Woodward 2 Hydrogenation

This case history presents only a simple account of one of R.B. Woodward s adventures based on ingenious undentanding of structural features and experimental findings described in the literature. The hydrogenation of porphyrins is still one of the most active subjects in heterocyclic natural products chemistry, and the interested reader may find some modem developments in the publications of A. Eschenmoser (C.Angst, 1980 J.E. Johansen, 1980). 

The direct connection of rings A and D at C l cannot be achieved by enamine or sul> fide couplings. This reaction has been carried out in almost quantitative yield by electrocyclic reactions of A/D Secocorrinoid metal complexes and constitutes a magnificent application of the Woodward-Hoffmann rules. First an antarafacial hydrogen shift from C-19 to C-1 is induced by light (sigmatropic 18-electron rearrangement), and second, a conrotatory thermally allowed cyclization of the mesoionic 16 rc-electron intermediate occurs. Only the A -trans-isomer is formed (A. Eschenmoser, 1974 A. Pfaltz, 1977). 

In the last fifteen years macrolides have been the major target molecules for complex stereoselective total syntheses. This choice has been made independently by R.B. Woodward and E.J. Corey in Harvard, and has been followed by many famous fellow Americans, e.g., G. Stork, K.C. Nicolaou, S. Masamune, C.H. Heathcock, and S.L. Schreiber, to name only a few. There is also no other class of compounds which is so suitable for retrosynthetic analysis and for the application of modem synthetic reactions, such as Sharpless epoxidation, Noyori hydrogenation, and stereoselective alkylation and aldol reactions. We have chosen a classical synthesis by E.J. Corey and two recent syntheses by A.R. Chamberlin and S.L. Schreiber as examples. 

It is of interest that the reversible migration of hydrogen between positions 1 and 2 of thi.s sj stem corre.spond to a 1,5-sigmatropie shift, a proee.s.s predicted to be favorable on theoretical grounds [R. R. Woodward and R. Hoffmann, J. Am. Ghem. Soc. 87, 2511 (1965)] and known to occur with exceptional facility (R. B. Woodward in Aromaticity, Spec. Publ. No. 21, p. 217. The Chemical Society, London, 1967). 

The structural homology between intermediate 4 and isostrych-nine I (3) is obvious intermediates 3 and 4 are simply allylic isomers and the synthetic problem is now reduced to isomerizing the latter substance into the former. Treatment of 4 with hydrogen bromide in acetic acid at 120°C results in the formation of a mixture of isomeric allylic bromides which is subsequently transformed into isostrychnine I (3) with boiling aqueous sulfuric acid. Following precedent established in 194810 and through the processes outlined in Scheme 8a, isostrychnine I (3) is converted smoothly to strychnine (1) upon treatment with potassium hydroxide in ethanol. Woodward s landmark total synthesis of strychnine (1) is now complete. 

Dr. Woodward I tried to indicate in my paper that in ammonia-hydrogen plant operation, in comparison with several other catalysts in such plants, the methanation catalyst situation is really well under control. Speaking for our company, and I would guess others, it s not a particularly active research area because we have higher priorities in catalyst development. As regards methanation catalysts for SNG, I did not discuss that today and perhaps I should let some other fellows answer first. Sulfur tolerance is one area for future development. 

Dr. Woodward May I just make one comment to emphasize and to repeat what was said earlier Thermodynamics and kinetics. Yes, under the inlet conditions of several SNG processes, and also of methanation in ammonia and hydrogen processes, thermodynamically they are inside the carbon-forming region. At the exit they tend not to be. In practice, carbon is not formed. One could, therefore, conclude very simply that kinetics outweighs thermodynamics. 

