Sulfoxides nucleophilic addition reactions

The nucleophilic character ofdialkyl sulfides is illustrated by their nucleophilic addition reaction with alkyl halides to form the corresponding sulfonium salts (35) (Scheme 13). Asymmetric sulfonium salts (36) have a tetrahedral configuration therefore, like the analogous chiral saturated carbon compounds, they can be resolved into optical enantiomers (see Chapter 6, p. 81). They are, however, generally less optically stable than sulfoxides, but in sulfonium salts the unshared electron pair can hold its configuration at ordinary temperatures, unlike nitrogen in quaternary ammonium salts, enabling their resolution to be achieved. 

We reasoned that some cyclic enone sulfoxides should form an even more rigid chelate than that formed from the corresponding acyclic alkenyl sulfoxides when complexed with metal ions model exemplifies the case for a cyclopentenone sulfoxide and suggests a high degree of stereocontrol during the nucleophilic addition reaction. 

Sulfoxides (R1—SO—R2), which are tricoordinate sulfur compounds, are chiral when R1 and R2 are different, and a-sulfmyl carbanions derived from optically active sulfoxides are known to retain the chirality. Therefore, these chiral carbanions usually give products which are rich in one diastereomer upon treatment with some prochiral reagents. Thus, optically active sulfoxides have been used as versatile reagents for asymmetric syntheses of many naturally occurring products116, since optically active a-sulfinyl carbanions can cause asymmetric induction in the C—C bond formation due to their close vicinity. In the following four subsections various reactions of a-sulfinyl carbanions are described (A) alkylation and acylation, (B) addition to unsaturated bonds such as C=0, C=N or C= N, (C) nucleophilic addition to a, /5-unsaturated sulfoxides, and (D) reactions of allylic sulfoxides. 

Nucleophilic addition to acetylenic sulfoxides provides a,/ -ethylenic sulfoxides. Treatment of 181 with monoalkyl-copper afforded nearly quantitatively /J-alkylated a, / -ethylenic sulfoxides 182 through cis-addition to the triple bond. The reaction with lithium dimethylcuprate also afforded a similar adduct however, the reaction with lithium di-n-butylcuprate was found to give a small amount of ethyl n-butyl sulfoxide 183 besides the... 

Addition of Lithiated Sulfoxides and Sulfones Nucleophilic addition of lithiated methylaryl sulfoxides (384) to nitrones of various structures proceeds easily and in good yields (622). The reactions are applied to the synthesis of optically active a-substituted and a,a-disubstituted hydroxylamines, to secondary amines (623), and to enantioselective syntheses of alkaloids (624). The preferred approach to (+ )-euphococcinine is based on the use of homochiral 3-sullinyl nitrones (385) (Scheme 2.167). 

Several trivial but highly useful reactions are known to convert one acceptor-substituted allene into another. For example, the transformation of allenic carboxylic acids is possible both via the corresponding 2,3-allenoyl chlorides or directly to 2,3-allen-amides [182,185], Allenylimines were prepared by condensation of allenyl aldehydes with primary amines [199]. However, the analogous reaction of allenyl ketones fails because in this case the nucleophilic addition to the central carbon atom of the allenic unit predominates (cf. Section 7.3.1). Allenyl sulfoxides can be oxidized by m-CPBA to give nearly quantitatively the corresponding allenyl sulfones [200]. The reaction of the ketone 144 with bromine yields first a 2 1 mixture of the addition product 145 and the allene 146, respectively (Scheme 7.24). By use of triethylamine, the unitary product 146 is obtained [59]. The allenylphosphane oxides and allene-... 

The addition reactions of nucleophilic and electrophilic reagents to optically active a, /3-unsaturated sulfoxides have also been found to proceed in an asymmetric way. Addition of piperidine to chiral (i )-cis-propenyl p-tolyl sulfoxide 309 affords a 87 13 mixture of diastereomeric sulfoxides 310 (318). The configuration at the 3-carbon atom of the predominant diastereomer (i yS )-310 was determined by means of chemical correlation starting from optically... 

Coordinated a-amino amides can be formed by the nucleophilic addition of amines to coordinated a-amino esters (see Chapter 7.4). This reaction forms the basis of attempts to use suitable metal coordination to promote peptide synthesis. Again, studies have been carried out using coordination of several metals and an interesting early example is amide formation on an amino acid imine complex of magnesium (equation 75).355 However, cobalt(III) complexes, because of their high kinetic stability, have received most serious investigation. These studies have been closely associated with those previously described for the hydrolysis of esters, amides and peptides. Whereas hydrolysis is observed when reactions are carried out in water, reactions in dimethyl-formamide or dimethyl sulfoxide result in peptide bond formation. These comparative results are illustrated in Scheme 91.356-358 The key intermediate (126) has also been reacted with dipeptide... 

Silver salts are also utilized to perform nucleophilic additions to disulfide bonds to yield sulfenamides (146). If alkyl halides are treated with stoichiometric AgBF4 in dimethyl sulfoxide solvent (DMSO, solvent), the corresponding aldehydes/ ketones will form in good yields. This reaction is an alternative to the well-known Swern oxidation (147). In addition, silver can drive the formation of dialkylper-oxonium ions from alkyl halides, which then oxidizes sulfoxides or sulfides (148,149). In the presence of AgN03, sulfides can be oxidized into a-chloro sulfoxides by SO2CI2 (Fig. 36) (150). 

Over the last five years, U.S. ERA has supported research on a chemical dehalogenation process for destroying PCB and dioxin. Nucleophilic displacement of aromatic halides by alkali-metal polyglycoxides occurs readily at elevated temperatures. This reaction readily dechlorinates PCB in mineral oil at 100° and proceeds similarly with 1,2,3,4- TCDD in organic solvents. The addition of dipolar, aprotic solvents such as dimethyl sulfoxide increases the reaction rate and allows dechlorination reactions in dry systems at ambient conditions. Initial tests of this concept for soil decontamination at Shenandoah Stables, Missouri, failed because of high moisture content of the soil and low temperatures. The process was used successfully in the summer of 1986 to remove penta-, hexa-, hepta-, and octachlorodibenzodioxins from... 

Barton and Crich reported the first examples of the uses of 2-substituted allylic sulfur compounds [53]. Their initial experiments with additions of simple alkyl radicals to allyl sulfides, sulfoxides and sulfones were relatively unsuccessful. This failure was largely due to the fact that the nucleophilic alkyl radicals, which were generated by photolysis of the corresponding Barton ester, underwent addition to a second equivalent of Barton ester faster than they added to the allyl transfer agent. Reactions were much more successful with the electron-deficient acrylate reagent 93 (Fig. 4). Crich was later able to show that this same reagent underwent addition reactions with an acyl radical derived from an acyl phenyl telluride [54]. 

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