SN-nucleophiles

A most important property of enolate anions, at least as far as synthesis is concerned, is their excellent nucleophilicity, which enables them to add to double bonds and to participate in nucleophilic substitution. When the addition is to a carbonyl double bond, it is called an aldol addition (Equation 17-4). Additions of enolate anions to carbon-carbon double bonds usually are classified as Michael additions (Equation 17-5), and these are discussed in Sections 17-5B and 18-9D. The principles of SN nucleophilic reactions of enolate anions (Equation 17-6) will be considered in Section 17-4, and their synthetic applications in detail in Chapter 18. 

Fig. 6.24 Synthesis of a rotaxane (schematic) with dendritic stopper (cone) and tri-tylphenol stopper (sphere). SN = nucleophilic substitution. The grey arrows indicate dethreading of the wheel (red ellipse) - to the left or the right according to choice - from...

Ohtani et al. used polystyrene-supported ammonium fluoride as a phase transfer catalyst (triphase catalysis) for several base-catalyzed reactions, such as cyanoethylation, Knoevenage reaction, Claisen condensation and Michael addition. The catalytic activity of the polystyrene-supported ammonium fluid was comparable to that of tetrabutylammonium fluoride (TBAF). The ionic loading and the ammonium structure of the fluoride polymers hardly affected the catalytic efficiency. The reaction was fast in a non-polar solvent (e.g., octane or toluene) from which the rate-determining step of the base-catalyzed reaction is very similar to that of the Sn nucleophilic substitution reactions. 

Formation of ketones. Ketones can be prepared by the carbonylation of halides and pseudo-halides in the presence of various organometallic compounds of Zn, B, Al, Sn, Si, and Hg, and other carbon nucleophiles, which attack acylpalladium intermediates (transmetallation and reductive elimination). 

Allylic metal compounds useful for further transformations can be prepared by Pd-catalyzed reactions of allylic compounds with bimetallic reagents. By this transformation, umpolung of nucleophilic 7r-allylpalladium complexes to electrophilic allylmetal species can be accomplished. Transfer of an allyl moiety from Pd to Sn is a typical umpolung. 

Reactions. Although lithium aluminum hydride is best known as a nucleophilic reagent for organic reductions, it converts many metal haUdes to the corresponding hydride, eg, Ge, As, Sn, Sb, and Si (45). 

The reactions of NSF3 have been investigated in considerable detail. They can be classified under the following categories (a) reactions with electrophiles (b) addition to the SN triple bond and (c) reactions with nucleophiles. Some examples of these different types of behaviour are discussed below. 

Reaction types are classified by specifying the class and the reagent type thus a nucleophilic substitution (Sn) is a substitution reaction by a nucleophilic reagent, as in Eq. (1-1). 

Most of the kinetic measures of solvent effects have been developed for the study of nucleophilic substitution (Sn) at saturated carbon, solvolytic reactions in particular. It may, therefore, be helpful to give a brief review of aliphatic nucleophilic substitution. Two mechanistic routes have been clearly identified. One of these is shown by... 

The notion of concurrent SnI and Sn2 reactions has been invoked to account for kinetic observations in the presence of an added nucleophile and for heat capacities of activation,but the hypothesis is not strongly supported. Interpretations of borderline reactions in terms of one mechanism rather than two have been more widely accepted. Winstein et al. have proposed a classification of mechanisms according to the covalent participation by the solvent in the transition state of the rate-determining step. If such covalent interaction occurs, the reaction is assigned to the nucleophilic (N) class if covalent interaction is absent, the reaction is in the limiting (Lim) class. At their extremes these categories become equivalent to Sn and Sn , respectively, but the dividing line between Sn and Sn does not coincide with that between N and Lim. For example, a mass-law effect, which is evidence of an intermediate and therefore of the SnI mechanism, can be observed for some isopropyl compounds, but these appear to be in the N class in aqueous media. 

Kattenberg and coworkers54 studied the chlorination of a-lithiated sulfones with hexachloroethane. These compounds may react as nucleophiles in a nucleophilic substitution on halogen (path a, Scheme 5) or in an electron transfer reaction (path b, Scheme 5) leading to the radical anions. The absence of proof for radical intermediates (in particular, no sulfone dimers detected) is interpreted by these authors in favour of a SN substitution on X. 

Grignard reagents having bulky alkyl groups react with trialkyltin hydrides to give compounds having a Sn-Mg bond, and are synthetically useful as a source of nucleophilic RsSn in particular, they react with carbonyl compounds, oxiranes, and oxetanes to give the -, jS-, or... 

In both Sn2 and SnI reactions, a nucleophile is attacking an electrophile, giving a substitution reaction. That explains the Sn part of the name. But what do the 1 and 2 stand for To see this, we need to look at the mechanisms. Let s start with Sn2 ... 

Other heteropolynuclear gold(II) complex that can be obtained by replacement of halide groups in bis(ylide)gold(II) species by other anionic nucleophilic metal complex is the tin derivative [Au2 Sn[N(p-Tol)SiMe2]3SiMe 2 M-(CH2)2PPh2 2] (350).2041... 

Domino transformations combining two consecutive anionic steps exist in several variants, but the majority of these reactions is initiated by a Michael addition [1]. Due to the attack of a nucleophile at the 4-position of usually an enone, a reactive enolate is formed which can easily be trapped in a second anionic reaction by, for example, another n,(5-urisalurated carbonyl compound, an aldehyde, a ketone, an inline, an ester, or an alkyl halide (Scheme 2.1). Accordingly, numerous examples of Michael/Michael, Michael/aldol, Michael/Dieckmann, as well as Michael/SN-type sequences have been found in the literature. These reactions can be considered as very reliable domino processes, and are undoubtedly of great value to today s synthetic chemist... 

The reactivity of triflate-substituted pyridopyrrolizines has been investigated. In the presence of a polar aprotic solvent and a nucleophile, these compounds undergo Sn reactions, leading to the a-substituted 3//-3-pyrrolones. This process is thought to involve loss of the trifluoromethanesulfinate ion, formation of an acyliminium ion intermediate, and nucleophilic attack on the latter <1995JOC5382> (Scheme 44). 

---