Ylides Dimethylsulfonium methylide

The use of sulfur in place of the phosphorus brings about a different mode of decomposition of the intermediate betaine. Two sulfur ylides, dimethylsulfonium methylide (Scheme 3.49a) and dimethylsulfoxonium methylide (Scheme 3.49b), have been used. Both ylides react with ketones to give epoxides, but the stereochemistry may differ. 

Bravo et al. studied the reaction of various ylides with monooximes of biacetyl and benzil. Dimethylsulfonium methylide and triphenylarsonium methylide gave 2-isoxazolin-5-ol and isoxazoles, with the former being the major product. Triphenylphosphonium methylide and dimethyloxosulfonium methylide gave open-chain products (Scheme 135) (70TL3223, 72G395). The cycloaddition of benzonitrile oxide to enolic compounds produced 5-ethers which could be cleaved or dehydrated (Scheme 136) (70CJC467, 72NKK1452). 

Carbanions in the form of ylides also add to azirines. For example, treatment of 1-azirine (227) with dimethylsulfonium methylide gives 1-azabicyclobutane (229) in good yield (72JA2758). The addition of the methylene group occurs by initial nucleophilic attack by the ylide to give intermediate (228) which cyclizes with expulsion of dimethyl sulfide. 

The Corey-Chaykovsky reaction entails the reaction of a sulfur ylide, either dimethylsulfoxonium methylide (1, Corey s ylide, sometimes known as DMSY) or dimethylsulfonium methylide (2), with electrophile 3 such as carbonyl, olefin, imine, or thiocarbonyl, to offer 4 as the corresponding epoxide, cyclopropane, aziridine, or thiirane. ... 

In the initial report by Corey and Chaykovsky, dimethylsulfonium methylide (2) reacted smoothly with benzalaniline to provide an entry to 1,2-diphenylaziridine 67. Franzen and Driesen reported the same reaction with 81% yield for 67. In another example, benzylidene-phenylamine reacted with 2 to produce l-(p-methoxyphenyl)-2-phenylaziridine in 71% yield. The same reaction was also carried out using phase-transfer catalysis conditions.Thus aziridine 68 could be generated consistently in good yield (80-94%). Recently, more complex sulfur ylides have been employed to make more functionalized aziridines, as depicted by the reaction between A -sulfonylimine 69 with diphenylsulfonium 3-(trimethylsilyl)propargylide (70) to afford aziridine 71, along with desilylated aziridine 72. ... 

Whereas phosphonium ylides normally react with carbonyl compounds to give alkenes, dimethylsulfonium methylide and dimethylsulfoxonium methylide yield epoxides. Instead of a four-center elimination, the adducts from the sulfur ylides undergo intramolecular displacement of the sulfur substituent by oxygen. In this reaction, the sulfur substituent serves both to promote anion formation and as the leaving group. 

Dimethylsulfonium methylide is both more reactive and less stable than dimethylsulfoxonium methylide, so it is generated and used at a lower temperature. A sharp distinction between the two ylides emerges in their reactions with a, ( -unsaturated carbonyl compounds. Dimethylsulfonium methylide yields epoxides, whereas dimethylsulfoxonium methylide reacts by conjugate addition and gives cyclopropanes (compare Entries 5 and 6 in Scheme 2.21). It appears that the reason for the difference lies in the relative rates of the two reactions available to the betaine intermediate (a) reversal to starting materials, or (b) intramolecular nucleophilic displacement.284 Presumably both reagents react most rapidly at the carbonyl group. In the case of dimethylsulfonium methylide the intramolecular displacement step is faster than the reverse of the addition, and epoxide formation takes place. 

Another difference between dimethylsulfonium methylide and dimethylsulfoxonium methylide concerns the stereoselectivity in formation of epoxides from cyclohexanones. Dimethylsulfonium methylide usually adds from the axial direction whereas dimethylsulfoxonium methylide favors the equatorial direction. This result may also be due to reversibility of addition in the case of the sulfoxonium methylide.92 The product from the sulfonium ylide is the result the kinetic preference for axial addition by small nucleophiles (see Part A, Section 2.4.1.2). In the case of reversible addition of the sulfoxonium ylide, product structure is determined by the rate of displacement and this may be faster for the more stable epoxide. 

