Simmons-Smith reaction, zinc

Without question, the most powerful method for cyclopropane formation by methylene transfer is the well-known Simmons-Smith reaction [6]. In 1958, Simmons and Smith reported that the action of a zinc-copper couple on diiodomethane generates a species that can transform a wide variety of alkenes into the corresponding cyclopropanes (Scheme 3.3) [7]. 

The zinc iodide formed in a Simmons-Smith reaction can act as Lewis acid, and thereby may catalyze rearrangement reactions however interfering side-reactions are generally rare. 

A carbene, R2C , is a neutral molecule containing a divalent carbon with only six valence electrons. Carbenes are highly reactive toward alkenes, adding to give cyclopropanes. Nonlialogenated cyclopropanes are best prepared by treatment of the alkene with CH212 and zinc-copper, a process called the Simmons-Smith reaction. 

The cyclopropanation of 1-trimethylsilyloxycyclohexene in the present procedure is accomplished by reaction with diiodomethane and diethylzinc in ethyl ether." This modification of the usual Simmons-Smith reaction in which diiodomethane and activated zinc are used has the advantage of being homogeneous and is often more effective for the cyclopropanation of olefins such as enol ethers which polymerize readily. However, in the case of trimethylsilyl enol ethers, the heterogeneous procedures with either zinc-copper couple or zinc-silver couple are also successful. Attempts by the checkers to carry out Part B in benzene or toluene at reflux instead of ethyl ether afforded the trimethylsilyl ether of 2-methylenecyclohexanol, evidently owing to zinc iodide-catalyzed isomerization of the initially formed cyclopropyl ether. The preparation of l-trimethylsilyloxybicyclo[4.1.0]heptane by cyclopropanation with diethylzinc and chloroiodomethane in the presence of oxygen has been reported. "... 

Several modifications of the Simmons-Smith procedure have been developed in which an electrophile or Lewis acid is included. Inclusion of acetyl chloride accelerates the reaction and permits the use of dibromomethane.174 Titanium tetrachloride has similar effects in the reactions of unfunctionalized alkenes.175 Reactivity can be enhanced by inclusion of a small amount of trimethylsilyl chloride.176 The Simmons-Smith reaction has also been found to be sensitive to the purity of the zinc used. Electrolytically prepared zinc is much more reactive than zinc prepared by metallurgic smelting, and this has been traced to small amounts of lead in the latter material. 

Zinc promoted reactions are responsive to ultrasonic waves. The classic Simmons-Smith reaction was among our first successes(21). Using zinc powder and diiodomethane we obtained good yields of cyclopropanes from styrene and acenaphthene. However, we could not... 

The direct reaction of zinc metal with organic iodides dates back to the work of Frankland(67). Several modifications have been suggested since that time to increase the reactivity of the metal. The majority of these modifications have employed zinc-copper couples(68-72), sodium-zinc alloys(73), or zinc-silver couples(77). Some recent work has indicated that certain zinc-copper couples will react with alkyl bromides to give modest yields of dialkylzinc compounds(74,73). However, all attempts to react zinc with aryl iodides or bromides have met with failure. The primary use of zinc couples has been in the Simmons-Smith reaction. This reaction has been primarily used with diiodomethane as 1,1-dibromides or longer chain diiodides have proven to be too unneactive even with the most reactive zinc couples. 

Two examples of substituted cyclopropane formation are shown below. This reactive zinc should dramatically increase the utility of the Simmons-Smith reaction. 

The chemistry and utility of zinc-based Lewis acids are similar to those of their magnesium analogs. Their mild Lewis acidity promotes several synthetic reactions, such as Diels-Alder reactions, hetero Diels-Alder reactions,229 radical-mediated reactions,230 ene-type cyclization, and Simmons-Smith reactions. 

The seemingly straightforward protonolysis of ZnMe2 with 2-(methylthio)ethanol in CH2C12 (Scheme 95) afforded [MeZn(/i3-OCH2CH2SMe)Zn(/i-Cl)Me]2 149.215 The presence of both methyl and chloride substituents on zinc suggests that the solvent (CH2C12) is involved in the reaction, which should call into question the use of dichloro-methane as solvent in the Simmons-Smith reaction. 

Among methods of preparing optically active cyclopropane compounds, the Simmons-Smith reaction, first reported in 1958, is of significance. This reaction refers to the cyclopropanation of alkene with a reagent prepared in situ from a zinc-copper alloy and diiodomethane. The reaction is stereospecific with respect to the geometry of the alkene and is generally free from side reactions in contrast to reactions involving free carbenes. 

In the Simmons-Smith reaction, the purpose of copper is simply to activate the Zn surface and has no other role. Iodomethyl zinc behaves as a weak nucleophile. As generally expected, the presence of an ally lie oxygen gives a large rate enhancement, and more remote neighboring oxygen atoms also influence the stereochemical course of the reaction. 

