The effect of HMPA on the reactivity of epoxides,aziridines, and alkyl halides with organolithium reagents

A kinetic study of the effect of added HMPA cosolvent on the reaction of 2-lithio-1,3-dithiane (1), bis(phenylthio)methyllithium (2), and bis(3,5-bistrifluoromethylphenylthio)methyllithium (3) with methyloxirane (propylene oxide), N-tosyl-2-methylaziridine, and the several alkyl halides (BuCl, BuBr, BuI, allyl chloride) was carried out. Widely varied rate effects of HMPA on these SN2 substitutions were observed, ranging from >108 rate increases for 1 and butyl chloride to >103 rate decreases for 3 and methyloxirane. These reactions appear to go through separated ion pair intermediates, so a key effect is the ease of ion pair separation of the lithium reagent (3 > 2 > 1). Because 3 is already almost fully separated in THF, HMPA has no effect on the rate of halide substitution, but a large reduction is observed with the epoxide as substrate, a consequence of strong lithium assistance to the ring opening which is suppressed when excess HMPA is present. When ion pair separation is difficult (1), modest rate increases (104) are seen for epoxide opening, but very large increases are seen for aziridine (106) and alkyl halide reactions (108), for which lithium assistance is much less important. Reagent 2 shows more complicated behavior in reaction with the epoxide: 1-2 equiv of HMPA causes a small rate increase, while larger amounts cause a large rate decrease. Here the rate-accelerating effects of SIP formation are more nearly balanced with the rate-retarding effects of suppression of lithium catalysis.     

Synthesis and Properties of a Novel Cycloaliphatic Epoxide

The novel cycloaliphatic epoxide 3,4‐epoxycyclohexylmethyl‐2′,3′‐epoxycyclohexyl ether ( II ) containing an unsymmetrical epoxycyclohexyl moiety linked via an ether bond, and its precursor 3‐cyclohexene‐1‐methyl‐2′‐cyclohexene ether ( I ) were synthesized. Their structure was confirmed by means of elemental analysis, FT‐IR and ¹H NMR spectroscopy. Compared with commercial epoxide ERL‐4221, the newly synthesized epoxide II shows a higher epoxy value (0.85 eq/g) and lower viscosity (86 mpa·s/25°C). The cured product, based on epoxide II and curing agent hexahydro‐4‐methylphthalic anhydride (HMPA), showed higher glass transition temperature (162°C), higher storage modulus at the glass transition region (2.95 GPa), higher crosslinking density (1.60×10^–3 mol/cm³) and a lower coefficient of thermal expansion (6.22×10^–5/°C).     

HMPA‐Promoted Siladifluoromethylation of Di‐, and Triarylmethanes with the Ruppert–Prakash Reagent

A mild and efficientmethod for the synthesis of α‐siladifluoromethylated di‐, and triarylmethanes via the reaction of di‐, and triarylmethanes with Ruppert–Prakash reagents, using LDA and HMPA at room temperature, was developed.     

Aggregation and reactivity of the dilithium and dicesium enediolates of 1-naphthylacetic acid

UV-vis spectra of the dilithium, 1-Li, and dicesium, 1-Cs, enediolates of alpha-naphthylacetic acid show no systematic change with concentration in dilute THF solution, but addition of small amounts of HMPA causes a bathochromic shift in the spectrum of 1-Li. These results indicate that these salts are aggregated and that HMPA breaks up the aggregates of 1-Li. The quantitative effect of small increments of HMPA indicates that 1-Li is a dimer. Alkylation reactions of 1-Cs show half-order kinetics in enediolate indicating that this salt is also dimeric but that the small amount of monomer in equilibrium is the actual reactant. Alkylation of 1-Li, however, is much slower and shows first-order kinetics interpreted as a direct reaction of the dimer; the amount of monomer in this case is too small to compete. A solution of 1-Li in THF containing 10% HMPA is much more reactive in alkylation than 1-Li alone and the first-order dependence in 1-Li is now interpreted as reaction of the monomer. Compound 1-Li is found to form a mixed aggregate with LDA, a finding that has possible synthetic significance since enediolates used in syntheses are frequently prepared using LDA. Structures of these compounds are suggested based on model ab initio computations.     

