Reaction with conjugated sulfones

Potassium or lithium derivatives of ethyl acetate, dimethyl acetamide, acetonitrile, acetophenone, pinacolone and (trimethylsilyl)acetylene are known to undergo conjugate addition to 3-(t-butyldimethylsiloxy)-1 -cyclohexenyl t-butyl sulfone 328. The resulting a-sulfonyl carbanions 329 can be trapped stereospecifically by electrophiles such as water and methyl iodide417. When the nucleophile was an sp3-hybridized primary anion (Nu = CH2Y), the resulting product was mainly 330, while in the reaction with (trimethylsilyl)acetylide anion the main product was 331. 

The reaction of conjugated nitroalkenes with oc,P-unsaturated esters, ketones, nitriles, and sulfones is catalyzed by TMG to give the Michael adduct of allylic nitro compounds (Eq. 4.108).142... 

The product 303 from disulfur dichloride and 2,3-dimethylbuta-l,3-diene rearranges spontaneously to the tetrahydrothiophene 304 (equation 159)150. The reaction of liquid sulfur dioxide with conjugated dienes 305 (e.g. butadiene, isoprene) results in cyclic sulfones which dissociate into their components on heating (equation 160)151 152. 

Silylcuprates have been reported to undergo reactions with a number of miscellaneous Michael acceptors [65]. Conjugate addition to 3-carbomethoxy acyl pyri-dinium salts [65a] affords 4-silyl-l,4-dihydropyridines. Oxidation with p-chlorand generates a 4-acyl pyridinium salt that gives the 4-silylnicotinate upon quenching with water, and methyl 4-silyl-2-substituted dihydronicotinates upon quenching with nucleophiles (nucleophilic addition at the 6-position). The stabilized anion formed by conjugate addition to an a, j8-unsaturated sulfone could be trapped intramolecularly by an alkyl chloride [65b]. 

The conjugate addition of heteronucleophiles to activated alkenes has been used very often in organic synthesis to prepare compounds with heteroatoms [3 to various activating functional groups, e.g. ketones, esters, nitriles, sulfones, sulfoxides and nitro groups. As in the Michael reaction, a catalytic amount of a weak base is usually used in these reactions (with amines as nucleophiles, no additional base is added). 

Most recently Schnermann and Boger [131] reported that reaction of PT sulfone 293 with unsaturated aldehyde 294, induced by KHMDS in THF (Scheme 95), afforded exclusively the -isomer of conjugate diene 295 in 60% yield. This product was then transformed into Piericidin B1 296. 

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