Thermodynamic control of enolate formation

The fundamental aspects of the structure and stability of carbanions were discussed in Chapter 6 of Part A. In the present chapter we relate the properties and reactivity of carbanions stabilized by carbonyl and other EWG substituents to their application as nucleophiles in synthesis. As discussed in Section 6.3 of Part A, there is a fundamental relationship between the stabilizing functional group and the acidity of the C-H groups, as illustrated by the pK data summarized in Table 6.7 in Part A. These pK data provide a basis for assessing the stability and reactivity of carbanions. The acidity of the reactant determines which bases can be used for generation of the anion. Another crucial factor is the distinction between kinetic or thermodynamic control of enolate formation by deprotonation (Part A, Section 6.3), which determines the enolate composition. Fundamental mechanisms of Sw2 alkylation reactions of carbanions are discussed in Section 6.5 of Part A. A review of this material may prove helpful. 

When a catalytic amount of base is used, the reaction proceeds with thermodynamic control of enolate formation. The most effective nucleophiles under these conditions are carbanions derived from relatively acidic compounds such as /i-kctocstcrs or malonate esters. The adduct anions are more basic and are protonated under the reaction conditions. Scheme 1.11 provides some examples. 

TABLE 1. Conditions for the kinetic or thermodynamic control of enolate formation from 2-methylcyclohexanone ... 

One of the important distinctions between kinetic and thermodynamic control of enolate formation is that conditions of kinetic control give rapid and complete enolate formation. Formation of the kinetic enolate is essentially irreversible under these conditions. The conditions of thermodynamic control establish an equilibrium containing both enolate and ketone. Some consequences of this distinction will be seen in later sections of this chapter. 

Enolate alkylation can be difficult to carry out with simple aldehydes and ketones. It is not always possible to limit the reaction to monoalkylation, and aldol condensation competes with alkylation, especially with aldehydes. The formation of regioisomeric alkylation products is an issue with unsymmetrical ketones but can be minimized by selecting reaction conditions that favor either kinetic or thermodynamic control of enolate formation. The kinetic enolate of 2-methylcyclohexanone, for example, was prepared by deprotonation with lithium diisopropylamide then treated with benzyl bromide to give predominantly 2-benzyl-6-methylcyclohexanone,... 

By adjusting the conditions under which an enolate mixture is formed from a ketone, it is possible to establish either kinetic or thermodynamic control. Ideal conditions for kinetic control of enolate formation are those in which deprotonation is rapid, quantitative,... 

The regio- and stereoselectivity of enolate formation has been discussed in many reviews . In general, the stereo- and regioselectivity of ketone deprotonation can be thermodynamically or kinetically controlled. Conditions for the kinetic control of enolate formation are achieved by slow addition of the ketone to an excess of strong base in an aprotic solvent at low temperature. In this case the deprotonation occurs directly, irreversibly and with high regioselectivity (equation 1). By using a proton donor (solvent or excess of ketone) or a weaker base, an equilibration between the enolates formed may... 

By adjusting the conditions under which an enolate mixture is formed from a ketone, it is possible to establish either kinetic or thermodynamic control. Ideal conditions for kinetic control of enolate formation are those in which deprotonation is rapid, quantitative, and irreversible. This- ideal is approached experimentally by using a very strong base such as lithium diisopropylamide or triphenylmethyllithium in an aprotic solvent in the absence of excess ketone. Lithium as the counterion is better than sodium or potassium for regioselective generation of the kinetic enolate. Protic solvents promote enolate equilibration by allowing protonation-deprotonation pathways to operate on the isomeric enolates. Excess ketone seems to catalyze equilibration in much the same way by acting as a proton source. 

For many ketones, stereoisomeric as well as regioisomeric enolates can be formed, as is illustrated by entries 6, 7, and 8 of Scheme 1.3. The stereoselectivity of enolate formation, under conditions of either kinetic or thermodynamic control, can also be controlled to some extent. We will return to this topic in more detail in Chapter 2. 

Under conditions for thermodynamic control, the major regioisomer formed is usually the enolate Carrying most substituents at the double bond. This can be attributed to the fact that the stability of C-C double bonds increases with increasing substitution6. Conditions for kinetic control in enolate formation usually favor formation of the enolate with the least substituents at the double bond. The rational for this is based on steric reasons, i.e., the less hindered proton is abstracted more rapidly than the hindered proton, giving the less substituted enolate. 

Another important contribution is to the regioselectivity of enolate formation from unsym-metrical ketones. As we established in chapter 13, ketones, particularly methyl ketones, form lithium enolates on the less substituted side. These compounds are excellent at aldol reactions even with enolisable aldehydes.15 An application of both thermodynamic and kinetic control is in the synthesis of the-gingerols, the flavouring principles of ginger, by Whiting.16... 

There is no such perfect method for getting enolisation to go on the more substituted side. The best is thermodynamic control in the formation of the silyl enol ether,1011 which gives an approximate 90 10 ratio of 22 25 from 23. Silyl enol ethers can be converted into lithium enolates with MeLi (the by-product is Me4Si useful for NMRs) and hence we can achieve alkylation on the more substituted side, e.g. 26 is benzylated with PhCH2Br to give 27 R = CH2Ph in up to 84% yield.12... 

