Zinc-mediated Barbier reactions

Similar reactions were also carried out with 3-bromopropene, l-bromo-2-butene, 3-bromocy-clohcxcnc. and 3-bromocyclooctene in refluxing ethanol as solvent24 . Zinc-mediated Barbier reactions can be accomplished with high yields in a mixture of saturated aqueous NH4C1/THF (5 1), at room temperature or below using a 1.2 to 2-fold excess of the halide over the carbonyl compound25. 

Luche, J.-L., Sarandeses, L. A. Zinc-mediated Barbier reactions. Organozinc Reagents 1999, 307-323. 

In diethyl ether, the yields of the zinc-mediated Barbier condensation are medium or poor,1 and THF should be preferred for most of the synthetic uses. Sonication is frequently used, e.g. in the reaction of methallyl bromide and salicylaldehyde which provide the expected alcohol27 The condensation of 4-bromo-2-sulfolene with a series of aldehydes and ketones was effected with the zinc-silver couple and ultrasound.28 The reaction occurs without transposition, which is not the case in the presence of magnesium. In refluxing... 

Madsen and Hyldtoft proposed a novel zinc-mediated domino reaction to give functionalized dienes.267 Using a Barbier reaction, different approaches of interesting compounds have been reported vitamin D3 analogs, 1 bicy-... 

A propargylic group was introduced onto the C-3 of the 4-acetoxy-2-azetidinone 184 by a zinc-mediated Barbier-type reaction of the latter with propargyl... 

Barbier-type additions are attractive methods because the required allylic halide precursors are often commercially available, and are more stable than a preformed organometallic reagent (Equation 5). The required 2-alkoxycarbonyl allylic zinc reagents can be prepared from zinc powder. Lactonization tends to occur under the reaction conditions however, the diastereoselectivity of the reactions tends to be poor with 3-substituted reagents. Zinc-mediated Barbier-type allylations are mild enough for use with functionalized substrates and can utilize both aldehydes and ketones as substrates. 

The aqueous Barbier-Grignard-type reaction has also been used in the synthesis of natural products. Chan and Li used the zinc mediated allylation as a key step in a total synthesis of (+)-muscarine (Scheme 8.5).72 The strategy was based on the observation that the diastereoselectivity of the allylation reaction in water can be reversed through the protection of the a-hydroxyl group. 

In 1991, Li and Chan reported the use of indium to mediate Barbier-Grignard-type reactions in water (Eq. 8.49).108 When the allylation was mediated by indium in water, the reaction went smoothly at room temperature without any promoter, whereas the use of zinc and tin usually requires acid catalysis, heat, or sonication. The mildness of the reaction conditions makes it possible to use the indium method to allylate a methyl ketone in the presence of an acid-sensitive acetal functional group (Eq. 8.50). Furthermore, the coupling of ethyl 2-(bromomethyl)acrylate with carbonyl compounds proceeds equally well under the same reaction conditions, giving ready access to various hydroxyl acids including, for example, sialic acids. 

Iminium ions, generated in aqueous solution from secondary amines and formaldehyde, undergo a Barbier-type allylation mediated by tin, aluminum, and zinc. The reaction is catalyzed by copper and produces tertiary homoallylamines in up to 85% yield.67 The imines generated in situ from 2-pyridinecarboxaldehyde/2-quinolinecarboxaldehyde and aryl amines undergo indium-mediated Barbier allylation in aqueous media to provide homoallylic amines.68 Crotyl and cinnamyl bromides... 

Despite the lower reactivity of solvated perfluoroalkylzinc reagents, perfluoroalkyl iodides undergo synthetically useful zinc-mediated reactions under Barbier conditions which often employ ultrasound and co-catalysts. Under these conditions, the zinc reagents are not well characterized and radical intermediates and SET mechanisms are proposed in some cases. Representative examples are presented below and include the ultrasound-promoted, zinc-mediated perfluoroalkylation of various substrates as reported by Ishikawa and coworkers (Scheme 10)123 126. Yields of carbinols could be improved by use of Ti(II) co-catalyst. Ultrasound promoted the coupling of perfluoroalkyl iodides with vinyl and allyl halides in the presence of Pd co-catalysts. 

Indium mediated Barbier-type cross coupling between carbonyl compounds and allyl halides proceed efficiently under solvent-free conditions. No apparent competing pinacol-coupling or homo-coupling of the allyl halide was observed. The reactions were found to be mediated also by zinc, tin, bismut and copper [45]. 

Alkylation. Zinc-mediated reaction of cinnamyl chloride with aldehydes and ketones in aqueous THE" and Barbier-type reactions involving perfluoroalkyl... 

This reaction was first reported by Luche in 1985. It is the modification of the initial aqueous allylation of carbonyl compounds (in 1983) via the intermediacy of tin in the presence of a catalytic amount of hydrobromic acid (HBr), to the zinc mediated allylation of carbonyl compounds using ultrasonic irradiation in saturated aqueous NH4CI/THF solution. Thus the new reaction condition is referred to as the Luche reaction. In parallel, Li" and Chan extended the Barbier-Grignard-type reaction to successfully proceed in aqueous media and contributed to the new area called green chemistry. ... 

Kitazume and Ishikawa have published a number of communications on the regiospecific zinc mediated perfluoroalkylation of a variety of substrates [148-151]. A compilation of these results appeared in 1985 [152] (Scheme 71). Secondary alcohols are available in moderate yield by reaction of perfluoro-alkyl halides (RpX) with aldehydes as the result of a modified Barbier-type reaction [148-152]. However, reaction with ketones gave low yields of the expected tertiary alcohols, although the yields could be doubled by reaction in the presence of a bis[7i-cyclopentadienyl]titanium(II) catalyst, which was prepared in situ by reduction of the dichloride with zinc in the presence of ultrasound. 

Benzyl halides and allyl (propargyl) halides are structurally similar but have drastically different chemical reactivities in the aqueous Barbier-Grignard-type reactions. Although tribenzyl and dibenzyltin derivatives have been prepared in aqueous conditions since the 1960s, they do not add onto carbonyls, most likely because it is not possible to form a six-membered cyclic transition state with the carbonyl group in a two-componenf fashion. Still, zinc-mediated benzylation of carbonyl compounds in aqueous media was reported by Bieber et al. recently. The benzylation of 4-nitrobenzaldehyde could be controlled chemoselectively by using various phase transfer catalysts and metal reductants in water (Eq. 4.41). 2... 

Barbier-Grignard-type reactions in water (Li, 1996) between aUyl hahdes and carbonyl compounds can be mediated by metals of tin, zinc, or indium. Usually the generation of the organometalhc reagent takes place in anhydrous organic solvents, but using softer metals allows this reaction to take place in water. 

Since the observation that allylation of carbonyl compounds could be mediated by tin in aqueous medium [77], there has been an intensive development of the Barbier-type allylation reaction in water. Three metals were particularly investigated zinc, tin, and indium. In the aqueous zinc-promoted allylation, allylzinc species are considered unlikely. The initiation of the reaction could be attributed to the formation of an allylic radical anion on the metal surface this radical surface could then react with the carbonyl compound to give an alkoxide radical, which could add an electron and form the alcohols [82]. Allyl bromide or even chloride reacts with aldehydes and ketones in the presence of commercial zinc powder in a mixture of tetrahydrofuran and saturated ammonium chloride aqueous solution (Eq. 7) [83]. 

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