Reductive coupling selectivity

Divalent molybdenum compounds occur in mononuclear, dinuclear, and hexanuclear forms. Selected examples are shown in Figure 6. The mononuclear compounds are mostiy in the realm of organometaUic chemistry (30—32). Seven-coordinate complexes are common and include MoX2(CO)2(PR3)2, where X = Cl, Br, and I, and R = alkyl MoCl2(P(CH3)3)4, heptakis(isonitrile) complexes of the form Mo(CNR) 2 (Fig. 6d), and their chloro-substituted derivatives, eg, Mo(CNR)3CR. The latter undergo reductive coupling to form C—C bonds in the molybdenum coordination sphere (33). 

A variety of such ternary catalytic systems has been developed for diastereoselective carbon-carbon bond formations (Table). A Cp-substituted vanadium catalyst is superior to the unsubstituted one,3 whereas a reduced species generated from VOCl3 and a co-reductant is an excellent catalyst for the reductive coupling of aromatic aldehydes.4 A trinuclear complex derived from Cp2TiCl2 and MgBr2 is similarly effective for /-selective pinacol coupling.5 The observed /-selectivity may be explained by minimization of steric effects through anti-orientation of the bulky substituents in the intermediate. 

Recently, it has been demonstrated that coordination vacancies on the surface metal cations are relevant to the unique redox reactivity of oxide surfaces]2]. Oxidation of fonnaldehyde and methyl formate to adsorbed formate intermediates on ZnO(OOOl) and reductive C-C coupling of aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes and cyclic ketones on 1102(001) surfaces reduced by Ar bombardment are observed in temperature-prognunmed desorption(TPD). The thermally reduced 1102(110) surface which is a less heavily damaged surface than that obtained by bombardment and contains Ti cations in the -t-3 and +4 states, still shows activity for the reductive coupling of formaldehyde to form ethene]13]. Interestingly, the catalytic cyclotrimerization of alkynes on TiO2(100) is also traced in UHV conditions, where cation coordination and oxidation states appear to be closely linked to activity and selectivity. The nonpolar Cu20( 111) surface shows a... 

The Cp2VCl2/R3SiCl/Zn catalytic system can be used for the reductive coupling of the imines 29 (Scheme 18) [55]. These components of the ternary catalyst are essential and, interestingly, meso-diastereoselectivity is observed in contrast to the coupling with cat. Cp2TiCl2/Sm system. The selectivity de-... 

Riant et al. applied the catalytic system [CuF(Ph3P)3]2MeOH (0.1-1 mol%) and PhSiH3 (140 mol %) in the combination with Ph-TANIAPHOS as ligand to the syn-selective reductive coupling of aldehydes and methyl... 

Metal-mediated reductive coupling of alkenes and alkynes affords access to complicated organic structures, including carbocyclic and heterocyclic molecules, from readily available starting materials. While most of these coupling reactions were initially developed as stoichiometric processes, many selective, catalytic versions have been developed over the past decade these advancements have made reductive coupling much more attractive to synthetic chemists. 

Cationic palladium complex 121 reductively coupled enynes (Eq. 20) using trichlorosilane as the stoichiometric reductant [71]. This combination of catalyst and silane afforded silylated methylenecyclopentanes such as 122 in good yield from enynes such as 123. Attempts to develop an enantioselective version of this reaction were not successful [71]. When enediyne 124 was cyclized in the presence of trichlorosilane, the reaction favored enyne cycli-zation 126 by a 3 1 ratio over diyne cyclization to 125 (Eq. 21). In contrast, when the more electron-rich dichloromethylsilane was used as the reductant, diyne cyclization product 125 was preferred in a ratio of 4 1 [71]. Selectivities of up to 10 1 for enyne cyclization were observed, depending on the substrate employed [72],... 

Samarium(II) iodide also allows the reductive coupling of sulfur-substituted aromatic lactams such as 7-166 with carbonyl compounds to afford a-hydroxyalkylated lactams 7-167 with a high anti-selectivity [74]. The substituted lactams can easily be prepared from imides 7-165. The reaction is initiated by a reductive desulfuration with samarium(ll) iodide to give a radical, which can be intercepted by the added aldehyde to give the desired products 7-167. Ketones can be used as the carbonyl moiety instead of aldehydes, with good - albeit slightly lower - yields. 

Reductive coupling of the corresponding nitrones with alkyl acrylate is the key step in the short synthetic route of the selective and irreversible GABA inhibitor of amino transferase (S)-vigabatine (534) and of polyhydroxy pyrrolizidine alkaloid (+ )-hyacinthacine A2 (535). 

Pletcher and associates [155, 159, 160] have studied the electrochemical reduction of alkyl bromides in the presence of a wide variety of macrocyclic Ni(II) complexes. Depending on the substrate, the mediator, and the reaction conditions, mixtures of the dimer and the disproportionation products of the alkyl radical intermediate were formed (cf. Section 18.4.1). The same group [161] reported that traces of metal ions (e.g., Cu2+) in the catholyte improved the current density and selectivity for several cathodic processes, and thus the conversion of trichloroacetic acid to chloroacetic acid. Electrochemical reductive coupling of organic halides was accompanied several times by hydrodehalogena-tion, especially when Ni complexes were used as mediators. In many of the reactions examined, dehalogenation of the substrate predominated over coupling [162-165]. 

Moreover, propargyl oxiranes 202 were found to react with samarium diiodide and ketones to form a,a -dihydroxyallenes 203 with moderate to high anti-diastereo-selectivities (Scheme 2.62). Aurrecoechea and co-workers [99] reported this reductive coupling to proceed smoothly in the absence of a palladium catalyst, i.e. a direct electron transfer from the samarium(II) to the substrate has to take place in order to generate an allenyl/propargyl samarium intermediate of type 184/185, which is then regioselectively trapped by the electrophile. 

For selected reviews encompassing intra- and intermolecular direct reductive coupling of alkynes to carbonyl partners, see [151-158]... 

Reductive coupling of dialdehydes may also be accomplished by use of samarium(II) iodide514. The reactions is stereoselective and has been used to prepare myo-inositol derivatives (equation 132)515. The equivalent reaction, using low-valent titanium species as catalysts, results in a mixture of products516. The production of cyclic /1-amino alcohols may be accomplished in good yields, and with a high degree of cis selectivity by the treatment of carbonyl hydrazones with samarium(II) iodide (equation 133)517. This reaction is effectively equivalent to an aza-Barbier reaction. 

Sulopenem (CP-70429 see Tables 1 and 7) has been prepared via this reaction as the key step (G=0/C=S reductive coupling). The total synthesis utilizes L-aspartic acid to generate the chiral precursor 78 of the C-2 side chain, a modified chiron 76 (X = C1) to improve the preparation of the trithiocarbonate intermediate 79, a chemoselective oxalofluoride-based azetidinone N-acylation to give 80 (a procedure that avoids sulfoxide O-acylation), and mild final deprotection conditions of hydroxyl and carboxyl functions. In particular, the chloroallyl ester 81 has been selected, owing to its smooth cleavage by a palladium-mediated transesterification procedure (Scheme 42) <1992JOC4352>. 

In the presence of metallic zinc and a catalytic amount of BiCl3, the reductive coupling between a-diketones and aldehydes takes place to yield a,/3-dihydroxyketones with moderate //-selectivity (Equation (48)).83 The reaction proceeds even in aqueous media. Phenylglyoxal and methylglyoxal can be converted to the corresponding coupling products. The reductive coupling of aldimines to vicinal diamines can also be accomplished by the action of Bi-KOH in methanol at room temperature.84... 

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