The factors that govern the direction of enolate formation from such unsymmetrical ketones are numerous, but can be organized using the concept of kinetic versus thermodynamic control. 

The stereoselectivity of enolate formation, either under conditions of kinetic or thermodynamic control, is less well understood. Clearly, as entries 7 and 8 of Table 1.2 show, the stereoselectivity can be very high under conditions of kinetic control. Apparently, Z-enolates of ketones are both more stable and formed faster than -enolates. ... 

The idea of kinetic versus thermodynamic control can be illustrated by discussing briefly the case of formation of enolate anions from unsymmetrical ketones. This is a very important matter for synthesis and will be discussed more fully in Chapter 1 of Part B. Most ketones, highly symmetric ones being the exception, can give rise to more than one enolate. Many studies have shown tiiat the ratio among the possible enolates that are formed depends on the reaction conditions. This can be illustrated for the case of 3-methyl-2-butanone. If the base chosen is a strong, sterically hindered one and the solvent is aptotic, the major enolate formed is 3. If a protic solvent is used or if a weaker base (one comparable in basicity to the ketone enolate) is used, the dominant enolate is 2. Enolate 3 is the kinetic enolate whereas 2 is the thermodynamically favored enolate. 

Protonation of the a-carbanion (50), which is formed both in the reduction of enones and ketol acetates, probably first affords the neutral enol and is followed by its ketonization. Zimmerman has discussed the stereochemistry of the ketonization of enols and has shown that in eertain cases steric factors may lead to kinetically controlled formation of the thermodynamically less stable ketone isomer. Steroidal unsaturated ketones and ketol acetates that could form epimeric products at the a-carbon atom appear to yield the thermodynamically stable isomers. In most of the cases reported, however, equilibration might have occurred during isolation of the products so that definitive conclusions are not possible. 

As first demonstrated by Stork,the metal enolate formed by metal-ammoni reduction of a conjugated enone or a ketol acetate can be alkylated in liquic ammonia. The reductive alkylation reaction is synthetically useful since ii permits alkylation of a ketone at the a-position other than the one at whicf thermodynamically controlled enolate salt formation occurs. Direct methyl-ation of 5a-androstan-17-ol-3-one occurs at C-2 whereas reductive methyl-... 

Addition of the chelated enolate of the S-oxo ester moiety of a 2,8-dioxo-6-alkenoate 1 under thermodynamic control at 25 °C using stoichiometric or catalytic amounts of sodium hydride in benzene results in the formation of tram-2-oxo-5-(2-oxoalkyl)-l-cyclopentane-carboxylate 2 exclusively. 

Full exploitation of the synthetic potential of enolates requires control over the regioselectivity of their formation. Although it may not be possible to direct deprotonation so as to form one enolate to the exclusion of the other, experimental conditions can often be chosen to favor one of the regioisomers. The composition of an enolate mixture can be governed by kinetic or thermodynamic factors. The enolate ratio is governed... 

The preparation of ketones and ester from (3-dicarbonyl enolates has largely been supplanted by procedures based on selective enolate formation. These procedures permit direct alkylation of ketone and ester enolates and avoid the hydrolysis and decarboxylation of keto ester intermediates. The development of conditions for stoichiometric formation of both kinetically and thermodynamically controlled enolates has permitted the extensive use of enolate alkylation reactions in multistep synthesis of complex molecules. One aspect of the alkylation reaction that is crucial in many cases is the stereoselectivity. The alkylation has a stereoelectronic preference for approach of the electrophile perpendicular to the plane of the enolate, because the tt electrons are involved in bond formation. A major factor in determining the stereoselectivity of ketone enolate alkylations is the difference in steric hindrance on the two faces of the enolate. The electrophile approaches from the less hindered of the two faces and the degree of stereoselectivity depends on the steric differentiation. Numerous examples of such effects have been observed.51 In ketone and ester enolates that are exocyclic to a conformationally biased cyclohexane ring there is a small preference for... 

Scheme 2.11 shows some examples of Robinson annulation reactions. Entries 1 and 2 show annulation reactions of relatively acidic dicarbonyl compounds. Entry 3 is an example of use of 4-(trimethylammonio)-2-butanone as a precursor of methyl vinyl ketone. This compound generates methyl vinyl ketone in situ by (3-eliminalion. The original conditions developed for the Robinson annulation reaction are such that the ketone enolate composition is under thermodynamic control. This usually results in the formation of product from the more stable enolate, as in Entry 3. The C(l) enolate is preferred because of the conjugation with the aromatic ring. For monosubstituted cyclohexanones, the cyclization usually occurs at the more-substituted position in hydroxylic solvents. The alternative regiochemistry can be achieved by using an enamine. Entry 4 is an example. As discussed in Section 1.9, the less-substituted enamine is favored, so addition occurs at the less-substituted position. 

The intramolecular version of ester condensation is called the Dieckmann condensation.217 It is an important method for the formation of five- and six-membered rings and has occasionally been used for formation of larger rings. As ester condensation is reversible, product structure is governed by thermodynamic control, and in situations where more than one product can be formed, the product is derived from the most stable enolate. An example of this effect is the cyclization of the diester 25.218 Only 27 is formed, because 26 cannot be converted to a stable enolate. If 26, synthesized by another method, is subjected to the conditions of the cyclization, it is isomerized to 27 by the reversible condensation mechanism. 

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