Ylide compounds 2 + 3 -cycloaddition reactions

Due to the presence of a heterocumulene unit, sulphines may be considered as a group of compounds which are able to undergo cycloaddition reactions. Reaction of sulphines with enamines and phosphorus ylides reported by Sheppard217 and Trippett218 and their coworkers may be considered formally as an example of [2 + 2] cycloaddition. In fact, Sheppard and Dickman217 obtained a 1 1 adduct from thiofluorenone S-oxide and 1-morpholinocyclohexene to which they assigned the dipolar sulphoxide structure 168. 

The 3-oxo-2-pyrazolidinium ylides 315, easily available by reaction of the corresponding pyrazolidin-3-one with aromatic aldehydes, function as 1,3-dipoles in cycloaddition reactions with suitable alkenes and alkynes to provide the corresponding products. When unsymmetrical alkynes are used, mixtures of both possible products 316 and 317 are usually obtained (Equation 45). The regioselectivity of cycloadditions of the reaction with methyl propiolate is influenced by the substituents on the aryl residue using several 2,6-di- and 2,4,6-trisubstituted phenyl derivatives only compound 316 is formed <2001HCA146>. Analogous reactions of 3-thioxo-l,2-pyrazolidinium ylides have also been described <1994H(38)2171>. 

A sequential cycloaddition, tandem cycloreversion-cycloaddition process is more efficient than the direct cycloaddition, especially in case of aliphatic aldehydes, where the corresponding ylides are rather unstable. The cycloreversion strategy lowers the concentration of the free ylide in the reaction mixture and avoids side reactions such as self-condensation of this reactive species. In some cases, this tandem cycloreversion-cycloaddition sequence provides improved chemical yields without any loss of diastereoselectivity. For example, compound 476 treated with methyl fumarate, methyl maleate, and methyl acrylate provides acceptable yields of compounds 477-479 (Scheme 80) <2000S1170, 2002S1885>. 

The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions to unsaturated carbon-carbon bonds have been known for quite some time and have become an important part of strategies for organic synthesis of many compounds (Smith and March, 2007). The 1,3-dipolar compounds that participate in this reaction include many of those that can be drawn having charged resonance hybrid structures, such as azides, diazoalkanes, nitriles, azomethine ylides, and aziridines, among others. The heterocyclic ring structures formed as the result of this reaction typically are triazoline, triazole, or pyrrolidine derivatives. In all cases, the product is a 5-membered heterocycle that contains components of both reactants and occurs with a reduction in the total bond unsaturation. In addition, this type of cycloaddition reaction can be done using carbon-carbon double bonds or triple bonds (alkynes). 

In the reactions with phosphonio-a-methoxycarbonyl-alkanides, the products of type 261 derived from 1,3-cycloaddition can rearrange to the tautomeric lif-pyrazolo-triazole (87MI2). The reaction of 3-diazopyra-zoles and 3-diazoindazole with acyl-substituted phosphonium ylides led to pyrazolo-triazine and indazolo-triazine derivatives 266 instead of the expected triazole compounds (8IJHC675). In this case, the ylides, which can exist as phosphonium enolates, possess nucleophilic and electrophilic centers in a /8-relationship, giving [7 + 2] or [11 -I- 2]cycloaddition reactions. With dimethylsulfonio-a-aroyl-methanides, very complex, temperature-dependent mixtures were obtained, in some cases with sulfur retention (87MI3). 

As with any modern review of the chemical Hterature, the subject discussed in this chapter touches upon topics that are the focus of related books and articles. For example, there is a well recognized tome on the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction that is an excellent introduction to the many varieties of this transformation [1]. More specific reviews involving the use of rhodium(II) in carbonyl ylide cycloadditions [2] and intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions have also appeared [3, 4]. The use of rhodium for the creation and reaction of carbenes as electrophilic species [5, 6], their use in intramolecular carbenoid reactions [7], and the formation of ylides via the reaction with heteroatoms have also been described [8]. Reviews of rhodium(II) ligand-based chemoselectivity [9], rhodium(11)-mediated macrocyclizations [10], and asymmetric rho-dium(II)-carbene transformations [11, 12] detail the multiple aspects of control and applications that make this such a powerful chemical transformation. In addition to these reviews, several books have appeared since around 1998 describing the catalytic reactions of diazo compounds [13], cycloaddition reactions in organic synthesis [14], and synthetic applications of the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition [15]. 

Similarly, Hosomi and co-workers (15) reported isothioureas as azomethine ylide equivalents. Both A-substituted and A-unsubstituted A-(trimethylsilylmethyl)-isothiourea precursors underwent cycloaddition reactions with carbonyl compounds, when treated with stoichiometric CsF to deliver a range of 2-iminooxazolidine derivatives. Typically, 63 (R = CN, R = H) furnished adduct... 

Phosphites and 2,2-bis(trifluoromethyl)-5(2//)-oxazolone 71 react with elimination of carbon dioxide to give 2-aza-4-phospha-l,l-bis(trifluoromethyl)-l,3-butadiene 72 that can be used as a synthon for the previously unknown hydrogen-substituted nitrile ylide 72a in [3 + 2]-cycloaddition reactions. Examples of cycloadditions of 72a with dipolarophiles to give heterocyclic compounds 12t-ll are shown in Scheme 7.18. 

In contrast to considerations of 50 years ago, today carbene and nitrene chemistries are integral to synthetic design and applications. Always a unique methodology for the synthesis of cyclopropane and cyclopropene compounds, applications of carbene chemistry have been extended with notable success to insertion reactions, aromatic cycloaddition and substitution, and ylide generation and reactions. And metathesis is in the lexicon of everyone planning the synthesis of an organic compound. Intramolecular reactions now extend to ring sizes well beyond 20, and insertion reactions can be effectively and selectively implemented even for intermolecular processes. 

Muthusamy et al. (82) prepared a number of oxacyclic ether compounds from the tandem ylide formation-dipolar cycloaddition methodology. Their approach provides a synthetic tactic to compounds such as ambrosic acid, smitopsin, and linearol. Starting with either cyclopentane or cyclohexane templates, they prepared ylide sizes of five or six, which are trapped in an intermolecular cycloaddition reaction by the addition of DMAD. The products are isolated in good overall yield. In a second system, 2,5-disubstituted cyclohexenyl derivatives are utilized to generate the pendent ylide, then, A-phenylmaleimide is added in an intermolecular reaction, accessing highly substituted oxatricyclic derivatives such as 182 (Scheme 4.43). 

Our initial foray into microwave chemistry was with a reaction that had proven inaccessible using traditional thermal techniques. The reaction was a simple [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction between a di-substituted maleimide and a simple azomethine ylide generated in situ (Scheme 8.1)13. The reaction with the unsubstituted maleimide had yielded excellent results for a variety of dipoles however, even simple methyl substitution had dramatic reductions in product yield (Table 8.1). The interest in our group was in generating novel three-dimensional scaffolds for library generation and the di-substituted maleimides would be a key entry point into these compounds, so the need for the products had us attempt these reactions in sealed pressure vessels. While we were pleased to obtain some of the desired product, the extremely low yield had eliminated this class of compounds from consideration. 

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