Dimethylsulfonium methylide reacts with reactive alkylating reagents such as allylic and benzylic bromides to give terminal alkenes. A similar reaction occurs with primary alkyl bromides in the presence of Lil. The reaction probably involves alkylation of the ylide, followed by elimination.289... 

Aldehydes and ketones can be converted to epoxides756 in good yields with the sulfur ylides dimethyloxosulfonium methylide (72) and dimethylsulfonium methylide (73).757 For most purposes, 72 is the reagent of choice, because 73 is much less stable and ordinarily must be... 

Dimethylsulfoxonium methylide (DMSY, also referred to as Corey s reagent) is a convenient methylene transfer reagent. It appears to be the most used sulfur ylide and a Tetrahedron Report [455] covers most of its chemistry (345 references). In contrast to dimethylsulfonium methylide, which must be used as soon as it is formed, DMSY is much more stable and can be stored for several days at room temperature. It is the reagent of choice in many instances. However, with a,(3-unsaturated ketones the two reagents react in different ways, as shown for cyclohexenone. 

Ylides based upon sulfur are the most generally useful in these cyclopropane-forming reactions.133 Early work in this area was done with the simple dimethyloxysulfonium methylide (9) derived from dimethyl sulfoxide. The even simpler dimethylsulfonium methylide (10) was studied at the same time as a reagent primarily for the conversion of carbonyl compounds into epoxides.134 Somewhat later, other types of sulfur ylides were developed, among which the nitrogen-substituted derivatives such as (11) are... 

Figure 9.4 shows stereogenic epoxide formations with S ylides and a ketone. The substrate is a conformationally fixed—because it represents a trans-decalin—cyclohexanone. Both the dimethylsulfoxonium methylide and the dimethylsulfonium methylide convert this cyclohexanone into an epoxide diastereoselectively. As Figure 9.4 shows, the observed diastereoselectivities are complementary. The sulfoxonium methylide attacks the carbonyl carbon equatorially, whereas the attack by the sulfonium ylide takes place axially. 

Unstabilized sulfonium ylides such as dimethylsulfonium methylide (3.45) and stabilized sulfoxonium ylides such as dimethylsulfoxonium methylide (3.46) are the most widely used sulfur ylides. 

Oxiranes can be prepared in excellent yield from carbonyl compounds by alkylidene transfer with sulfonium ylides. The reaction is generally carried out with dimethylsulfonium methylide 77, dimethylsulfoxonium methylide 78, or related compounds such as anionoid species originating from sulfylimines 79 and sulfox-imines 80 that can undergo addition to the electrophilic carbonyl carbon. 

Dialkylamino-aryloxosulfonium alkylides may be employed for enantioselective epoxidation if the ylide with its chiral sulfur center is resolved into its enantiomeric form, " An enantioselective oxirane is obtained by means of a chiral phase-transfer catalyzed procedure with dimethylsulfonium methylide. The utilization of arsonium ylides was reported some time ago. ° A highly stereoselective synthesis of trans-epoxides with triphenylarsonium ethylide has recently been described.Optically active arsonium ylide has been used in the asymmetric synthesis of diaryloxiranes. ... 

The most commonly used reagents to effect the addition of a methylene group to an aldehyde or ketone are sulfur ylides such as dimethylsulfonium methylide (1) or dimethyloxosulfonium methylide (2) (Corey-Chaykovsky reaction). This reaction is well reviewed in standard treatises of organic synthesis - and several useful monographs. - This update will concentrate on progress attained from 1975. The reader is also encouraged to consult reviews on the chemistry of the related sulfoximine-derived ylides such as (3). -"... 

Dimethylsulfonium Methylide. Methylation of dimethylsulfide with methyl iodide produces trimethylsulfonium iodide. The positive charge on sulfur enhances the acidity of the methyl protons so that treatment of the sulfonium salt with a base converts it to dimethylsulfonium methylide. This unstabilized ylide should be used immediately after its preparation. 