The preparation of Pans-1,2-cyclohexanediol by oxidation of cyclohexene with peroxyformic acid and subsequent hydrolysis of the diol monoformate has been described, and other methods for the preparation of both cis- and trans-l,2-cyclohexanediols were cited. Subsequently the trans diol has been prepared by oxidation of cyclohexene with various peroxy acids, with hydrogen peroxide and selenium dioxide, and with iodine and silver acetate by the Prevost reaction. Alternative methods for preparing the trans isomer are hydroboration of various enol derivatives of cyclohexanone and reduction of Pans-2-cyclohexen-l-ol epoxide with lithium aluminum hydride. cis-1,2-Cyclohexanediol has been prepared by cis hydroxylation of cyclohexene with various reagents or catalysts derived from osmium tetroxide, by solvolysis of Pans-2-halocyclohexanol esters in a manner similar to the Woodward-Prevost reaction, by reduction of cis-2-cyclohexen-l-ol epoxide with lithium aluminum hydride, and by oxymercuration of 2-cyclohexen-l-ol with mercury(II) trifluoro-acetate in the presence of ehloral and subsequent reduction. ... 

The theory of stereoselectivity found in intramolecular hydrogen migration in polyenes was disclosed by Woodward and Hoffmann 51>. The HO—LU interaction criterion is very conveniently applied to this problem 64>. The LU of the C—H sigma part participates in interaction with the HO of the polyene n part. The mode of explanation is clear-cut... 

The transfer of hydrogen from donors to the coal substrate during liquefaction occurs by concerted pericyclic reactions of the type termed group transfers by Woodward and Hoffman (1 ). ... 

In summary, the A1- and A2-dialin isomers have been shown to be appreciably more active than etralin (and decalin) in transferring hydrogen to anthracene and phenanthrene. The observed selectivity of this hydrogen transfer is in accord with the Woodward-Hoffman rules for group transfer reactions, anthracene conversions being in the ratio ( 3 / 0 ) = 12/1 >> 1 while phenanthrene conversions are in the ratio ( 0/(33 ) = 0.6/1 < 1. The quantitative differences in the selectivities observed with anthracene and phenanthrene are being further explored. 

At typical coal liquefaction conditions, namely temperatures from 300 to 400 C and reaction times on the order of 1 hr, hydrogen transfer from model CIO donors, the A1- and A2-dialins, to model C14 acceptors, anthracene and phenanthrene, occurs in the sense allowed by the Woodward-Hoffman rules for supra-supra group transfer reactions. Thus, in the conversion of the C14 substrates to their 9, 10 dihydro derivatives the dialins exhibited a striking reversal of donor activity, the A dialin causing about twice as much conversion of phenanthrene but only one-tenth as much conversion of anthracene as did A2-dialin. 

In total syntheses where a homogeneously catalyzed transfer hydrogenation is applied, almost exclusively aluminum(III) isopropoxide is utilized as the catalyst. At an early stage in the total synthesis of (-)-reserpine (65) by Woodward [106], an intermediate with two ketone groups and two C-C double bonds is formed (66) by a Diels-Alder reaction of para-benzoquinone (67) and vinylacry-late (68). The two ketone groups were reduced with aluminum(III) isopropoxide... 

C. K. Woodward and B. D. Hilton, Hydrogen exchange kinetics and internal motions in proteins, Annu. Rev. Biophys. Bioeng. 8, 99-128 (1979). 

In less repetitive syntheses, it is possible to use remote functional groups as "control elements", a technique which depends more upon the opportunist tactics developed in the course of a synthesis rather than of a premeditated strategy. Such is the case, for instance, of the synthesis of strychnine (i) by Woodward [2], in which after synthesising the intermediate 2 a hydrogen at C(8) must be introduced onto the P-face (4), i.e., onto the most hindered concave face of the molecule (Scheme 8.1). Usually the reduction with a metal hydride would lead to the a-C(8)-H isomer (i.e., the hydride ion will atack from the less hindered face of the molecule), however in the present case the P-OH group at C(21) acts as a control element and, besides the reduction of the amide at C(20), a hydride ion attacks at C(8) from the P-face by an intramolecular transfer of the complex C(21)-0-Al-H (3). 

Another important path of research, especially to organic chemists, resulted from a discovery by Woodward, Rosenblum, and Whiting at Harvard University in 1952 (128). These investigators noted the failure of ferrocene to undergo Diels-Alder reactions and its resistance to catalytic hydrogenation. They reasoned that because of its remarkable stability, ferrocene might behave like an aromatic substance. These suppositions proved to be the case, as ferrocene was readily acylated under Friedel-Crafts conditions to form acyl derivatives. Indeed, the name ferrocene was given to biscyclopentadienyliron because of its chemical similarity to benzene (128). 

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