Titanium allenes

A novel use of Buchwald s titanium-based Alder-ene protocol is the cycloisomerization of dienynes to allenes (Equation (47)). Somewhat surprisingly, the Diels-Alder product was observed in trace amounts only in the cycloisomerization of amine 76. 

In Section 9.2, intermolecular reactions of titanium—acetylene complexes with acetylenes, allenes, alkenes, and allylic compounds were discussed. This section describes the intramolecular coupling of bis-unsaturated compounds, including dienes, enynes, and diynes, as formulated in Eq. 9.49. As the titanium alkoxide is very inexpensive, the reactions in Eq. 9.49 represent one of the most economical methods for accomplishing the formation of metallacycles of this type [1,2]. Moreover, the titanium alkoxide based method enables several new synthetic transformations that are not viable by conventional metallocene-mediated methods. 

One of the synthetically useful titanium-based olefin metatheses is the reaction of titanocene-methylidene with terminal allenes 8. Productive olefin metathesis occurs when titanacyclobutanes are treated with 8 (Scheme 14.7) [17] and the resulting a-alkyli-... 

The Diels-Alder reaction outlined above is a typical example of the utilization of axially chiral allenes, accessible through 1,6-addition or other methods, to generate selectively new stereogenic centers. This transfer of chirality is also possible via in-termolecular Diels-Alder reactions of vinylallenes [57], aldol reactions of allenyl eno-lates [19f] and Ireland-Claisen rearrangements of silyl allenylketene acetals [58]. Furthermore, it has been utilized recently in the diastereoselective oxidation of titanium allenyl enolates (formed by deprotonation of /3-allenecarboxylates of type 65 and transmetalation with titanocene dichloride) with dimethyl dioxirane (DMDO) [25, 59] and in subsequent acid- or gold-catalyzed cycloisomerization reactions of a-hydroxyallenes into 2,5-dihydrofurans (cf. Chapter 15) [25, 59, 60],... 

The use of organotitanium compounds in the synthesis of allenes involves mainly Wittig-type olefmation reactions of carbonyl compounds [86] with titanium ylides. The formation of allenes according to the scheme Q + Q + Q was described by... 

Finn and co-workers [87], who treated aromatic aldehydes with a mixed titanium-phosphorus ylide formed from iPrOTiCl3, (Me2N)3P=CH2 and an excess of sodium hexamethyldisilazide as base (Scheme 2.52). Symmetrical allenes 167 were thereby obtained with moderate to good yield. 

Scheme 2.52 Titanium-mediated synthesis of symmetrical allenes 167.

Scheme 2.53 Titanium-mediated synthesis of macrocydic allenes.

Scheme 2.56 Synthesis of functionalized allenes by electrophilic trapping ofthe enyne-titanium alkoxide complex 177.

A different approach towards titanium-mediated allene synthesis was used by Hayashi et al. [55], who recently reported rhodium-catalyzed enantioselective 1,6-addition reactions of aryltitanate reagents to 3-alkynyl-2-cycloalkenones 180 (Scheme 2.57). In the presence of chlorotrimethylsilane and (R)-segphos as chiral ligand, alle-nic silyl enol ethers 181 were obtained with good to excellent enantioselectivities and these can be converted further into allenic enol esters or triflates. In contrast to the corresponding copper-mediated 1,6-addition reactions (Section 2.2.2), these transformations probably proceed via alkenylrhodium species (formed by insertion of the C-C triple bond into a rhodium-aryl bond) and subsequent isomerization towards the thermodynamically more stable oxa-jt-allylrhodium intermediates [55],... 

A variety of optically active 4,4-disubstituted allenecarboxylates 245 were provided by HWE reaction of intermediate disubstituted ketene acetates 244 with homochiral HWE reagents 246 developed by Tanaka and co-workers (Scheme 4.63) [99]. a,a-Di-substituted phenyl or 2,6-di-tert-butyl-4-methylphenyl (BHT) acetates 243 were used for the formation of 245 [100]. Addition of ZnCl2 to a solution of the lithiated phos-phonate may cause binding of the rigidly chelated phosphonate anion by Zn2+, where the axially chiral binaphthyl group dictates the orientation of the approach to the electrophile from the less hindered si phase of the reagent. Similarly, the aryl phosphorus methylphosphonium salt 248 was converted to a titanium ylide, which was condensed with aromatic aldehydes to provide allenes 249 with poor ee (Scheme 4.64) [101]. 

Scheme 4.64 Chiral allenes 249 via olefination using titanium-substituted ylide.

