Suprafacial examples

Cycloaddition involves the combination of two molecules in such a way that a new ring is formed. The principles of conservation of orbital symmetry also apply to concerted cycloaddition reactions and to the reverse, concerted fragmentation of one molecule into two or more smaller components (cycloreversion). The most important cycloaddition reaction from the point of view of synthesis is the Diels-Alder reaction. This reaction has been the object of extensive theoretical and mechanistic study, as well as synthetic application. The Diels-Alder reaction is the addition of an alkene to a diene to form a cyclohexene. It is called a [47t + 27c]-cycloaddition reaction because four tc electrons from the diene and the two n electrons from the alkene (which is called the dienophile) are directly involved in the bonding change. For most systems, the reactivity pattern, regioselectivity, and stereoselectivity are consistent with describing the reaction as a concerted process. In particular, the reaction is a stereospecific syn (suprafacial) addition with respect to both the alkene and the diene. This stereospecificity has been demonstrated with many substituted dienes and alkenes and also holds for the simplest possible example of the reaction, that of ethylene with butadiene ... 

Cycloaddition reactions are those in which two unsaturated molecules add together to yield a cyclic product. For example, Diels-AJder reaction between a diene (four tt electrons) and a dienophile (two tt electrons) yields a cyclohexene. Cycloadditions can take place either by suprafacial or antarafacial pathways. Suprafacial cycloaddition involves interaction between lobes on the same face of one component and on the same face of the second component. Antarafacial cycloaddition involves interaction between lobes on the same face of one component ancl on opposite faces of the other component. The reaction course in a specific case can be found by looking at the symmetry of the HOMO of one component and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of the other component. 

One of the first uses of the allylic sulfoxide-sulfenate interconversion was made by Jones and coworkers64, who reported exclusive suprafacial rearrangement of the allyl group in the steroidal sulfoxide 17 shown in equation 13. Two other examples are shown in equations 1465 and 1566. Evans and coworkers have demonstrated the utility of the suprafacial allylic sulfoxide-sulfenate rearrangement in a new synthesis of the tetracyclic alcohol 24 (equation 16)67, as well as in a synthesis of prostaglandin intermediates as shown in equation 1768. The stereospecific rearrangement of the unstable sulfenate intermediate obtained from the cis diol 25 indicates the suprafacial nature of this process. 

Dihydrothiophene-1,1-dioxides (42) and 2,17-dihydrothiepin-1,1-dioxides (43) undergo analogous 1,4 and 1,6 eliminations, respectively (see also 17-38). These are concerted reactions and, as predicted by the orbital-symmetry rules (p. 1067), the former is a suprafacial process and the latter an antarafacial process. The rules also predict that elimination of SO2 from episulfones cannot take place by a concerted mechanism (except antarafacially, which is unlikely for such a small ring), and the evidence shows that this reaction occurs by a non-concerted pathway.The eliminations of SO2 from 42 and 43 are examples of cheletropic reactions, which are defined as reactions in which two a bonds that terminate at a single atom (in this case the sulfur atom) are made or broken in concert. 

The actual reported results bear out this analysis. Thus a thermal [1,3] migration is allowed to take place only antarafacially, but such a transition state would be extremely strained, and thermal [1,3] sigmatropic migrations of hydrogen are unknown." On the other hand, the photochemical pathway allows suprafacial [1,3] shifts, and a few such reactions are known, an example being " ... 

The situation is reversed for [1,5] hydrogen shifts. In this case, the thermal rearrangements, being suprafacial, are quite common, while photochemical rearrangements are rare. Two examples of the thermal reaction are... 

Thermal 1,5-hydrogen shifts are thus allowed and, because of the symmetry of the T.S. (39), the H atom in the product (37, x = 1) will be on the same side of the common plane of the polyene s carbon atoms as it was in the starting material (36, x = 1) this is described as a suprafacial shift. This latter point would not be experimentally verifiable in the above example, but that thermal 1,5-shifts (which are quite common) do involve strictly suprafacial migration has been demonstrated in the compound (40). This is found, on heating, to yield a mixture of (41) and (42), which are produced by suprafacial shifts in the alternative conformations (40a) and (406), respectively ... 

Such 1,3-shifts are, indeed, found to be relatively common. 1,5-Photochemical shifts in (36, x = 1) should be antarafacial, but this is likely to involve a strained T.S. and no examples are known. 1,7-Photochemical shifts in (36, x = 2) should be allowed and suprafacial, and the example (47 — 48) has in fact been observed ... 