The Simmons-Smith reaction " and its variants are widely used for the stereospecific synthesis of cyclopropane compounds. The methodology involves the use of copper-treated zinc metal (the zinc-copper couple) with diiodomethane to add methylene to a carbon-carbon double bond. Alternative use of diazomethane in catalytic reactions does not offer the same synthetic advantages and is usually avoided because of safety considerations. As significant as is the Simmons-Smith reaction for cyclopropane formation, its employment for organic synthesis was markedly advanced by the discovery that allylic and homoallylic hydroxyl groups accelerate and exert stereochemical control over cyclopropanation of alkenes (e.g, Eq. 21), and this acceleration has been explained by a transition state model... 

Trimethylamine N-oxide, 325 Vinyltrimethylsilane, 343 Other reactions (Phenylsulfonyl)allene, 247 Cyclodehydration Diethoxytriphenylphosphorane, 109 Hexamethylphosphoric triamide, 142 Cycloprop anation Simmons-Smith reaction Diiodomethane-Diethylzinc, 276 Simmons-Smith reagent, 275 by other reagents which add CH2 to a carbon-carbon multiple bond Dibromomethane-Zinc-Copper(I) chloride, 93... 

Even unreactive alkenes undergo the Simmons-Smith reaction (cyclopropanation) in high yield with dibromomethane and this zinc powder. Almost quantitative yields are obtained in the Reformatsky reaction of ethyl a-bromoacetate and this zinc powder. Ethyl a-chloroacetate can also be used if the reaction is conducted at higher temperatures for a longer period. 

Cyclopropanes are commonly synthesized with Zn(CH2I)2 (37) using the Simmons-Smith-reactum.16 This reaction proceeds via one-step addition of one of the methylene groups of the zinc reagent to olefins. As an advantage of the Simmons-Smith-reaction no free carbene is involved. 

However, this method really hit the headlines when it was used on allylic alcohols 61 and became known as the Simmons-Smith reaction.15 If there is stereochemistry at the alcohol 63, the cyclopropane is formed on the same side as the OH group 64 suggesting that the alcohol guides the zinc carbenoid into the alkene. 

Electrochemical cyclopropanation of alkenes occurs using dibromomethanes at a sacrificial zinc electrode in a CH2C12/DMF mixture with a one compartment cell (equation 65). Yields using more than twenty isolated and conjugated olefins were generally good (30 to 70%)98. Benzal halides give only poor yields in the same reaction, but 2,2-dibromo-propane leads to the equivalent gem-dimethylcyclopropanes in fair yields. The method represents a useful alternative to other methods of cyclopropanation of olefins such as the Simmons-Smith reaction. 

Another reaction that builds a cyclopropane ring onto a carbon-carbon double bond is called the Simmons-Smith reaction. This reaction does not actually involve a car-bene, but rather a carbenoid, an organometallic species that reacts like a carbene. This species is generated by reaction of diiodomethane with zinc metal from a special alloy of zinc and copper ... 

The Simmons-Smith reaction is a powerful method for preparing cyclopropanes from olefins using zinc carbenoids (IZnCH2I, EtZnCH2I, Zn(CH2X)2).7a,278,278a A variety of versions of this reaction have been developed and new carbenoids species have been made. For recent reviews, see Ref 279 and 279a. 

Polymerization. Monomers. The cyclopropane type monomers are prepared either by addition of the dichlorocarbene or by the Simmons-Smith reaction on the corresponding olefins. Most of these compounds have been described. Spiropentane is prepared by the Applequist method (I, 2), by the reaction of zinc with C(CH2Br)4 in alcohol in the presence of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). This hydrocarbon is purified until a single NMR signal is obtained at t = 9.28. 

While lithium carbenoids have limited applicability in chemistry, an analogous zinc carbenoid, lMuch can be formed by insertion of zinc into diiodomethane, is a reagent in one of the most widely carbenoid reactions in chemistiy—the Simmons-Smith reaction. 

The reaction is known as the Simmons-Smith reaction, after the two chemists at the DuPont chemical factory who discovered it in 1958. Even after several decades, it is the most important way of making cyclopropane compounds, though nowadays a variant that uses more easily handled starting materials is often used. Diethyl zinc replaces the Zn/Cu couple of the traditional Simmons-Smitji reaction. In this example, a double cyclopropanation on a C2 symmetric diene derived from tartaric acid gives very good stereoselectivity for reasons we will soon discuss. 

Diiodomethane, CH2I2 Reacts with alkenes in the presence of zinc-copper couple to yield cyclopropanes (Simmons-Smith reaction Section 7.6). 

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