Asymmetric Schmidt reaction of hydroxyalkyl azides with ketones

An asymmetric equivalent of the Schmidt reaction permits stereocontrol in ring expansions of symmetrical cyclohexanones. The procedure involves the reaction of chiral 1,2- and 1,3-hydroxyalkyl azides with ketones under acid catalysis; the initial reaction affords an iminium ether that can be subsequently opened with base. A systematic study of this reaction is reported, in which ketone substrates, chiral hydroxyalkyl azides, and reaction conditions are varied. Selectivities as high as ca. 98:2 are possible for the synthesis of substituted caprolactams, with up to 1,7-stereoselection involved in the overall process. The fact that either possible migrating carbon is electronically identical provides an unusual opportunity to study a ring-expansion reaction controlled entirely by stereoelectronic factors. The mechanism of the reaction and the source of its stereoselectivity are also discussed.     

Lewis acid-mediated reactions of alkyl azides with alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones

[reaction: see text] Alkyl azides react with saturated ketones upon treatment with Lewis acids to afford ring-expansion products through the azido-Schmidt reaction, but this reaction does not proceed when alpha,beta-unsaturated ketones are used. In this study, alkyl azides were reacted with enones in the presence of Lewis acids to give enaminones (vinylogous amides), which formally involve a ring contraction reaction. The mechanism and scope of this reaction is discussed.     

Ab initio approach to understanding the stereoselectivity of reactions between hydroxyalkyl azides and ketones

A new stereoselective version of the Schmidt reaction has been discovered by Aubé and co-workers (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2003, 125, 7914-7922). Quantum chemical calculations reported in this paper were carried out to examine the observed diastereoselectivities. The azide attack step is found to be reversible, but a thermodynamic preference for the equatorial attack product is observed. The final stereoselectivity of the reaction is determined by the axial/equatorial ratio of the chiral substituent in the resulting intermediate. In the case of 2-R-hydroxypropyl azides, interesting axial/equatorial preferences are observed. In particular, the phenyl substituent shows a preference for the axial position resulting from a novel interaction with a N(2) cationic group.     

Regiochemical studies of the ring expansion reactions of hydroxy azides with cyclic ketones

The regiochemistry of ring expansions of 2-substituted cyclic ketones using 1,2-azidoethanol and 1,3-azidopropanol was examined. It was determined that the reactions of ketones with an adjacent methyl or ethyl group are generally unselective, but that bulkier substituents lead to preferential migration of the more highly substituted carbon. In addition, it was found that ketones bearing inductively electron-withdrawing substituents (OMe, Ph, Br) undergo selective migration of the less highly substituted carbon. For some substrates, alternative reaction pathways were also identified.     

Unusual tethering effects in the Schmidt reaction of hydroxyalkyl azides with ketones: cation-pi and steric stabilization of a pseudoaxial phenyl group

The Lewis acid-promoted reactions of chiral 2-aryl-3-azido-1-propanols with 4-substituted cyclohexanones lead to iminium ethers and ultimately caprolactams (following a hydrolysis step). In this study, it is shown that these reactions afford variable ratios of products, depending on the electronic nature of the phenyl group. These results are interpreted in the context of a cation-pi stabilizing effect in the product-determining reaction intermediate. Remarkably, the best selectivity was obtained when an azidopropanol reagent containing a quaternary center was used; a control experiment showed that the high selectivity observed in this result depended upon the free rotation of the pseudoaxial aromatic group in the intermediate that affords the major product.     

The preparation and reactions of polymeric azides. II. The preparation and reactions of various polymeric azides

Polymeric haloethyl acrylates, methacrylates, and methacrylamides, poly(vinyl chloride), poly-(epichlorohydrin), and halohydrins prepared from poly(glycidyl methacrylate), poly(butadiene), and poly(pentenamer) were converted to the corresponding azides. These azides reacted with a variety of acetylenic and olefinic derivatives to give, in most cases, good conversions to the corresponding triazole derivatives.     

Base-promoted reactions of bridged ketones and 1,3- and 1,4-haloalkyl azides: competitive alkylation vs azidation reactions of ketone enolates

The reactions of 1,3- and 1,4-haloalkyl azides with enolates of 2-norbornanone (and a ring-expanded analog) afford polycyclic 1,2,3-triazolines in good yields. The reaction occurs by the initial azidation of the ketone enolate, followed in order by triazoline formation and O-alkylation. An interesting element of this process is the preferential reaction of the alkyl azide with an enolate anion as opposed to the more familiar reaction of the alkyl halide (including Cl and I derivatives). Reactions of acyclic or monocyclic enolates generally lead to 1,2,3-triazoles but none of the alternative C-alkylation product.     

Intramolecular and Intermolecular Schmidt Reactions of Alkyl Azides with Aldehydes

Despite recent advances in the use of alkyl azides in ring expansion reactions of ketones, there has been little work done on the corresponding chemistry of aldehydes. In the present study, the Lewis acid-promoted reactions of alkyl azides with aldehydes were studied in both intermolecular and intramolecular contexts. The intramolecular reactions of azidoalkyl aldehydes in which the azide and carbonyl groups were separated by 2-5 carbons were examined. Although the examples having the shortest tether failed (3-azidopropanals), each of the other systems gave good yields of either NH-substituted lactams (resulting from hydride migration in the initially formed azidohydrin adduct) or formamides (alkyl migration). The product formed was dependent on the chain length of the starting azido aldehyde. The intermolecular reactions were less efficient, requiring TiCl₄ promotion for even moderate yields, and in each case gave mixtures of products resulting from hydride and alkyl migration.     