Anion reaction of 1,3-benzoxathiole-3-oxide with several electrophilic compounds

The reaction of benzoxathiole-3-oxide with LDA in THF or THF/hexane or THF/HMPA gave a carbanion which was reacted with methyl iodide, aromatic aldehydes or carbon dioxide. The conformational stability (-diastereoselectivity) of the carbanion and the asymmetric induction due to the prochiral electrophiles (β-diastereoselectivity) was studied. The temperature and the solvent effects on the - and β-diastereoselectivity are discussed.     

Alkali and alkaline-earth metal ketyl complexes: isolation, structural diversity, and hydrogenation/protonation reactions

The use of hexamethylphosphoric triamide (HMPA) as a stabilizing ligand allowed successful isolation of a series of structurally characterizable alkali metal and calcium ketyl complexes. Reaction of lithium and sodium with one equivalent of fluorenone and reaction of sodium with one equivalent of benzophenone in THF, followed by addition of two equivalents of HMPA, yielded the corresponding ketyl complexes 1, 2, and 11, respectively, as microketyl-bridged dimers. If one equivalent of HMPA was used in the reaction of sodium with fluorenone, a further aggregated complex, the mu3-ketyl-bridged tetramer 3, was isolated, whereas analogous reaction of benzophenone with sodium afforded the trimeric ketyl complex 13, rather than a simple benzophenone analogue of 3. In the reaction of potassium with fluorenone, the use of two equivalents of HMPA gave the tetramer 4, rather than a dimeric complex analogous to 1 or 2. Compared to the tetrameric sodium complex 3, there is an extra HMPA ligand that bridges two of the four K atoms in 4. When 0.5 equiv of HMPA was used in the above reaction, complex 5, a THF-bridged analogue of 4, was isolated. In the absence of HMPA, the reaction of sodium with an excess of fluorenone yielded the tetrameric ketyl complex 6, in which two of the four Na atoms are each terminally coordinated by a fluorenone ligand, and the other two Na atoms are coordinated by a THF ligand. Two bridging THF ligands are also observed in 6. Reaction of 1,2-bis(biphenyl-2,2'-diyl)ethane-1,2-diol (7) with two equivalents of LiN(SiMe3)2 or NaN(SiMe3)2 in the presence of four equivalents of HMPA easily afforded 1 or 2, respectively, via C-C bond cleavage of a 1,2-diolate intermediate. The reaction of calcium with two equivalents of fluorenone or benzophenone in the presence of HMPA gave the corresponding complexes that bear two independent ketyl ligands per metal ion. In the presence of 3 or four equivalents of HMPA, the fluorenone ketyl complex was isolated in a six-coordinate octahedral form (10), while the benzophenone ketyl complex was obtained as a five-coordinate trigonal bipyramid (13). The radical carbon atoms in both benzophenone ketyl and fluorenone ketyl complexes are still in an sp2-hybrid state. However, in contrast with the planar configuration of the whole fluorenone ketyl unit, the radical carbon atom in a benzophenone ketyl species is not coplanar with any of the phenyl groups; this explains why benzophenone ketyl is more reactive than fluorenone ketyl. Hydrolysis of 2 or 11 with 2N HCI yielded the corresponding pinacol-coupling product, while treatment of 2 or 11 with 2-propanol, followed by hydrolysis, gave the pairs fluorenone and fluorenol or benzophenone and benzhydrol, respectively. A possible mechanism for these reactions is proposed.     

Selective dealkylations of aryl alkyl ethers and thioethers by sodium in HMPA

The reaction of sodium with bis- and tris(alkoxy)benzenes in HMPA gives selectively the products of monodealkylation. The reaction proceeds through a dianion which fragments into an alkyl and an aryloxy anion. The positional selectivity of this fragmentation is governed by the structure of both the alkyl and aryloxy groups. With bis- and tris(alkoxy)benzenes which for symmetry reasons can afford aryloxy anions having the same basicity, the dealkylation involves exclusively the less substituted alkyl group. On the contrary, in the asymmetric terms, the positional selectivity of the dealkylation process is governed by the basicity of the aryloxy anion. On the basis of these concepts several efficient and synthetically useful reactions have been developed. In most cases the selectivity obtained in the present reactions is different from that observed with other previously developed methods which use sodium methoxide or sodium alkanethiolates in HMPA. It is shown that the appropriate chioce of the reagent allows selective dealkylation of the desired alkoxy group of a poly(alkoxy)benzene.

