Sulfonates vinyl carbanions

Cory and Renneboog53 have devised an efficient bicycloannulation for the synthesis of tricyclo[3.2.1.02,7]octane-6-one (66) as shown in equation 63. The method involves three steps (1) the enolate undergoes an initial conjugate addition to phenyl vinyl sulfone, (2) the resulting sulfone-stabilized carbanion undergoes an intramolecular Michael addition to the enone, and (3) the resulting enolate displaces phenylsulfinyl moiety from the tricyclooctanone. The amount of HMPA (3 mol equivalents) is critical for effective cyclization of the enolate. 

Beau, J M, Sinay, P, D-Glycopyranosyl phenyl sulfones their use in a stereocontrolled synthesis of cA-2,6-disubstituted tetrahydropyrans ((3-D-C-glycosides), Tetrahedron Lett., 26, 6189-6192, 1985. Schmidt, R R, Preuss, R, Betz, R, Vinyl carbanions. 33. C-1 lithiation of C-2 activated glucals. Tetrahedron Lett., 28, 6591-6594, 1987. 

The reaction of anomeric sulfones with vinyl magnesium bromide in the presence of zinc bromide allows direct vinylation at the anomeric center. This reaction was the starting point of an approach for the synthesis of the C29 to C51 fragment of altohyrtin A [64]. The C29 to C44 (EF) portion of this compound has been prepared by a stepwise sequence involving anomeric cyanation, using the reaction of anomeric acetate in the presence of BF3-Et20. The anomeric cyanide was then elaborated to the Weinreb amide, which was condensed with an appropriate vinylic carbanion representing the C29 to C37 chain [298]. 

Thus, like a, /1-unsaturated ketones and sulfones, both thiirene dioxides and thiirene oxides are preferentially attacked by the less basic nucleophiles on the vinylic carbon atom2. This would lead to formally 1,4 Michael-type adducts and/or other products resulting from further transformations following the initial formation of the a-sulfonyl and a-sulfoxy carbanions. 

McDowell and Stirling194 studied electronic effects upon the reactivity of aryl vinyl sulfones towards amines. Rate constants for t-butylamine addition in ethanol at 25 °C were well correlated by the Hammett equation, with p = 1.59. Comparison of this with p values for H-D exchange mentioned above191 suggested considerable carbanionic character in the transition state, perhaps in a concerted mechanism. Rates of addition of amines to alkenyl, allenyl and alkynyl p-tolyl sulfones have also been measured195. 

Treatment of a-lithionitriles with vinylic sulfones resulted in the formation of cyclized products, i.e., 3-oxothian-l, 1-dioxides 346 or cyclopropane derivatives 348. When a-lithiated aliphatic nitriles were used, carbanions 343, formed by the nucleophilic addition,... 

Carbanion 239 derived from vinyl sulfone 238 was shown to be alkylated regiospecifi-cally at the a-carbon atom The carbanions 240 and 241 derived from <5-ketosulfones were shown to be alkylated at both a- and y-carbons . Alkylation of 240 gave a-alkylated products predominantly, while the a/y ratio varied markedly by change of the alkylating agent in the reaction with 241. For example, methylation with methyl iodide gave the products in the a/y ratio of 72 28, while the a/y ratio was 27 73 in the ethylation with ethyl bromide ... 

Vinyl sulfones are reactive as dienophiles. The sulfonyl group can be removed reductively with sodium amalgam (see Section 5.6.2). In this two-step reaction sequence, the vinyl sulfone functions as an ethylene equivalent. The sulfonyl group also permits alkylation of the adduct, via the carbanion. This three-step sequence permits the vinyl sulfone to serve as the synthetic equivalent of a terminal alkene.68... 

EtsN suggest that both reactions proceed via carbanion formation, to give the corresponding aryl vinyl and aryl styryl sulfones, respectively." ... 

Oxidative desulfonylation.- Aryl sulfones are converted into ketones by oxidation of the a-carbanion (LDA) with Mo05Py-HMPT in THF at —78 in 50-97% yield. This conversion permits use of phenyl vinyl sulfone as an equivalent of kctcnc in Diels Alder reactions. 

In the Horner-Emmons reaction (Scheme 3), the sulfonylphosphonate carbanion 5 is formed in the presence of NaH and then reacts with an aldehyde to produce the intermediate 6 that undergoes in situ elimination to yield the vinyl sulfones and phosphonate anion. The sulfonyl group can stabilize the anion in the sulfonylphosphonate 5. The vinyl sulfones that are produced by this method using aldehydes as starting materials are exclusively the E (trans) isomers. The E-isomers of the vinyl sulfones are shown in the NMR spectra based on the coupling constants of the vinylic protons. Although strongly basic conditions are used in the Horner-Emmons reaction and a-amino aldehydes are easily racemized, the amino acid vinyl sulfones prepared by this method still show substantial optical activity. However, the enantiomeric purity of these compounds has not been determined. 5 ... 

The enantioselective synthesis of (-)-sedacryptine, a piperidine alkaloid, has been achieved via the double intramolecular conjugate addition of a carbamate group onto a vinyl sulfone and then an enone (Scheme 30). The first conjugate addition of 108 proceeded in a. syn-1,3 fashion. The successive cyclization of the resulting carbamate anion 110, which was formed from carbanion 109 via proton transfer, gave a mixture of stereoisomeric products 111 and 112. Both of these isomers were converted into the target natural product.76... 

There are many examples of BF3-OEt2 promoted openings of (1) by carbanions, including sulfone-stabilized anions, vinylic anions, allylic anions, and phosphonate-stabilized anions. For example, the lithium anion of trans-1,2-Bis(tributylstannyl)ethylene opens (5)-(l) in the presence of BF3-OEt2 in THF at —78°C, affording fra/w-l-(tributylstannyl)-5-tosyl-4-hydroxypent-l-ene in 50% yield the latter is converted into oxirane (3) in 76% yield on treatment with powdered Sodium Hydroxide in monoglyme. ... 

Oxidation of a-sulfonyl carbanions with copper(II) trifluoromethanesulfonate gives dimers of the original sulfone, while with copper(II) acetate vinylic sulfones were obtained (Scheme 74). ... 

Cyclobutenes prepared by the Ramberg-BScklund reaction are almost always unsubstituted at the vinylic positions. In 1974, Paquette introduced a related and complementary ring contraction which is particularly suitable for the synthesis of 1,2-dialkylcyclobutenes. The reaction takes place when carbanions of five-membered cyclic sulfones are treated with LAH in refluxing dioxane (Scheme 19). The mechanism of the reaction is not clear. Good yields are obtained only when the sulfone is 2,5-dial-kylated in the absence of these groups, simple reduction of sulfone to sulfide becomes a serious side reaction. Dibenzyl sulfone is converted into a mixture of stereoisomeric stilbenes (56%) and dibenzyl sulfide (23%) under the same conditions. ... 

De Waard has developed a modification of the Ramberg-BScklund rearrangement in which the intermediate a-sulfonyl carbanion is generated by 1,4-addition of a nucleophile to a vinyl sulfone the Mi-... 

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