Titanium tetrachloride Diels-Alder reaction

Brimble and coworkers172 reported the asymmetric Diels-Alder reactions between quinones 265 bearing a menthol chiral auxiliary and cyclopentadiene (equation 73). When zinc dichloride or zinc dibromide was employed as the Lewis acid catalyst, the reaction proceeded with complete endo selectivity, but with only moderate diastereofacial selectivity affording 3 1 and 2 1 mixtures of 266 and 267 (dominant diastereomer unknown), respectively. The use of stronger Lewis acids, such as titanium tetrachloride, led to the formation of fragmentation products. Due to the inseparability of the two diastereomeric adducts, it proved impossible to determine which one had been formed in excess. 

Engler and colleagues256 demonstrated that the way in which catalyst 406 is prepared has a strong effect on the regioselectivity and enantioselectivity of quinone Diels-Alder reactions. The most effective catalyst was prepared from a 1 1 1 mixture of titanium tetrachloride, titanium tetraisopropoxide and chiral diol 416. The cycloadditions of 2-methoxy-l,4-benzoquinones such as 414 with simple dienes to give adducts like 415 proceeded with high yields and enantioselectivities of up to 80% ee using this catalytic system (equation 123). 

The Diels-Alder reaction of enantiomerically pure chiral aery he esters with cyclopen-tadiene leads to a pair of diastereomers. Their ratio depends strongly on the choice and amount of Lewis acid catalyst (Scheme 8)117. While titanium tetrachloride leads preferentially to the (2A )-diastercorner with high selectivity, ethyl aluminium dichloride gives the (2S )-diastereomer in only 56% de. 

Ghosh has also shown that cis- l-(arylsulfonamido)-2-indanols could be used as excellent chiral auxiliaries in Diels-Alder reaction.85 Reaction of 80 with cyclopentadiene using a variety of Lewis acids led to 81 in good yield, with endo. exo ratios superior to 99 1 and diastereoselectivities ranging from 72% to 92%. The best selectivities were observed using titanium tetrachloride as the Lewis acid. The high degree of diastereoselection was presumed to result from effective metal chelation (Scheme 24.17). 

Three reactions, which were known from the literature to be catalyzed by Lewis acids were selected as test reactions. A, was the Reetz alkylation of silyl enol ethers with -butyl chloride for which titanium tetrachloride is known to be useful [52]. B, was the Diels-Alder reaction between furan and acetylenedicarboxylic ester for which aluminium trichloride is a good catalyst [53]. C, was a Friedel-Crafts acylation for which aluminium trichloride is the preferred catalyst [54]. The reactions are summarized in Scheme 6. 

Titanium tetrachloride is a moisture-sensitive, highly flammable liquid reacting violently with water (34). It is a strong Lewis acid capable of promoting Diels-Alder reactions (35) and induces the addition of silyl enol ethers and allyl silanes to carbonyl compounds and derivatives (34r-36). It is a less commonly used catalyst in Friedel-Crafts reactions but very useful for the acylation of activated alkenes and in the Fries rearrangement. 

An interesting variation of the above process involved the addition of optically active (/ )-di-(—)-menthyl allene-1,3-dicarboxylate (28) onto furan in an asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction [27]. Three equivalents of titanium tetrachloride at 40 °C gave the highest diastereofacial selectivity and afforded a 53% isolated yield of the optically active adduct 29, which represents a very useful chiral intermediate for synthetic applications (Scheme 13.11). 

Nelson disclosed a powerful three-component Diels-Alder/alkylation reaction sequence for the synthesis of several nitrogen-containing heterocycles. For example, treatment of enamine 29 with titanium tetrachloride yields electron poor imminium ion diene 30 that reacts with unactivated cyclohexene to furnish imminium ion cycloadduct 31. Introduction of allyltrimethylsilane into the reaction mixture leads to alkylation of the reactive imminium ion and production of... 

Lewis acid promoted reactions of silicon enolates, /.e., silyl enol ethers and ketene silyl acetals with various electrophiles have yielded a wealth of novel and selective synthetic methods. This combination of reagents has been used in the past to perform such reactions as aldol-condensations with aldehydes and acetals, imine-condensations, conjugate additions to a,P-enones, alkylations, electrophilic aminations, and Diels-Alder/cyclocondensations. Our own interest in this field has involved the use of titanium tetrachloride to promote the reaction of ketene silyl acetals with non-activated imines as an efficient route to P-lactams. This reaction has been applied to the asymmetric synthesis of P-lactams via a chiral imine-titanium tetrachloride template. We have also found that both ketene silyl acetals and vinylketene silyl acetals oxidativelly dimerize or cross-couple, in the presence of titanium tetrachloride to conveniently yield various diesters . Our present study concerns reactions of vinylketene silyl acetals with non-activated imines and vinylimines promoted by titanium and zirconium tetrachlorides. 

Compared to the relatively young history of the pure metal, aluminium compounds have been known for ages from the above-cited alum class to the more exclusive transition metal-doped aluminium oxides like ruby and sapphire (corundum varieties with chromium for the former and titanium and iron impurities for the latter) or aluminosilicate-like emeralds (a beryl type with chromium and vanadium impurities). However, to the synthetic chemist, aluminium chloride, is de facto one of the first jewels of the aluminium family. Aluminium trichloride (together with titanium tetrachloride, tin tetrachloride and boron trifluoride) is an exemplary Lewis acid that finds many applications in organic synthesis It is extensively used for instance in Friedel-Crafts alkylations and acylations, in Diels-Alder-type cycloadditions and polymerisation reactions. Its involvement in a wide range of reactions has been documented in many reviews and book chapters. ... 

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