Reduction of allenes

Selectivity depends importantly on the catalytic metal. A number of selectivity series have been determined for simple olefins, and the presumption is that the sequence holds for more complex polyenes as well. Selectivity for the reduction of allene to propylene declined with metal in the order palladium... 

For the racemic allenic acid (133), each enantiomer is r uced stereospecifically to give the alkenoic acid diastereomers (134) and (135) (Scheme 63). In contrast, the levels of enantiomeric discrimination observed in microbial reductions of allenic alcohols have so far been very low. ... 

Reduction of allenes. DIBAH preferentially reduces the more substituted double bond of an allene. Actually the hydride may attack the less substituted double bond and an allylic rearrangement during hydrolysis may be involved. The reduction of 1,1-diphenylallene2 follows a different course, but may represent a special case. 

Reduction of allenes (2, 374-276). Moorthy and Devaprabhakara1 have published a convenient synthesis of cis,cis-1,6-cycloundecadiene (4) from cis.cis- 1,6-cyclo-decadiene (1) as formulated. 

Reduction of allenes. Cyclic and acyclic allenes are reduced stereospecifically by diimide (generated from hydrazine, H2Oa, CuS04) to cis-alkenes.6... 

Reduction of allenes (2, 374-376 4,438). Indian chemists have extended the reduction of allenes to a general method for synthesis of cyclic trisubstituted cis-enes. An example is the synthesis of ci/-l-methylcyclononene (3) from 1-methylcyclooctene (1). 

Vinyl triflates can be coupled efficiently to various organotin compounds. Further details of this chemistry have now appeared including efficient preparations of trimethylsilyldienes (Scheme 33).71 Two other routes to silyldienes are outlined in Scheme 34. Reduction of allenic alcohols (21) gave moderate yields of the dienyl products, although the stereoselectivity of the process leaves much to be desired. The second method, involving hydroboration of the allene (22) is much more stereoselective and enables either isomer of the final product to be obtained depending on the elimination conditions used. A key application for such dienes is in Diels-Alder reactions, where the products have vinylsilane functionality for further modification. This type of chemistry has now been explored with 2,3-bis(trimethylsilyl)buta-1,... 

Secondary amines can be added to certain nonactivated alkenes if palladium(II) complexes are used as catalysts The complexation lowers the electron density of the double bond, facilitating nucleophilic attack. Markovnikov orientation is observed and the addition is anti An intramolecular addition to an alkyne unit in the presence of a palladium compound, generated a tetrahydropyridine, and a related addition to an allene is known.Amines add to allenes in the presence of a catalytic amount of CuBr " or palladium compounds.Molybdenum complexes have also been used in the addition of aniline to alkenes. Reduction of nitro compounds in the presence of rhodium catalysts, in the presence of alkenes, CO and H2, leads to an amine unit adding to the alkene moiety. An intramolecular addition of an amine unit to an alkene to form a pyrrolidine was reported using a lanthanide reagent. 

The inertness of ordinary double bonds toward metallie hydrides is quite useful, since it permits reduction of, say, a carbonyl or nitro group, without disturbing a double bond in the same molecule (see Chapter 19 for a discussion of selectivity in reduction reactions). Sodium in liquid ammonia also does not reduce ordinary double bonds, although it does reduce alkynes, allenes, conjugated dienes, and aromatic rings (15-14). 

This method provides a convenient synthesis of alkenes with the double bond in a relatively unstable position. Thus reduction of the p-toluenesulfonylhydrazones of a,(3-unsaturated aryl ketones and conjugated dienones gives rise to nonconjugated olefins. Unsaturated ketones with endocyclic double bonds produce olefins with double bonds in the exocyclic position. The reduction of p-toluenesulfonylhydrazones of conjugated alkynones furnishes a simple synthesis of 1,3-disubstituted allenes. ... 

The mechanism of [3 + 2] reductive cycloadditions clearly is more complex than other aldehyde/alkyne couplings since additional bonds are formed in the process. The catalytic reductive [3 + 2] cycloaddition process likely proceeds via the intermediacy of metallacycle 29, followed by enolate protonation to afford vinyl nickel species 30, alkenyl addition to the aldehyde to afford nickel alkoxide 31, and reduction of the Ni(II) alkoxide 31 back to the catalytically active Ni(0) species by Et3B (Scheme 23). In an intramolecular case, metallacycle 29 was isolated, fully characterized, and illustrated to undergo [3 + 2] reductive cycloaddition upon exposure to methanol [45]. Related pathways have recently been described involving cobalt-catalyzed reductive cyclo additions of enones and allenes [46], suggesting that this novel mechanism may be general for a variety of metals and substrate combinations. 

