Ramberg—Backlund

Thiirane 1,1-dioxides extrude sulfur dioxide readily (70S393) at temperatures usually in the range 50-100 °C, although some, such as c/s-2,3-diphenylthiirane 1,1-dioxide or 2-p-nitrophenylthiirane 1,1-dioxide, lose sulfur dioxide at room temperature. The extrusion is usually stereospeciflc (Scheme 10) and a concerted, non-linear chelotropic expulsion of sulfur dioxide or a singlet diradical mechanism in which loss of sulfur dioxide occurs faster than bond rotation may be involved. The latter mechanism is likely for episulfones with substituents which can stabilize the intermediate diradical. The Ramberg-Backlund reaction (B-77MI50600) in which a-halosulfones are converted to alkenes in the presence of base, involves formation of an episulfone from which sulfur dioxide is removed either thermally or by base (Scheme 11). A similar conversion of a,a -dihalosulfones to alkenes is effected by triphenylphosphine. Thermolysis of a-thiolactone (5) results in loss of carbon monoxide rather than sulfur (Scheme 12). 

PAQUETTE Olefin Synthesis OesuHonatlon of suHones to alkenes (altemative to Ramberg-Backlund). 

RAMBERG BACKLUND Olefin Synthesis Conversion of dialkyl suNones to akenes by rearra/tgement of a-haiosulfones with base (via imaranedloxfdes). 

Recent developments in Ramberg-Backlund rearrangement and episulfone chemistry 99CC217. 

The a -halosulfone, required for the Ramberg-Backlund reaction, can for example be prepared from a sulfide by reaction with thionyl chloride (or with N-chlorosuccinimide) to give an a-chlorosulfide, followed by oxidation to the sulfone—e.g. using m-chloroperbenzoic acid. As base for the Ramberg-Backlund reaction have been used alkoxides—e.g. potassium t-butoxide in an etheral solvent, as well as aqueous alkali hydroxide. In the latter case the use of a phase-transfer catalyst may be of advantage. ... 

Cf. three-membered ring sulfones as intermediates of the Ramberg-Backlund reaction L. A. Paquette, Org. React., 25, 1 (1977). 

The formation of alkenes from thiirane dioxides may not be stereospecifically controlled in the presence of a sufficiently strong base and sufficiently acidic protons in the three-membered ring. Under such conditions (essentially those typical for the Ramberg Backlund reaction), epimerization via a carbanion intermediate produces an equilibrium mixture of thiirane dioxides19,99 and consequently a mixture of cis- and trans-alkenes. 

Based on extensive studies associated with the Ramberg-Backlund rearrangement15 and its mechanism2 16"19,111,112, including the treatment of thiirane oxides with bases, the following conclusions emerge ... 

Sulfonic acids (e.g. 58) should be sufficiently stable to be isolated and identified, as proved to be the case in the Ramberg Backlund rearrangement of 2-halothiirane dioxide115 (equation 16). 

Since the Ramberg-Backlund reaction proceeds through the initial a-proton removal by base, followed by intramolecular nucleophilic substitution of a-carbanion 358 to form... 

In the reaction between sulfines 366 and an a-sulfonyl carbanion, a Ramberg-Backlund reaction took place via formation of the intermediate 367440. 

Block and Aslam441 reported a novel variant of the Ramberg-Backlund reaction in which a,/J-unsaturated a -bromoalkyl sulfones 368 afforded 1,3-dienes upon treatment with base. Since a -bromoalkyl sulfones 368 can be obtained readily by the initial treatment of olefins with bromomethanesulfonyl bromide under photoirradiation and subsequent treatment with triethylamine, this reaction was utilized for preparation of dienes which contain one additional carbon over that of the corresponding olefin. Starting from the cyclic olefins 369-372 the 1,3-dienes 373-376 were obtained442. 

The Ramberg-Backlund reaction has been utilized for the preparation of polyenes. 1,3-Butadienyl allyl sulfones 398 and 399 were transformed into the tri- and tetra-enes 400 and 401 by alkylcuprate addition and the Ramberg-Backlund-type S02 extrusion449. Julia and coworkers450 carried out the Michael addition of various nucleophiles such as ethanol, t-butyl acetoacetate and phenyl thioacetone to allyl dienyl sulfones 402 and then converted them to diallyl sulfones 403. The sulfones were transformed into isoprenoid, 404 by the Ramberg-Backlund reaction. 

One-pot Ramberg-Backlund reaction of sulfones 405 and 406 with KOH in CCl4-t-BuOH afforded the corresponding olefins451,452. 

Finally, an electrochemical reduction of bis-a-bromobenzyl sulfone to stilbene195 and a spectacular, so-called bis-homoconjugative, version of the Ramberg-Backlund reaction, which converts the a-chlorosulfone 100 into the bridged cyclooctatriene derivative 101 (equation 63)196-197, have also been published. 

The Michael induced Ramberg-Backlund reactions gives a mixture of ( )- and (Zy dienes via extrusion of S02 from the episulfone intermediate 57 (equation 55)47. 

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