Zinc cuprates

The reaction of allylic halides 1 with the zinc cuprate (R2CuZnCl), prepared by treatment of LiCuR2 with 1 equivalent of anhydrous zinc(II) chloride, affords the SN2 product 2 with 98% regioselectivity, and the diastercoselectivity is nearly 100% am/75. 

This strategy is applied to a general method for the preparation of 2,2-disubstituted 1-ni-troalkenes. Conjugate 1,4-addition of complex zinc cuprates to l-nitroalkenes, followed by trapping with phenylselenyl bromide and subsequent oxidative elimination, affords the corresponding 2,2-disubstituted l-nitroalkenes in good yields (Eq. 5.82).132... 

The related zinc cuprates formed from diorganozinc reagents and copper(I) cyanide also undergo smooth SN2 substitution reactions with propargyl oxiranes in the presence of phosphines or phosphites (Scheme 2.12). These transformations can also be performed with catalytic amounts of the copper salt since no direct reaction between the organozinc reagent and the substrate interferes [31, 34], and therefore should also be applicable to functionalized organozinc compounds. 

Scheme 2.12 Sn2 substitution of propargyl oxirane 27 with a zinc cuprate.

One general method for acyl silane synthesis particularly successful for a-cyclopropyl examples (and even an a-cyclobutyl example) involves treatment of acid chlorides with lithium tetrakis(trimethylsilyl) aluminum or lithium methyl tris(trimethylsilyl) aluminium and cuprous cyanide (vide supra, Section III.A.3)77. For example, cyclopropyl acyl silane (23) was obtained in 89% yield by this process. Improved procedures use lithium t-butyldimethylsilyl cuprate78 and a dimethylphenylsilyl zinc cuprate species79,80 as reagents. 

Recently an example of a virtually complete diastereofacial selectivity in the 5n allylation of oigano-copper/zinc reagents was reported. " The best results were achieved with a new zinc cuprate reagent, the structure of which has not yet been elucidated (equation 33). This reagent was developed as a catalytic system for zinc alkyl reagents. 

Sn2 Reactions. Methyl a-(t-butyl)acrylate is obtained from reaction of the 2-chIoromethyI-3-methyl-2-butenoic ester with a methylcopper/zinc reagent. Higher-order zinc cuprates or vinyl-ZnCl (with catalytic Cu salt) effect displacement reactions on y-mesyloxy a,/3-enoates, whereas reduction is observed with vinyl-Cu(CN)M or (vinyl)2Cu(CN)M2. ... 

Methylations with methyl iodide were observed to proceed with high yields and stereoselectivities. Longer-chain alkyl iodides failed in most attempts. Allyl bromide reacts smoothly - however, products of low enantioenrichment (see 146g) result. We explain the fact by a single electron transfer (SET) during the alkylation. The intermediate formation of a mesomerically stabilized allyl radical supports the SET pathway [89]. A solution to this problem was most recently published by Taylor and Papillon who converted a lithio carbamate into the corresponding zinc cuprate prior to allylation [90]. Studies on the stereochemistry in a few metal-exchange reactions have been published by Nakai et al. [91]. 

The low ionic character of the aluminium-silicon bond has been cleverly utilized to develop a very mild, general and effective synthesis of acyl silanes, successful for aliphatic, aromatic, heteroaromatic, a-aUcoxy, a-amino and even a-chiral and a-cyclopropyl acyl sUanes. Acyl chlorides are treated with lithium tetrakis(trimethylsilyl)aluminium or lithium methyl tris(trimethylsilyl) aluminium in the presence of copper(I) cyanide as catalyst to give the acyl silanes in excellent yields after work-up. Later improvements include the use of 2-pyridinethiolesters in place of acyl halides, allowing preparation of acyl silanes in just a few minutes in very high yields indeed (Scheme 9) °, and the use of bis(dimethylphenylsilyl) copper lithium and a dimethylphenylsilyl zinc cuprate species as nucleophiles. 

Functionalized zinc cuprates such as the serine-derived zinc-copper reagent 344 react under mild conditions with ClPPh2 (Scheme 2-116). The resulting phosphine was protected as a sulfide providing the enantiomerically pure thiophosphane 345 in 75%... 

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