The reaction of sodium with bis(alkylthio)benzenes in HMPA gives the bis(mercapto)benzenes. If the reduction is caried out with a solution of sodium in HMPA, the reaction gives instead the products of monodealkylation. This however is not selective. It is suggested that in the case of thioethers the dealkylation products originate from the fragmentation of the radical anions.     

Synthesis of 2-(3-hydroxy-2-methyl-1-alkenyl)-1-pyrrolines and 2-(3-hydroxybutyl)-1-pyrroline using α-lithiated 2-methyl-1-pyrroline

Condensation of 2-methyl-1-pyrroline with chloroacetone or 3-chloro-2-butanone using LDA in THF afforded novel 2-(3-hydroxy-2-methyl-1-alkenyl)-1-pyrrolines via a peculiar reaction mechanism instead of the anticipated 2-(3-oxobutyl)-1-pyrrolines. The intermediacy of 2-(2,3-epoxy-2-methylalkyl)-1-pyrrolines in the latter transformation was demonstrated by immediate reductive epoxide ring opening utilizing lithium aluminium hydride in diethyl ether. Furthermore, 2-(3-oxobutyl)-1-pyrroline was prepared via an alternative approach through alkylation of 2-methyl-1-pyrroline with 3-chloro-2-(methoxymethyloxy)-1-propene using LDA in THF, followed by acid hydrolysis. Reduction of 2-(3-oxobutyl)-1-pyrroline by sodium borohydride in methanol afforded the corresponding 2-(3-hydroxybutyl)-1-pyrroline in good yield.     

Deprotonation studies in α-oxoketene dithioacetals. I.

Deprotonations of α-benzoyl ketene dithiomethylacetals with LDA/HMPA resulted in kinetic deprotonations at three different sites depending on the other α-substituents.     

Anion relay chemistry: an effective tactic for diversity oriented synthesis

An effective one-flask multicomponent linchpin coupling protocol employing the concept of anion relay chemistry (ARC) was developed. This concept calls for addition of an anion (5) to an epoxide (6), bearing on a distal carbon a trialkyl silyl group and an anion stabilizing group (ASG), to furnish upon epoxide ring opening oxyanion 7. Addition of HMPA or other polar solvents to trigger a solvent controlled 1,4-Brook rearrangement then leads to a new distal anion (8), which in turn is available to react with a variety of second electrophiles.     

A highly efficient practical method for the synthesis of chiral polyhydroxy-(E,E)-1-chlorodienols and (E)-5-hydroxy enynes

An efficient protocol for the synthesis of chiral polyhydroxy-(E,E)-1-chlorodienols and (E)-5-hydroxy enynes from chiral 4,5-epoxy trans allyl chlorides and 4,5-O-isopropylidene allyl chlorides is described by using stoichiometric amount of LiNH₂ or LDA in HMPA:THF (1:5) useful in the synthesis of biologically active natural products.     

Evidence that epoxide-opening cascades promoted by water are stepwise and become faster and more selective after the first cyclization

A detailed kinetic study of the endo-selective epoxide-opening cascade reaction of a diepoxy alcohol in neutral water was undertaken using (1)H NMR spectroscopy. The observation of monoepoxide intermediates resulting from initial endo and exo cyclization indicated that the cascade proceeds via a stepwise mechanism rather than through a concerted one. Independent synthesis and cyclization of these monoepoxide intermediates demonstrated that they are chemically and kinetically competent intermediates in the cascade. Analysis of each step of the reaction revealed that both the rate and regioselectivity of cyclization improve as the cascade reaction proceeds. In the second step, cyclization of an epoxy alcohol substrate templated by a fused diad of two tetrahydropyran rings proceeds with exceptionally high regioselectivity (endo:exo = 19:1), the highest we have measured in the opening of a simple trans-disubstituted epoxide. The origins of these observations are discussed.     

1,4-addition of lithium diisopropylamide to unsaturated esters: role of rate-limiting deaggregation, autocatalysis, lithium chloride catalysis, and other mixed aggregation effects

Lithium diisopropylamide (LDA) in tetrahydrofuran at -78 °C undergoes 1,4-addition to an unsaturated ester via a rate-limiting deaggregation of LDA dimer followed by a post-rate-limiting reaction with the substrate. Muted autocatalysis is traced to a lithium enolate-mediated deaggregation of the LDA dimer and the intervention of LDA-lithium enolate mixed aggregates displaying higher reactivities than LDA. Striking accelerations are elicited by <1.0 mol % LiCl. Rate and mechanistic studies have revealed that the uncatalyzed and catalyzed pathways funnel through a common monosolvated-monomer-based intermediate. Four distinct classes of mixed aggregation effects are discussed.     