Lauryl alcohol has been prepared by the reduction of the aldehyde with zinc dust and acetic acid 1 by the reduction of esters of lauric acid with sodium and absolute alcohol 2 or with sodium, liquid ammonia, and absolute alcohol 3 by the reduction of lauramide with sodium and amyl alcohol.4 The method in the above procedure is essentially that described by Levene and Allen.5... 

Clavepictines A and B (210 and 211, respectively) were obtained from the allenic ester 227. The reduction of its ester group to aldehyde, followed of addition to the latter of hexylmagnesium bromide, OH protection, and N-deprotection gave compound 228. A silver(i)-mediated cyclization of this compound afforded quinolizidine 229 and its C-6 epimer in a 7 1 ratio (Scheme 44). The former compound was readily converted into the target alkaloids <1997JOC4550>. 

Finally, it is of interest to compare the estimates of covalency contributions for Ir(IV) hexahalides deduced by Allen et al. (11) from spectroscopic data, with those obtained by Owen and Thornley (85, 86) from ESR results. These latter authors attributed the reduction of below the free-ion value, entirely to symmetry restricted covalency, deriving the expression 0bsd = N (Cd +s , >), where the normalising constant, N , is equal to (1 —4a S + and [Pg.153]

To date, the reductive cyclization of allenic alkenes remains undeveloped. However, the reductive cyclization of activated alkene partners in the form of 1,3-dienes and conjugated enones has been achieved using late transition metal catalysts. Indeed, the hydrosilylative dimerization of 1,3-dienes reported in 1969 appears to be the first reductive... 

A single example of the reductive cyclization of allenic carbonyl compounds is reported, which employs a rhodium-based catalyst in conjunction with Et3SiH as terminal reductant.113 This protocol promotes hydrosilylation-cyclization to form both five- and six-membered rings with exceptional levels of yy -diastereocontrol. As revealed... 

Although detailed mechanistic studies are not reported, the postulated mechanism for the reductive cyclization of allenic carbonyl compounds involves entry into the catalytic cycle via silane oxidative addition. Allene silylrhodation then provides the cr-allylrhodium hydride A-18, which upon carbometallation of the appendant aldehyde gives rise to rhodium alkoxide B-14. Oxygen-hydrogen reductive elimination furnishes the hydrosilylation-cyclization product... 

A proposed mechanism of the bis(allene) cyclization involves the formation of the allyl(stannyl)palladium species 6, which undergoes carbocyclization to give vinyl(stannyl)palladium intermediate 7 (Scheme 36). Reductive elimination and cr-bond metathesis may lead to the formation of the m-pentane derivative and the bicyclic product, respectively. The cyclization of allenic aldehydes catalyzed by a palladium complex was also reported.163... 

The beneficial effect of added phosphine on the chemo- and stereoselectivity of the Sn2 substitution of propargyl oxiranes is demonstrated in the reaction of substrate 27 with lithium dimethylcyanocuprate in diethyl ether (Scheme 2.9). In the absence of the phosphine ligand, reduction of the substrate prevailed and attempts to shift the product ratio in favor of 29 by addition of methyl iodide (which should alkylate the presumable intermediate 24 [8k]) had almost no effect. In contrast, the desired substitution product 29 was formed with good chemo- and anti-stereoselectivity when tri-n-butylphosphine was present in the reaction mixture [25, 31]. Interestingly, this effect is strongly solvent dependent, since a complex product mixture was formed when THF was used instead of diethyl ether. With sulfur-containing copper sources such as copper bromide-dimethyl sulfide complex or copper 2-thiophenecarboxylate, however, addition of the phosphine caused the opposite effect, i.e. exclusive formation of the reduced allene 28. Hence the course and outcome of the SN2 substitution show a rather complex dependence on the reaction partners and conditions, which needs to be further elucidated. 

Scheme 2.14 Synthesis of allenes 38 and 40 by reduction of propargyl acetates with lithium dimethylcuprate. THP = tetrahydropyranyl.

Scheme 2.15 Reduction of propargyl acetates to terminal allenes with Stryker s reagent.

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