Conformational Properties of (Z,Z)-, (E,Z)-, and (E,E)-Cycloocta-1,4-dienes

Summary.  Ab initio calculations at the HF/6-31G^* level of theory for geometry optimization and the MP2/6-31G^*//HF/6-31G^* level for a single point total energy calculation are reported for (Z,Z)-, (E,Z)-, and (E,E)-cycloocta-1,4-dienes. The C ₂-symmetric twist-boat conformation of (Z,Z)-cycloocta-1,4-diene was calculated to be by 3.6 kJ·mol⁻¹ more stable than the C _S-symmetric boat-chair form; the calculated energy barrier for ring inversion of the twist-boat conformation via the C _S-symmetric boat-boat geometry is 19.1 kJ·mol⁻¹. Interconversion between twist-boat and boat-chair conformations takes place via a half-chair (C ₁) transition state which is 43.5 kJ·mol⁻¹ above the twist-boat form. The unsymmetrical twist-boat-chair conformation of (E,Z)-cycloocta-1,4-diene was calculated to be by 18.7 kJ·mol⁻¹ more stable than the unsymmetrical boat-chair form. The calculated energy barrier for the interconversion of twist-boat-chair and boat-chair is 69.5 kJ·mol⁻¹, whereas the barrier for swiveling of the trans-double bond through the bridge is 172.6 kJ·mol⁻¹. The C _S symmetric crown conformation of the parallel family of (E,E)-cycloocta-1,4-diene was calculated to be by 16.5 kJ·mol⁻¹ more stable than the C _S-symmetric boat-chair form. Interconversion of crown and boat-chair takes place via a chair (C _S) transition state which is 37.2 kJ·mol⁻¹ above the crown conformation. The axial- symmetrical twist geometry of the crossed family of (E,E)-cycloocta-1,4-diene is 5.9 kJ·mol⁻¹ less stable than the crown conformation. Corresponding author. E-mail: isayavar@yahoo.com Received March 25, 2002; accepted April 3, 2002     

Fe(III) halides as effective catalysts in carbon-carbon bond formation: synthesis of 1,5-dihalo-1,4-dienes, alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones, and cyclic ethers

Iron(III) halides have proven to be excellent catalysts in the coupling of acetylenes and aldehydes. When terminal acetylenes were used the main products obtained were 1,5-dihalo-1,4-dienes with (E,Z)-stereochemistry contaminated in some cases with (E)-alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones. The former carbonyl derivatives were the sole products isolated when nonterminal aromatic alkynes were used. When homopropargylic alcohols were used, a Prins-type cyclization occurred yielding 2-alkyl-4-halo-5,6-dihydro-2H-pyrans. In addition, anhydrous ferric halides are also shown to be excellent catalysts for the standard Prins cyclization with homoallylic alcohols. Isolation of an intermediate acetal, calculations, and alkyne hydration studies provide substantiation of a proposed mechanism.     

Palladium-catalyzed highly regio- and stereoselective synthesis of (1E)- or (1Z)-1,2-dihalo-1,4-dienes via haloallylation of alkynyl halides

A highly efficient and selective synthesis of (1E)- or (1Z)-1,2-dihalo-1,4-dienes via Pd-catalyzed coupling of haloalkynes and allylic halides is described. The (1E)-1,2-dihalo-1,4-dienes were generated in good yields with excellent stereoselectivities (1E/1Z up to >98/2), while (1Z)-1,2-dihalo-1,4-dienes were produced in excellent yields and stereoselectivities (1Z/1E up to >98/2) by simply adding stoichiometric lithium halides.     

Mild and selective palladium-catalyzed dimerization of terminal alkynes to form symmetrical (Z,Z)-1,4-dihalo-1,3-dienes

A regioselective and stereoselective palladium-catalyzed dimerization of terminal alkynes method for the synthesis of symmetrical (Z,Z)-1,4-dihalo-1,3-dienes is presented. In the presence of a catalytic amount of PdX(2) and 3 equiv of CuX(2) (X = Cl and Br), terminal alkynes were dimerized to afford (Z,Z)-1,4-dihalo-1,3-dienes in good yields. The results showed that the effect of solvent had a fundamental influence on the chemoselectivity of the dimerization reaction. The mechanism of the palladium-catalyzed dimerization reaction is also discussed.     

Gallium(III) halide promoted synthesis of 1,3,5-triaryl- 1,5-dihalo-1,4-pentadienes

Aryl substituted alkynes undergo smooth coupling with aldehydes in the presence of gallium(III) halides under extremely mild conditions to afford the corresponding 1,3,5-triaryl-1,5-dihalo-1,4-pentadienes in good yields with E,Z-selectivity. Similarly 1,3,5-triaryl-1,5-dichloro-1,4-pentadienes are also obtained with niobium(V) chloride.     

The addition of cuprates to vinyltriphenylphosphonium bromide: a synthesis of 1,5-disubstituted Z,Z-penta-1,4-dienes

It is shown that alkyl, alkenyl and aryl cuprates add to vinyl- triphenylphosphonium bromide to provide phosphoranes and that the Z:E ratio of their Wittig condensation products with benzaldehyde and hexanal are strongly influenced by the addition of hexamethyl- phosphoramide. This reaction is applied to the one-pot synthesis of the title compound.     

A simple,regioselective synthesis of 1,4-bis(tert-butoxycarbonylmethyl)- tetraazacyclododecane

A convenient synthetic route to 1,4-bis(tert-butoxycarbonylmethyl)tetraazacyclododecane (cyclen) (1) with high yield and excellent regioselectivity is described. Compound 1 reacted with a range of functionalized alkyl halides under two reaction conditions to give mono-N-alkylated 1,4-bis(tert-butoxycarbonylmethyl)tetraazacyclododecane (2-9) in good yield.     