Dimethyloxosulfonium Methylide " Deprotonation of trimethylsulfoxonium iodide forms a sulfur ylide that is significantly more stable than dimethylsulfonium methylide and may be prepared and used at room temperature. 

This stabilized ylide reacts with aldehydes and ketones to furnish epoxides. The difference in reactivity between dimethylsulfonium methylide and dimethyloxosulfo-nium methylide is apparent when considering their reactions with a, 3-unsaturated ketones. Whereas the nonstabilized ylide yields the epoxide, the stabilized ylide affords a cyclopropane via conjugate addition followed by ring closure and loss of dimethyl sulfoxide. 

Dialkylsulfoxonium ylides like (33) are stabilised by the oxygen atom. They are therefore less reactive than the corresponding dialkylsulfonium ylides, e.g. (21). The difference is reflected in several important respects. In studies of the stereochemistry of epoxide formation using the rigid 4-t-butylcyclohexanone molecule (34) (Scheme 15) as substrate, it was found that the more reactive sulfonium ylides like dimethylsulfonium methylide (21) reacted very quickly by axial attack to form mainly the kinetically controlled epoxide (35).2a... 

The two types of sulfur ylides also differ in their reactions with a,p-unsaturated carbonyl compounds. The highly reactive sulfonium ylides react rapidly by 1,2-addition across the carbon-oxygen double bond to yield the epoxides. On the other hand, the less reactive sulfoxonium ylides react by slower conjugate addition (1,4-addition) to give substituted ketocyclopropanes. Thus, dimethylsulfonium methylide (21) reacts rapidly with benzylideneacetophenone (chalcone) (37)... 

The sulfonium and sulfoxonium ylides also differ in their behaviour with a,balkynic ketones (46) (Scheme 19). Dimethylsulfonium methylide (21) forms the alkynic epoxide (47) by 1,2-addition, but the sulfoxonium methylide (33) affords... 

The methylene transfer reaction from ylides to ketones has been developed as a convenient synthetic method for obtaining oxiranes [24]. However, the experimental procedure is complex. For example, a THF solution of dimethylsulfonium-methylide (61) is obtained by treatment of trimethylsulfonium iodide (60) with BuLi in THF at 0°C, and after addition of the ketone the mixture is heated at 50-55 °C under nitrogen to yield the oxirane. Throughout the reaction and separation of the product, the organic solvent is essential [25]. 

For the synthesis of cyclopropyl amino acids, Williams has used an oxazinone auxiliary (cf. Scheme 3.12) as an electrophilic component in a sulfur ylide cyclopropanation using Johnson s sulfoximines, as illustrated in Scheme 6.41 [148]. Surprisingly, the sulfur ylide approaches from the P face the authors speculate that there may be some sort of 7t-stacking between the phenyls on the oxazinone ring and the phenyl in the sulfoximine to account for this [149]. With Corey s [147] dimethylsulfonium methylide, the diastereoselectivity was only about 75%, but with Johnson s sulfoximines (used in racemic form), only one diastereomer could be detected for most substrates studied (with the exception of R = H, [149]). Dissolving metal reduction afforded moderate yields of the cyclopropyl amino acids. 

In einigen Fallen lassen sich die primar entstehenden Salze abfangen und in die substituierten Ylide, z.B. Benzoyl-brom-dimethylsulfonium-methylid (79), iiberfuhren (Schema Q) (84a). 

The most useful reaction of a sulfur ylide is with a carbonyl electrophile, in which the major product is an epoxide. Two of the most widely used reagents are dimethylsulfonium methylide 106 and dimethylsulfoxonium methylide 107. The reaction of the latter ylide with the ketone 108 gave the epoxide 110 via the zwitterion 109 (1.104). Unlike the reaction of phosphorus ylides with carbonyl electrophiles (see Section 2.7), which give alkene products, the sulfur ylides lead to the epoxide owing to the lower affinity of sulfur for oxygen, the weak carbon-sulfur... 

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