Synthesis of 1,2,3-trisubstituted cyclopropanes by MIRC reactions of dithianyllithiums with monocarboxylic vinyl epoxide analogues

A variety of cyclopropane derivatives bearing stereochemistry at all three positions on the ring were readily obtained in a high yield of 76-92% and high stereoselectivity (trans:cis > 95:5) when the monocarboxylic vinyl epoxide analogues reacted with dithianyllithiums in the presence of HMPA. This reaction was supposed to be a tandem conjugation addition-opening epoxide ring sequence.     

Samarium(II)-mediated reactions of gamma,delta-unsaturated ketones. Cyclization and fragmentation processes

[reaction: see text] On treatment with samarium(II) iodide, gamma,delta-unsaturated ketones undergo very different processes depending upon the nature of the reaction conditions. Employing samarium(II) iodide and MeOH, functionalized syn-cyclopentanol products are obtained stereoselectively. Mechanistic studies suggest that this cyclization occurs via a sequential reduction/intramolecular aldol reaction. With samarium(II) iodide and HMPA, products of a 4-exo-trig cyclization and of an interesting fragmentation reaction are observed.     

Synthesis of bicyclic pyrane derivatives via tungsten-mediated [3 + 3] cycloaddition of epoxides with tethered alkynes.

Propargyltungsten compounds bearing a tethered epoxide were prepared in short steps from readily available materials. In the presence of various Lewis acids, BF(3).Et(2)O catalysts (25 mol %) most effectively promote the [3 + 3] cycloaddition of the epoxide with its tethered propargyltungsten group, delivering bicyclic pyranyltungsten compounds in reasonable yields. This cyclization proceeds highly diastereoselectively with tolerance of various functional groups. The stereochemical outcome indicates that the cycloaddition is initiated by the ring opening of the epoxides via an exo-attack of the propargyltungsten group. The resulting pyranyltungsten organometallics were demetalated to yield various bicyclic pyranyl derivatives using different oxidants. This new method provides a short enantiospecific synthesis of bicyclic oxygen compounds if chiral epoxide is used in the cyclization. A mechanistic model is presented to rationalize the reaction pathway of this [3 + 3] cycloaddition.     

Synthesis and reactivity of N@C60O

The endohedral fullerene epoxide N@C60O was synthesised, isolated by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), and characterised by Electron Spin Resonance (ESR). This nitrogen radical displays predominantly axial symmetry characteristics as expected for a monoadduct, evidenced by a zero-field splitting D parameter of 6.6 MHz and an E parameter of 0.5 MHz in powder at 77 K. Photo- and thermally-activated silencing of the nitrogen radical were observed, the latter showing the evolution of a new spin signal during heating at 100 degrees C. We suggest that loss of nitrogen spin is due to coupling with a radical formed by opening of the epoxide ring. This implies that the reaction of C60O with C60 in the solid state proceeds via a radical, rather than ionic, intermediate.     

Studies on a forskolin ring C forming reaction

Results are reported that indicate that the rearrangement of hydroxy epoxide 2a to dihydropyran 3 which occurs with retention of configuration at C-8 proceeds either via a carbocation intermediate or by two successive substitution reactions, both with inversion of configuration.     

Use of thiazoles in the halogen dance reaction: application to the total synthesis of WS75624 B

The total synthesis of the pyridine-thiazole-containing natural product WS75624 B (1) is described. This synthesis proceeds via the Stille coupling of appropriately functionalized pyridine and thiazole components, and this paper details our studies on the use of the halogen dance reaction to prepare the desired thiazole. Various halogen dance reactions on thizoles are described, including a novel one-pot multistep reaction in which 2-bromothiazole is treated with LDA in the presence of a silyl chloride at -78 degrees C and quenched with an electrophile to provide the highly functionalized thiazole derivatives 27.     

Stereoselective synthesis of 6-oxabicyclo[3.2.1]octene via (3,5)-oxonium-ene reaction

Oxabicyclo[3.2.1]octene can efficiently be synthesized by the reaction of (?)-terpinen-4-ol and aldehyde or epoxide catalyzed by indium triflate (In(OTf)₃) in good yields. The reaction is stereoselective and proceeds via (3,5)-oxonium-ene-type reaction.