Wittig reaction with methyl triphenyl phosphonium

By this method (Z)-monounsaturated fatty acids and esters could be obtained with an ( )-isomer content of less than 10% this stereoselectivity being however inferior to that of the commonly used acetylenic approach 55,56). However, the salt-free techniques used today in Wittig reactions allow (Z)-alkenoic acids to be synthesized with less than 2% of the ( )-isomers. Thus, Bestmann et al. prepared methyl and ethyl esters of (Z)-4,5,6,7,8,9,ll- and 13-alkenoic acids of different chain lengths 35,57 62), which served as intermediates in the synthesis of insect pheromones, both by reaction of co-alkoxycarbonyl-substituted alkyl-triphenyl-phosphonium salts with simple alkanals and of co-formylalkanoic esters with alkylidenephosphoranes. As the starting material for the synthesis of -substituted alkyl-phosphonium salts co-chloro- and -bromocarboxylic esters were used. The corresponding -substituted aldehydes can usually be obtained by ozone cleavage of suitable olefin derivatives or by oxidation of alkohols 57,58). 

There is no general solvent that is useful for all reactions, and BTF naturally has its limitations. In addition to the limitations posed by the freezing point, boiling point and chemical stability mentioned before, BTF is not very Lewis-basic and therefore is not a good substitute for reactions that require solvents like ethers, DMF, DMSO, etc. Not surprisingly, ions are not readily dissolved in BTF and many types of anionic reactions do not work well in BTF. For example, attempted deprotonations of esters and ketones with LDA in BTF were not successful. Reaction of diethyl malonate with NaH (5 equiv) and reaction with Mel[72] (6 equiv) in BTF was very heterogeneous and yielded 60% of the di-methylated product, compared to 89% in THF. No reaction was observed if the same malonate anion was used as a nucleophile in a Pd-catalyzed allylic substitution reaction in BTF (see 3.7). Wittig reactions also did not work very well in BTF. The ylid of ethyl triphenyl phosphonium bromide [73] was formed only slowly in BTF, and the characteristic deep red color was never obtained. 

Enol Ether Eormation. Triphenyl[[2-(trimethylsilyl)ethoxy]-methyl]-phosphonium chloride is used almost exclusively in Wittig-type reactions with aldehydes and ketones. The reagent was first described by Fuchs and coworkers for the preparation of an electron-rich diene, suitable for elaboration via Diels-Alder reaction (eq 1). In the Fuchs example, the ylide is generated by... 

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