Selenoxide eliminations

The elimination of the selenoxide through heating in DMF, a polar aprotic solvent, was examined. As before, triethylamine was also added to neutralize the electrophilic PhSeOH liberated during the generation of 9 and to guard against undesired processes induced from that direction. 

Ketals are converted to allyl vinyl ethers after Wittig olefination [14]. Wittig reactions permit the incorporation of various substituents into the allyhc terminal of the ether. Enol ethers have been conveniently prepared by cleavage of acetals with various Lewis acids. Cleavage of the ketals with the Lewis acid, for example, triethylsilyl triflate, in the presence of diisopropylethylamine in refluxing 1,2-di-chloroethane afforded the enol ethers (Eq. 3.1.9). The resulting enol ethers were then heated to effect the Claisen rearrangement without isolation. 

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Nishibayashi Y, Uemura S (2000) Selenoxide Elimination and [2,3] Sigmatropic Rearrangements. 208 201-233... 

Unsaturated -Keto Esters, (3-Diketones, and a /3-Keto Sulfoxide Prepared by Selenoxide Elimination... 

Selenoxides are even more reactive than sulfoxides toward (3-elimination. In fact, many selenoxides react spontaneously when generated at room temperature. Synthetic procedures based on selenoxide eliminations usually involve synthesis of the corresponding selenide followed by oxidation and in situ elimination. We have already discussed examples of these procedures in Section 4.3.2, where the conversion of ketones and esters to their a, (3-unsaturated derivatives is considered. Selenides can... 

Like amine oxide elimination, selenoxide eliminations normally favor formation of the E-isomer in acyclic structures. In cyclic systems the stereochemical requirements of the cyclic TS govern the product composition. Section B of Scheme 6.21 gives some examples of selenoxide eliminations. 

The TS for selenoxide elimination has also been examined computationally.334 The C-H bond cleavage runs ahead of the C—Se cleavage. 

The C(9)—C(16) subunit was synthesized from the same starting material. The chain was extended by a boron enolate addition to 2-methylpropenal (Step D-2). After introduction of a double bond by selenoxide elimination in Step E-4, a Claisen rearrangement was used to generate an eight-membered lactone ring (Step E-6). 

In another elegant approach (Scheme 18), a synthesis of 5-alkenyl-substituted 1,2,4-oxadiazoles relies upon a selenoxide. -elimination at the 5-a-carbon of the selenium resin-supported 1,2,4-oxadiazole 152. Access to compound 152 was achieved in two steps from the supported oxadiazole 150, which underwent deprotonation and alkylation at the 5-a-carbon to give the a-alkylated selenium resin 151. 1,3-Dipolar cycloaddition then gave the selenium resin-supported 1,2,4-oxadiazole 152 <2005JC0726>. 

Addition to 1-alkynes (10,408). Terminal alkynes can be converted into acetylenic sulfones2 or into allenic sulfones3 by reaction with 1 followed by selenoxide elimination. 

Scheme 4.58 Chiral allenic sulfones from asymmetric selenoxide elimination.

Furthermore, the first catalytic synthesis of allenes with high enantiomeric purity [15c, 25] was applied recently to the pheromone 12 by Ogasawara and Hayashi [26] (Scheme 18.7). Their palladium-catalyzed SN2 -substitution process of the bromo-diene 16 with dimethyl malonate in the presence of cesium tert-butanolate and catalytic amounts of the chiral ligand (R)-Segphos furnished allene 17 with 77% ee. Subsequent transformation into the desired target molecule 12 via decarboxylation and selenoxide elimination proceeded without appreciable loss of stereochemical purity and again (cf. Scheme 18.5) led to the formation of the allenic pheromone in practically the same enantiomeric ratio as in the natural sample. 

The telluroxide elimination appeared initially to be of little value compared to the popularity of the analogous selenoxide elimination. However, after the previous results which established the syn stereochemistry of the elimination, more detailed investigations clearly demonstrated the synthetic utility of this methodology. ... 

The telluroxide elimination proceeds much slowly than selenoxide elimination. The accompanying scheme illustrates these useful synthetic transformations. 

Samarium(II) iodide, 46, 3 Sandmeyer reaction, 2, 7 Schiemann reaction, 5, 4 Schmidt reaction, 3, 8, 9 Selenium dioxide oxidation, 5, 8 24, 4 Seleno-Pummerer reaction, 40, 3 Selenoxide elimination, 44, 1 Shapiro reaction, 23, 3 39, 1 Silanes ... 

Allylic alcohols can also be obtained from epoxides by ring opening with a selenide anion followed by elimination via the selenoxide (see Section 6.8.3 for discussion of selenoxide elimination). The elimination occurs regiospecifically away from the hydroxy group.116 117 118... 

Phenylselenoetherification (8, 26-28). This cyclization has been described in detail.6 The 16 examples reported indicate that the reaction is applicable to unsaturated primary, secondary, and tertiary alcohols as well as to phenols. The most important use is for synthesis of allylic ethers by syn-selenoxide elimination, which proceeds selectively away from the oxygen. The value of this methodology for synthesis of natural products is illustrated by a synthesis of a muscarine analog (1), outlined in equation (I). 

Selenoxide elimination.3 A short synthesis of royal jelly acid (2) from a commercially available starting material (1) involves phenylselenenylalion followed by concurrent ozonation of a double bond and selenoxide elimination (equation I). 

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