Tandem reactions Michael-aldol process

The Michael-aldol process with methacrylates described in Section II.B can be also applied to the synthesis of substituted tetrahydrofurans, 245. If the reaction is carried out in THF, the yield and selectivity of the sequence decrease. It was proposed that the lithium coordination with THF molecules hinders the formation of the product 245. The authors concluded that the Lewis acidity of naked lithium cation is the key driving force for the reaction to proceed successfully. The tandem reaction with lithium thiophenolate, fumarate ester and benzaldehyde constitutes an useful methodology for the preparation of y-butyrolactone (Scheme 75)89,90. 

Lewis Acid Catalyzed Reactions. S amarium iodide catalyzes several transformations by presumably acting as a Lewis acid. For example, it is an efficient catalyst for the imino-Diels-Alder (eq 70) and for imino-aldol reactions. Tandem Mukaiyama-Michael-aldol (eq 71) and Michael imino-aldol processes have also been reported. ... 

Moderate yields of 3-hydroxyalkylthiochromones 521 result from a tandem Michael-aldol reaction of l-(2-methyl-s111 I d n y I phenv l)propvnone with aldehydes in the presence of two moles of BF3 etherate as a Lewis acid. The process involves a 6-emfo-dig cyclization (Equation 181) <2002TL7039, 2005PS(180)989>. 

The use of phosphoric acid ml-lGd for the catalysis of a tandem double F-C reaction gave rise to fluorene derivatives (up to 96% ee) by the reaction between indoles and 2-formylbiphenyl derivatives [74]. Vinyl indole derivatives combined with a,P-unsaturated aldehydes gave rise to functionalized tetrahydrocarbazoles with two or more stereocenters via an intermolecular triple cascade process by means of secondary amine 7a catalysis [75]. Catalyst 7a also promoted a quadruple F-C/Michael/Michael/aldol condensation reaction between indoles, acrolein, and aromatic nitroolefins (Scheme 35.19) [76]. This work provides a straightforward... 

The aldol-type reaction occurs in some processes (i.e. Weiss-Cook and Hantzsch reactions), in tandem with the Michael reaction. Therefore, some significant applications of this last reaction in aqueous media will be illustrated. 

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