In contrast to lithiated allenes, the corresponding titanium species and carbonyl compounds furnished the regioisomeric y-addition products [68,69]. Thus, reaction of a-aminoaldehydes 63 with the titanated intermediate 75 gave methoxyalkynes 76, which smoothly cydized in the presence of acid and provided lactones 77, again with high anti selectivity (Scheme 8.21) [69]. The regioselectivity depends on the aldehyde used. 

Allenyllithium reagents are commonly prepared through lithiation of propargylic halides or by deprotonation of alkynes or certain allenes (Eq. 9.1). Lithiated allenes often serve as precursors to stable allenylmetal compounds such as stannanes or silanes. They can also be employed for the in situ synthesis of allenylzinc, -titanium and -boronate compounds, which can be further transformed to substitution products not accessible from their allenyllithio precursors. 

Addition of propargylic and allenic titanium reagents to aldehydes. 

Deprotonation of 3-methoxy-3-methylallene with BuLi followed by metal exchange with Ti(OiPr)4 affords a chiral allenyltitanium reagent [31], Addition of this reagent to enantioenriched (S)-2-benzyloxypropanal afforded a mixture of four diastereomeric products in which the anti,syn and anti,anti adducts predominated (Eq. 9.26) [31], The former was shown to derive from the matched pairing of the (S)-aldehyde with the (P)-enantiomer of the allenic titanium reagent. The latter is the major diastereomer of the mismatched (S)/(M) pairing. 

An alternative, but related, route to allenic titanium reagents from propargylic esters has been reported recently. Reaction of titanocene dichloride with BuMgCl and Mg yields a reactive titanocene intermediate, formulated as Cp2Ti. This reduced Ti species reacts in situ by oxidative addition to propargylic acetates. The allenyltitanium reagents thus produced add to aldehydes and ketones, as expected, to afford homopropargylic alcohols (Table 9.27) [43]. 

A regioselective [3 + 2]-cycloaddition approach to substituted 5-membered carbo-cycles was made available by the use of allenylsilanes [188]. The reaction involves regioselective attack of an unsaturated ketone by (trimethylsilyl)allene at the 3-position. The resulting vinyl cation undergoes a 1,2-silyl migration. The isomeric vinyl cation is intercepted intramolecularly by the titanium enolate to produce a highly substituted (trimethylsilyl)cyclopentene derivative. 

Several stoichiometric methods for transition metal-promoted transformations of allenes have been studied, involving metals such as iron [77] and titanium [78, 79]. The titanium-mediated reactions developed by Sato and co-workers have probably the greatest synthetic impact, as exemplified by the conversion of silylated allene 150 to 1,4-diene 152 (Scheme 14.38) [78],... 

The nudeophile is activated by the formation of a titanium(IV)-imido complex 19. The next step is a [2 + 2] cydoaddition with one of the jt-bonds of the allene, depending on the regioselectivity leading to either 20 or 22. Compound 20 then delivers 21 by twofold stepwise proto-demetallation and the latter enamine tau-tomerizes to the imine 24 (Scheme 15.3). Compound 22, on the other hand, should provide allylamines 23, but as we shall see, there are no examples of that mode of reaction known so far. 

Ackermann and Bergman developed a highly reactive titanium precatalyst for the intramolecular hydroamination of allenes 149 [101]. The products 150 and in one... 

Scheme 20.17 Enyne-allenes via titanium-substituted ylides.

Titanium tetrachloride promoted reactions of 1-methyl-1-trimethylsilylallene with qui-nones 25 afforded products derived from a reaction with one of the carbonyl groups on the quinones. Besides the substitution pattern on the allene, the higher activity of titanium tetrachloride has to be considered to play a role in this abnormal product formation. 

Kuznicki, S.M., Trush, K.A., Allen, F.M., Levine, S.M., Hamil, M.M., Hayhurst, D.T., and Mansom, M. (1992) Synthesis and adsorptive properties of titanium silicate molecular sieves, in Synthesis of Microporous Materials, Molecular Sieves, vol. 1 (eds M.L. Ocelli, and H.E. Robson), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York,... 

Substrates possessing an allene that participate in the Alder-ene reaction are less common, but a few examples are known. Malacria [11] and Livinghouse [12] have independently used cobalt to effect intramolecular allenic Alder-ene reactions but the scope of these reactions was not investigated. Sato has performed an allenic Alder-ene reaction to form five-membered rings, using stoichiometric amounts of titanium [13], and Trost has shown that 1,3-dienes can be prepared via an intermolecular Alder-ene reaction between allenes and enones using a ruthenium(II) catalyst [14]. 

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