An ab Initio study of conformational properties of (Z,Z)-, (E,Z)- and (E,E)-cycloocta-1,5-diene

Ab initio calculations at HF/6-31G* level of theory for geometry optimization and MP2/6-31G*//HF/6-31G* for a single point total energy calculation are reported for the three geometrical isomers of cycloocta-l,5-diene 1–3.     

Au-catalyzed synthesis of (1Z,3E)-2-pivaloxy-1,3-dienes from propargylic pivalates

Propargylic pivalates with electronically unbiased internal alkynes are selectively transformed into (1Z,3E)-2-pivaloxy-1,3-dienes containing various functionalities. The unusual selectivity of 1,2-acyloxy migration over the structurally preferred 3,3-rearrangement is realized. This reaction is highly stereoselective and offers rapid access to dienes for one-pot intra-/intermolecular Diels-Alder reactions either under thermal conditions or with Lewis acid catalysis.     

A highly stereoselective synthesis of (E)-1-substituted-1,3-dienes

(E)-1-substituted-1,3-dienes are obtained with high stereoselectivity by the thermal extrusion of SO₂ from 2-substituted-2,5-dihydrothiophene-1,1-dioxides generated by a retro Diels-Alder reaction. An application to the synthesis of (E)-9,11-dodecadien- 1-yl acetate, a sex pheromone of the red-bollworm moth is described.     

N-Vinylpyridinium tetrafluoroborate salts as reagents for the stereoselective and regioselective synthesis of symmetrical (2E,4E)-1,6-dioxo-2,4-dienes

We had previously demonstrated the utility of N-vinylpyridinium tetrafluoroborate salts as novel electrophilic coupling partners in Pd(0)-catalyzed Suzuki cross-coupling reactions with aryl and vinyl boronic acids. We now report that these crystalline, air-stable, and non-hygroscopic salts are also useful reagents for the synthesis of symmetrical (2E,4E)-1,6-dioxo-2,4-dienes (diene diones), which in turn are valuable starting materials for the synthesis of various five-membered heterocycles. The optimization of reaction conditions and the scope and limitations of the reductive dimerization are discussed.     

Stereospecificity of an enzymatic monoene 1,4-dehydrogenation reaction: conversion of (Z)-11-tetradecenoic acid into (E,E)-10,12-tetradecadienoic acid

In this article, we report the first stereochemical study of an enzymatic 1,4-dehydrogenation reaction, namely, the transformation of (Z)-11-tetradecenoic acid into (E,E)-10,12-tetradecadienoic acid, involved in the sex pheromone biosynthesis of the moth Spodoptera littoralis. The investigation was carried out using the labeled substrates (R)-[10-(2)H]- and (S)-[10-(2)H]-tridecanoic acids ((R)-2 and (S)-2, respectively) and (R)-[2,2,3,3,13-(2)H(5)]- and (S)-[2,2,3,3,13-(2)H(5)]-tetradecanoic acids ((R)-1 and (S)-1, respectively). Probes (R)-2 and (S)-2 were prepared as described in a previous article.(1) The synthesis of the pentadeuterated chiral substrates (R)-1 and (S)-1 was accomplished by kinetic resolution of the racemic 12-tridecyn-2-ol (6) with immobilized porcine pancreatic lipase. The enantiomerically pure alcohols (R)-6 and (S)-6 were transformed into the final acids (S)-1 and (R)-1, respectively, by a sequence of well-established reactions. The analyses of methanolyzed lipidic extracts from glands incubated separatedly with each individual probe showed that in the transformation of (Z)-11-tetradecenoic acid into (E,E)-10,12-tetradecadienoic acid, both pro-(R) hydrogen atoms at C-10 and C-13 are removed from the substrate. This is the first example reported of a desaturase with pro-(R)/pro-(R) stereospecificities that gives rise to (E)-double bonds. A mechanistic explanation for the stereochemical outcome of this reaction is advanced.     

Stereoselective syntheses of substituted methyl (Z,E,E)-deca-2,7.9-trienoates and substituted methyl (Z,E,E)-undeca-2,8,10-trienoates

Lindlar hydrogenation of substituted methyl ($\text{E}$,$\text{E}$)-deca-7,9-dien-2-ynoates and substituted methyl ($\text{E}$,$\text{E}$)-undeca-8,10-dien-2-ynoates affords selectively the corresponding ($\text{Z}$,$\text{E}$,$\text{E}$)-trienes.     

Thermal/hyperbaric heterocycloaddition of 1,4-dialkoxy-1,3-dienes: the de novo (E,Z) way to sugars

1-(Z)-Alkoxy-4-(E)-methoxybutadiene derivatives have been reacted with ethylgyoxylate and diethyl ketomalonate under thermal or hyperbaric conditions. They provide, with a total regioselectivity and fair to total endoselectivities, the expected dihydropyranic cycloadducts. Three of those pseudo-glycals have been converted in a few classical steps (deprotection, reduction, and dihydroxylation) into (racemic) allose, mannose, and gullose derivatives. The order of these three steps has a direct influence on the efficiency of the transformation and determines the stereochemistry of the final sugar.     

One-Pot synthesis of substituted pyrrolidines via aminomercuration-demercuration of 1,4- and 1,5-Hexadiene

The aminomercuration-demercuration of 1,4- and 1,5-hexadiene yield cis- and trans-2,5-dimethyl-N-arylpyrrolidines via one-pot process. The intermolecular cyclization reaction goes through the corresponding mercurated pyrrolidines; these intermediates were isolated and characterized when the mercuration reaction was completed. The high stereoselectivity observed allows an easy way of synthesis for N-substituted trans-2,5-dimethylpyrrolidines.