Samarium Grignard

Samarium diiodide is a one electron reductant that is capable of reducing both alkyl halides and carbonyl compounds. The rate of the reduction depends on the nature of the substrate and the reaction conditions. The mechanism of the addition of alkyl halides to carbonyls was extensively studied. In case of the samarium Grignard processes, it was concluded that the reaction proceeds through an organosamarium intermediate. However, the mechanism of the samarium Barbier processes is not fully understood and there is no unambiguous evidence in favor of any of the possible pathways. 

The ABC ring system of the carbocyclic skeleton of variecolin, a sesterterpenoid natural product was accomplished by G.A. Molander and co-workers. In their approach, they utilized two samarium diiodide mediated processes. First, a primary alkyl iodide was reacted with a ketone substrate in the presence of two equivalents of samarium diiodide and catalytic nickel(ll) iodide under samarium Grignard conditions. Subsequent oxidation and lactone formation provided the chlorolactone substrate. As alkyl chlorides are less reactive than alkyl bromides and iodides, the second samarium diiodide mediated process, an intramolecular nucleophilic acyl substitution, required visible light irradiation. 

Organoytterbium chemistry has been developed in the last 20 years, although the development rate is much slower than the other lanthanides like samarium or cerium. Dianionic complexes that are produced from the reaction of ytterbium with diaryl ketones react with various kinds of electrophiles including carbon-heteroatom unsaturated bonds.35 Phenylytterbium iodide, a Grignard-type reagent, is known to have reactivity toward carbon dioxide,36 aldehydes, ketones,37,37 and carboxylic acid derivatives38,3811 to form the corresponding adducts respectively. 

Barbier reaction Samarium(II) iodide, 270 Benzoannelation Chromium carbene complexes, 82 Dicarbonylcyclopentadienylcobalt, 96 Ethyl (Z)-3-bromoacryIate, 130 Grignard reagents, 138 Methyl acrylate, 183 Methyllithium, 188 Ruthenium(III) chloride, 268 Benzoin condensation Benzyltriethylammonium chloride, 239 3-EthyIbenzothiazolium bromide, 130 Benzoylation (see also Acylation) Cadmium, 60 Dibutyltin oxide, 95 Birch reduction Birch reduction, 32... 

Dimethoxy-1 - trimethylstannyl-propane, 118 Grignard reagents, 138 Palladium(II) chloride, 234, Samarium(II) iodide, 270 Titanium(IV) chloride, 304 Cyclopentanones... 

The ability of Sml2 to reduce alkyl halides has been exploited in a number of carbon carbon bond-forming reactions. Radicals generated from the reduction of alkyl halides can be trapped by alkenes in cyclisation reactions to form carbocyclic and heterocyclic rings (see Chapter 5, Section 5.3), and the alkyl-samarium intermediates can be used in intermolecular and intramolecular Barbier and Grignard reactions (see Chapter 5, Section 5.4). The reduction of ot-halocarbonyl compounds with Sml2 gives rise to Sm(III) enolates that can be exploited in Reformatsky reactions (Chapter 5, Section 5.5) and are discussed in Section 4.5. 

Kagan later found that THP was a better solvent than THF for the generation and reaction of allylic and benzylic samariums.107 When THP is used, the allylation of aryl ketones (which are prone to pinacol coupling) is possible, provided that Grignard conditions are employed and ketones that are prone to enolisation are efficiently allylated under Barbier conditions (Scheme 5.66).107... 

Related reactions Grignard reaction, Kagan-Molander samarium diiodide coupling, Nozaki-Hiyama-Kishi reaction ... 

Europium, samarium and ytterbium also give Grignard-like reagents, RMgl, when the metal reacts with alkyl halides in THF.370... 

The application of indium- and tin-mediated Barbier-Grignard reactions in aqueous solution to the chain extension of unprotected sugars has been reviewed. Some C-5 variants of iV-acetylneuraminic acid have been prepared by the indium-mediated addition of ethyl oc-(bromomethyl)acrylate to variously N-substituted mannosamines," and similar chemistry using (bromomethyl)vinyl phosphonate has led to the phosphonate analogue 12. The reaction of O-protected aldono-1,4- and -1,5-lactones with (2-bromomethyl)-acrylate or -acrylonitrile or 2-bromobutyrolactone mediated by samarium diodide led to chain-extended ulosonic acid derivatives." ... 

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