The photocyclization of enamides has been the subject of detailed study and provides a valuable approach to the synthesis of alkaloids. A comprehensive review has been published.31 A variety of reaction types has been reported. The N-benzoylenamine 33, for example, is converted on irradiation to the trans-lactam 34 by a process involving conrotatory photocyclization followed by a thermally allowed [l,5]-suprafacial hydrogen migration.32 The influence of substituents on this transformation has been studied.33 The enacylamine 35 undergoes an analogous cyclization to give a mixture of cis- and trans-lactams 36, the ratio of which is solvent... 

Numerous examples of intermolecular and intramolecular photocycloaddition to heterocyclic systems (including the dimerization of individual heterocycles) have now been reported. Two types of cycloaddition can readily be effected photochemically, namely, [n2 + 2] and [ 4 + 4] additions. Although concerted suprafacial additions of this type are allowed photochemical processes, in reality many cycloadditions occur via diradicals, zwitterions or exciplexes. 

Electrocyclization of 1,4-dienes is an efficient process when a heteroatom with a lone pair of electrons is placed in the 3-position, as in 77 (Scheme 20)38. Photoexcitation of these systems generally results in efficient formation of a C—C bond via 6e conrotatory cyclization to afford the ylide 78. These reactive intermediates can undergo a variety of processes, including H-transfer (via a suprafacial 1,4-H transfer) to 79 or oxidation to 80. In a spectacular example of reaction, and the potential it holds for complex molecule synthesis, Dittami and coworkers found that the zwitterion formed by photolysis of divinyl ether 81 could be efficiently trapped in an intramolecular [3 + 2] cycloaddition by the... 

These are not common. An example of a suprafacial shift with inversion of configuration is the thermal rearrangements of bicyclo-hexene, studied by W.R. Roth and A. Friedrich (Tetrahedron Letters 1969, 2607). 

Another example of suprafacial migration with inversion is the rearrangement of bicyclo octenone to give again a ketone and reported by J.A. Berson (1972). 

Thus the conversion of cis-6, 9 dimethylspiro [4, 4] nona-1, 3 diene to dimethyl bicyclo nona-diene is an example. The first product is a suprafacial [1, 5] carbon shift with retention of configuration at the migrating carbon. This is then followed by a [1, 5] hydrogen shift which becomes the major product. 

Examples of shifts of higher order than [1, 5] are relatively rare. But an example of a thermal suprafacial process involving [1, T shift and inversion of the migrating group is afforded by bicyclononatrienes. 

A suprafacial alkyl [1, 3] shift with retention of configuration and already discussed provides an example. The transition state contains four electrons and is of Huckel type and makes the reaction unfavourable in the ground state but many photo-chemical [1, 3] shifts do occur in the four numbered ring structure. 

The suprafacial shift along the carbon framework is not restricted to cyclic systems but may also prevail in acyclic cases. In the example given in Scheme 11, minimization of dipolar repulsion between the two C-0 bonds mandates a preferred conformation of the initial radical, leading to a stereo-chemically defined alkene radical cation and, ultimately, to a single diastere-omer of the product [119]. 

The allene moiety of the products 70b, 72 and 75 is in each case chiral and, furthermore, an additional chiral center is created in 72a,b and 75b,e-g, thereby leading to the possible formation of diastereomers. However, the concerted nature of such sigmatropic processes should result in suprafacial migrations and formation of the racemate of only one diastereomer in each case, as shown for 74 — 75 in Scheme 7.10. High stereoselectivity can really be found for the reaction of (fc)-71a and 74b,e,f, but not for other examples of type 71 and for 74g, which lead to mixtures of diastereomers. 

Some representative examples of the [3+2] annulatlon are listed in Table 1. Both cyclic and acyclic allenophiles participate in the reaction, a-Alkylidene ketones undergo annulation to provide access to spiro-fused systems, and acetylenic allenophiles react to form cyclopentadiene derivatives. The reactions of (E)- and (Z)-3-methy1-3-penten-2-one illustrate the stereochemical course of the annulation, which proceeds with a strong preference for the suprafacial addition of the allene to the two-carbon allenophile. The high stereoselectivity displayed by the reaction permits the stereocontrol led synthesis of a variety of mono- and polycyclic systems. 

Figure 12.3. Examples of suprafacial and antarafacial reactions of n systems. Notice that the examples serve to describe the stereochemical course of the reaction only. No mechanism is implied by these examples.

---