH2CN, PhS02CH2Cl and Me3CS02CH2SePh . Reductive alkylation also occurred with chloromethyl p-tolyl sulphone in the presence of tributyltin hydride and azobis(isobutyronitrile) (AIBN) (Scheme 20). 

Pyrido[3,4-d]pyrimidine-2,4-dione synthesis, 3, 215 Pyridopyrimidines, 3, 201 iV-alkylations, 3, 206 biological activity, 3, 260-261 1-electron reductions, 3, 207 IR spectra, 3, 204 mass spectra, 3, 204 MO calculations, 3, 204 NMR, 3, 202, 203 nucleophilic substitution, 3, 213 8-nucleosides synthesis, 3, 206 physical properties, 3, 201-205 protonation, 3, 206 radical reactions, 3, 215 reactions with water, 3, 207 reduced... 

Other limitations of the reaction are related to the regioselectivity of the aryl radical addition to double bond, which is mainly determined by steric and radical delocalization effects. Thus, methyl vinyl ketone gives the best results, and lower yields are observed when bulky substituents are present in the e-position of the alkene. However, the method represents complete positional selectivity because only the g-adduct radicals give reductive arylation products whereas the a-adduct radicals add to diazonium salts, because of the different nucleophilic character of the alkyl radical adduct. ... 

The reaction of thiyl radicals with silicon hydrides (Reaction 8) is the key step of the so-called polariiy-reversal catalysis in the radical chain reduction. The reaction is strongly endothermic and reversible with alkyl-substituted silanes (Reaction 8). For example, the rate constants fcsH arid fcgiH for the couple triethylsilane/ 1-adamantanethiol are 3.2 x 10 and 5.2xlO M s respectively. 

The carbon-centered radical R, resulting from the initial atom (or group) removal by a silyl radical or by addition of a silyl radical to an unsaturated bond, can be designed to undergo a number of consecutive reactions prior to H-atom transfer. The key step in these consecutive reactions generally involves the intra-or inter-molecular addition of R to a multiple-bonded carbon acceptor. As an example, the propagation steps for the reductive alkylation of alkenes by (TMSfsSiH are shown in Scheme 6. 

Reaction No. 5 (Table 11) is part of a synthetically useful method for the alkylation of aromatic compounds. At first the aromatic carboxylic acid is reductively alkylated by way of a Birch reduction in the presence of alkyl halides, this is then followed by an eliminative decarboxylation. In reaction No. 9 decarboxylation occurs probably by oxidation at the nitrogen to the radical cation that undergoes decarboxylation (see... 

Osmium tetroxide used in combination with sodium periodate can also effect alkene cleavage.191 Successful oxidative cleavage of double bonds using ruthenium tetroxide and sodium periodate has also been reported.192 In these procedures the osmium or ruthenium can be used in substoichiometric amounts because the periodate reoxidizes the metal to the tetroxide state. Entries 1 to 4 in Scheme 12.18 are examples of these procedures. Entries 5 and 6 show reactions carried out in the course of multistep syntheses. The reaction in Entry 5 followed a 5-exo radical cyclization and served to excise an extraneous carbon. The reaction in Entry 6 followed introduction of the allyl group by enolate alkylation. The aldehyde group in the product was used to introduce an amino group by reductive alkylation (see Section 5.3.1.2). 

Because reductive cleavage of aliphatic nitro compounds with Bu3SnH proceeds via alkyl radicals, nitro compounds are also used as precursors to alkyl radicals. Reactions using nitro compounds may have some advantages over other ones, since aliphatic nitro compounds are available from various sources. For example, the sequence of the Michael additions of nitro compounds provides an excellent method for the construction of quaternary carbon compounds (Eq. 7.79).126 Newkome has used this strategy for the construction of dendritic polymers (Eq. 7.80).127... 

