Reactions with allenic titanium reagents

An alternative, but related, route to allenic titanium reagents from propargylic esters has been reported recently. Reaction of titanocene dichloride with BuMgCl and Mg yields a reactive titanocene intermediate, formulated as Cp2Ti. This reduced Ti species reacts in situ by oxidative addition to propargylic acetates. The allenyltitanium reagents thus produced add to aldehydes and ketones, as expected, to afford homopropargylic alcohols (Table 9.27) [43]. 

The high regioselectivity in the formation of a-allenic alcohols from boron reagents at low temperature is markedly different from that seen with the titanium reagent derived from 1-trimethylsilyl-l-bu-tyne, in which exclusive formation of 3-alkynic alcohols is observed. This result was explained by a rapid exchange between the allenic and alkynic structures, as shown in equation (2). The alkynic structure is thermodynamically less stable and kinetically more reactive than that of the allenic form. At lower temperature, the rate of equilibrum becomes faster than the subsequent reaction with aldehydes and thus the alkynic species becomes the major reaction form. 

The reaction between the imines and allenic titanium reagents give the anti adducts with high stereoselectivity (Scheme 36). The observed stereoselectivity can be explained by a cyclic transition state in which the metal coordinates to the lone pair of the nitrogen atoms. ... 

A variety of optically active 4,4-disubstituted allenecarboxylates 245 were provided by HWE reaction of intermediate disubstituted ketene acetates 244 with homochiral HWE reagents 246 developed by Tanaka and co-workers (Scheme 4.63) [99]. a,a-Di-substituted phenyl or 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenyl (BHT) acetates 243 were used for the formation of 245 [100]. Addition of ZnCl2 to a solution of the lithiated phos-phonate may cause binding of the rigidly chelated phosphonate anion by Zn2+, where the axially chiral binaphthyl group dictates the orientation of the approach to the electrophile from the less hindered si phase of the reagent. Similarly, the aryl phosphorus methylphosphonium salt 248 was converted to a titanium ylide, which was condensed with aromatic aldehydes to provide allenes 249 with poor ee (Scheme 4.64) [101]. 

Simple diastereoselectivity comes into play when allenylmetal compounds are added to aldehydes, since adducts such as 1 a/b contain both an axis and a center of asymmetry. Hence, diastereomeric mixtures are produced. When chiral aldehydes are used in such reactions, the diastereoselectivity also depends on the relative rate by which the enantiomers of the racemic allenylmetallic species interconvert, i.e., relative to the rate of addition to the chiral aldehyde. Apart from reactions of allenyllithium and -titanium reagents with aldehydes90-94, few such intermolecular, simple diastereoselective reactions yielding allenes have been reported. 

Alkoxypropargylation. The ambident character of the propargylic anion, which may be in equihbrium with the aUenic form, is responsible for its limited use in synthesis. In general the structure and reactivity of the ambident anion depend on the nature of the substrate, the counter cation, and the solvent. There is also an erythro-threo stereoselectivity problem when alkylated propargylic anions react with aldehydes or unsymmetrical ketones. In contrast, the zinc and titanium reagents derived from the title compound possess the allenic structure and, upon reaction with aldehydes, lead almost exclusively to the )8-acetylenic alcohol (eq 1), presumably by a chelate transition state (Sei process). The reaction also leads preferentially to the erythro diastereomer. The stereoselectivity is highest with titanium as the metal and THE as the solvent. ... 

A different approach towards titanium-mediated allene synthesis was used by Hayashi et al. [55], who recently reported rhodium-catalyzed enantioselective 1,6-addition reactions of aryltitanate reagents to 3-alkynyl-2-cycloalkenones 180 (Scheme 2.57). In the presence of chlorotrimethylsilane and (R)-segphos as chiral ligand, alle-nic silyl enol ethers 181 were obtained with good to excellent enantioselectivities and these can be converted further into allenic enol esters or triflates. In contrast to the corresponding copper-mediated 1,6-addition reactions (Section 2.2.2), these transformations probably proceed via alkenylrhodium species (formed by insertion of the C-C triple bond into a rhodium-aryl bond) and subsequent isomerization towards the thermodynamically more stable oxa-jt-allylrhodium intermediates [55],... 

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