Vicinal dialkylation tandem

The general reaction sequence has been named more specifically as tandem vicinal dialkylation, nucleophilic-electrophilic carbacondensation,11 dicarbacondensation1213 or conjugate addition-enolate trapping,14 usually in reference to the fact that most of the reaction examples available create two new vicinal carbon-carbon bonds. Many noncarbon nucleophiles and electrophiles also are known, resulting... 

Esters are far less reactive as electrophiles when compared to aldehydes and ketones. Successful tandem vicinal dialkylations are possible using alkyl formates,67 but most esters lack the needed reactivity. More reactive thioesters can serve as electrophiles in these sequences.208 Presence of a potentially electrophilic ester group as a substituent in the conjugate enolate permits very efficient Dieckmann cycliza-tion to take place as the second step of a MIRC sequence (e.g. equations 5118 and 52).24 Ortho esters are far more reactive, giving p-keto esters as adducts when used in sequences that employ enones as substrates.230... 

Lithium n butyl (phenylthio) cuprate has been used in nucleophilic substitution reactions of arenesulfonyl fluorides, al-lylic acetates, 9 BBN, propargyllc carbamates, and bromo-alkenes, as well as in nucleophilic additions to acetoxy-epoxides. It Is a good choice for 1,4-addItIon of an n-Bu group, having been used in 1,4 addition-elimination reactions of a-oxoketene dithloacetals and 3-halo-2-cycloalkenones, and in tandem vicinal dialkylation reactions of 5-methyleneoxa-zolones and alkynes. A typical example Is the use of the reagentin the stereospecific synthesis of (, -2-heptenoicacidfrom acetylene (eq 1). ... 

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