In recent years, the importance of aliphatic nitro compounds has greatly increased, due to the discovery of new selective transformations. These topics are discussed in the following chapters Stereoselective Henry reaction (chapter 3.3), Asymmetric Micheal additions (chapter 4.4), use of nitroalkenes as heterodienes in tandem [4+2]/[3+2] cycloadditions (chapter 8) and radical denitration (chapter 7.2). These reactions discovered in recent years constitute important tools in organic synthesis. They are discussed in more detail than the conventional reactions such as the Nef reaction, reduction to amines, synthesis of nitro sugars, alkylation and acylation (chapter 5). Concerning aromatic nitro chemistry, the preparation of substituted aromatic compounds via the SNAr reaction and nucleophilic aromatic substitution of hydrogen (VNS) are discussed (chapter 9). Preparation of heterocycles such as indoles, are covered (chapter 10). 

If the provoked or spontaneous acid-base reactions overcome the radical reactions of the primary radical, the secondary radical is easier to reduce, or to oxidize, than the substrate in most cases. Exceptions to this rule are scarce, but exist. They involve substrates that are particularly easy to reduce thanks to the presence of a strongly electron-withdrawing substituent (for reductions, electron-donating for oxidation), which is expelled upon electron transfer, thus producing a radical that lacks the same activation. Alkyl iodides and aryl diazonium cations are typical examples of such systems. 

Generation of aryl radicals by reduction of aryl halides in the presence of some nucleophiles, particularly alkyl or aryl sulphide ions and cyanide ions, leads to bond formation with the generation of a new radical-anion. Overall, a reaction between the initial aryl halide and a nucleophile is triggered at the cathode and is an equivalent of the Sr I process. It proceeds in stages according to Scheme 4.6 [156] and requires only a catalytic concentration of radical-anion. The reaction can... 

Reduction of phenyl vinyl sulphones in dimethylformamide containing phenol as proton donor causes loss of phenylsulphinate ion. The reaction probably involves a series of electron and proton addition steps [74]. In absence of a proton source, phenyl vinyl sulphone radical-anion undergoes a dimerization reaction discussed on p. 57. Reactions of alkyl substituted vinyl sulphones are complicated by alkene migration in the presence of electrogenerated bases. Dimers are formed and further reduction leads to loss of phenylsulphinate ion [81] (Scheme 5.3). 

In an extension of atom-transfer radical reactions to heterocyclic systems, Byers has introduced a novel methodology for the addition of electron-deficient radicals to unprotected pyrroles and indoles in a stannane-fi ee, non-oxidative process <99TL2677>. For exanqrle, photochemical reaction of pyrrole (33) with etl l iodoacetate (34) in presence of thiosulfiite as an iodine reductant, phase transfer catalyst and propylene oxide led to high yields of the 2-alkylated pyrrole 35 <99TL2677>. 

Radical chain processes break down whenever the velocity of a termination reaction is comparable to the velocity of the rate-controlling step in a chain reaction. This situation would occur, for example, if one attempted to use EtsSiH as the hydrogen atom donor in the alkyl halide reduction sequence in Figure 4.6 and employed typical tin-hydride reaction conditions because the rate constant for reaction of the silane with an alkyl radical is 4 orders of magnitude smaller than that for reaction of Bu3SnH. Such a slow reaction would not lead to a synthetically useful nonchain sequence, however, because no radical is persistent in this case. In fact, a silane-based radical chain reduction of an alkyl halide could be accomplished successfully if the velocity of the initiation reaction was reduced enough such that it (and, hence, also the velocity of alkyl radical termination... 

Reversible redox reactions can initiate radical chemistry without a follow-up reduction or oxidation reaction. In successful reactions of this type, the redox step that produces the radical is thermodynamically disfavored. For example, Cu(I) complexes react reversibly with alkyl hahdes to give Cu(II) hahde complexes and an alkyl radical. The alkyl radical can react in, for example, an addition reaction, and the product radical will react with the Cu(II) hahde to give a new alkyl halide. This type of reaction sequence, which has been apphed in living radical polymerizations, is in the general family of nonchain radical reactions discussed earlier. ... 

Several research groups ha ve been involved in the study of ET reactions from an electrochemically generated aromatic radical anion to alkyl halides in order to describe the dichotomy between ET and polar substitution (SN2). The mechanism for indirect reduction of alkyl halides by aromatic mediators has been described in several papers. For all aliphatic alkyl halides and most benzylic halides the cleavage of the carbon-halogen bond takes place concertedly with the... 

---