Sulfenates, propargylic rearrangement

Following studies on the rearrangement of allylic arenesulfinates, Braverman and coworkers have investigated a number of natural extensions of this unique transformation, including the predictable [2,3] sigma tropic rearrangements of allylic sulfenates to sulfoxides and of propargylic sulfenates and sulfinates to allenic sulfoxides and sulfones respectively. The last reaction is described below, while the other two are described in Chapter 14. 

C. [2,3]-Sigmatropic Rearrangements of Propargylic Sulfenates to Allenic Sulfoxides... 

Analogous with the rearrangement of allylic sulfoxides is the [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement of propargylic sulfoxides to allenic sulfenates. This process, which has been relatively little studied so far, appears to be the first step in the facile and quantitative rearrangement of sulfoxide 98 to the hemithioacetal 101 (equation 45)167. This reaction,... 

The synthetic utility of the remarkably facile and efficient [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement of propargylic sulfenates has been further demonstrated in a variety of preparations and interesting reactions of allenyl sulfoxides , including the preparation of vinylallenes " which are useful intermediates in organic synthesis in general and natural polyenes, such as Vitamins A and D, in particular Two typical examples, taken... 

Sulfonylallenes 130a-c are easily prepared from propargyl alcohol via sulfenation, [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement and mCPBA oxidation (see Chapter 1). 

A tandem sequence of double [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement-six-electron electro-cyclization-4 + 2-cycloaddition has been shown to convert acyclic ene-bis(propargyl alcohols) such as (71), via the corresponding bis-sulfenic ethers such as (72), into anthracene (with an intermolecular final cycloaddition) or phenanthrene or related (with an intramolecular cycloaddition) skeletons. The sequence is illustrated in Scheme 12 for synthesis of a steroid skeleton, estra-l,3,5(10)-trien-17-one (73).81... 

A number of different methods have been used to synthesize racemic sulfinyl dienes. They involve oxidation of dienylthioethers [119], reactions of a-sulfinyl carbanions with different electrophiles [60, 120], sulfoxide-sulfenate rearrangements of propargylic sulfenates followed by isomerization of the resulting sulfinylallenes [121], and reactions of sulfolenes with Grignard reagents [122]. 

In 1988 Gibbs and Okamura [128] described the intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction of the non-racemic vinylallene 150 to afford the adduct 151 (as a mixture of epimers at sulfur) in a completely exo-selective manner, due to the topographical and steric arrangement of the starting vinylallene (Scheme 74). Compound 150 was obtained as a mixture of epimers at sulfur from the optically pure propargylic alcohol 149 (this transformation involved a sulfoxide-sulfenate rearrangement). Compound 151 was used to synthesize (-l-)-sterpurene. 

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