Allylic and benzylic oxidation reactions with sodium chlorite

Various allylic and benzylic substrates were selectively oxidized to the corresponding enones in good yields using sodium chlorite, either in combination with tert-butyl hydroperoxide in stoichiometric conditions, or associated with N-hydroxyphthalimide as catalyst. These oxidation reactions were effectively and economically performed under mild, transition-metal free conditions and therefore the dual challenge of cost effectiveness and benign nature of the processes was met with.     

Iron-catalyzed arylation or aroylation of benzothiazoles with benzylic alcohols and aryl ketones

An iron-catalyzed arylation or aroylation of benzothiazoles with alcohols and aryl ketones via an in situ cross-trapping strategy has been described. Both the use of an iron catalyst and the ratio of substrates are important for this transformation, and this reaction is sensitive to the electronic effects of the substituents.     

Intramolecular addition of benzylic radicals onto ketenimines. Synthesis of 2-alkylindoles

The inter- and intramolecular addition of free radicals onto ketenimines is studied. All the attempts to add intermolecularly several silicon, oxygen or carbon centered radicals to N-(4-methylphenyl)-C,C-diphenyl ketenimine were unsuccessful. In contrast, the intramolecular addition of benzylic radicals, generated from xanthates, onto the central carbon of a ketenimine function with its N atom linked to the ortho position of the aromatic ring occurred under a variety of reaction conditions. These intramolecular cyclizations provide a novel radical-mediated synthesis of 2-alkylindoles.     

Preparation of aldehydes and ketones by oxidation of benzylic hydrocarbons with benzeneseleninic anhydride

Benzeneseleninic anhydride is a mild oxidant for the conversion of benzylic hydrocarbons into aldehydes or ketones.     

Azidomercurations of alkenes: mercury-promoted Schmidt reactions

Azides bearing a suitably disposed alkene, when treated with either mercuric perchlorate or mercuric trifluoromethanesulfonate, produce bicyclic iminium ions. This new version of the Schmidt reaction proceeds by capture of the mercuronium ion intermediate by the azide to produce an aminodiazonium ion, which suffers a 1,2-shift to give an iminium ion (e.g., 10 --> 16 --> 17 --> 18). Reduction of the iminium ion may then be carried out to produce an amine. Compared to earlier work on the protic acid-promoted intramolecular Schmidt reaction of azido-alkenes, the mercury-promoted Schmidt reaction has several advantages. First, the acid-promoted Schmidt reaction of azido-alkenes requires that the intermediate carbocations be tertiary, allylic, benzylic, or propargylic. The mercury-promoted method has no such limitation; thus even 1,2-disubstituted alkenes may be used. Second, the mercury-promoted method is milder, allowing the presence of acid-sensitive functionality. The protic version, typically employing trifluoromethanesulfonic acid, is limited in its functional group tolerance. Third, whereas carbocation rearrangement is often observed prior to cyclization/rearrangement in the acid-promoted Schmidt reaction, the mercury-promoted method avoids this problem. Fourth, the presence of the mercurio group during the rearrangment may alter the regioselectivity of the 1,2-migration. Finally, the mercury-bearing iminium ions that are the result of the Schmidt reaction were found to be sensitive to protodemercuration, precluding their use in other transformations.     

Synthesis of pyrimidinethiones and spiropyrans proceeding from Mannich ketones

Russian Journal of Organic Chemistry - New synthetic opportunities of conjugated and saturated β-aminoketones were revealed consisting in heterocyclization reactions with the formation of...     

Synthesis of aryl azides and vinyl azides via proline-promoted CuI-catalyzed coupling reactions

The coupling reaction of aryl halides or vinyl iodide with sodium azide under catalysis of CuI/L-proline works at relatively low temperature to provide aryl azides or vinyl azides in good to excellent yields.     

Proline-catalyzed asymmetric aldol reactions between ketones and alpha-unsubstituted aldehydes

[reaction: see text] With this communication we extend the methodology of proline-catalyzed direct asymmetric aldol reactions to include alpha-unsubstituted aldehydes as acceptors. This important aldehyde class gives the corresponding aldols in 22-77% yield and up to 95% ee when the reactions are performed in pure acetone or in ketone/chloroform mixtures. On the basis of these results we have developed a concise new synthesis of (S)-ipsenol.     

Convenient oxidation of benzylic and allylic halides to aldehydes and ketones

Benzylic and allylic halides were conveniently oxidized to aldehydes and ketones by pyridine N-oxide in the presence of silver oxide under mild conditions.     

Intramolecular Diels-Alder reactions of optically active allenic ketones: chirality transfer in the preparation of substituted oxa-bridged octalones

The intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction of allenic ketones containing a furyl unit (IMDAF) to generate oxatricyclic systems in good yields is described. The alkene dienophiles 1ab give poor yields of the cycloadducts 2ab, presumably due to the facile retro Diels-Alder reaction. However, the analogous allenic dienophile 7 afforded the desired cycloadduct 8 in 91% yield on treatment with dimethylaluminum chloride. When the allene bears an alkyl substituent on the terminal carbon, complete diastereoselectivity is seen in the IMDAF, e.g. cyclization of 14 gave only the cycloadduct 15 in 80% yield presumably due to greater steric hindrance in the transition state II as compared to that in I. Finally we report complete chirality transfer of the stereochemistry of an allene to the carbon framework of the oxatricyclic system. Thus, the optically active allenic ketone 20 afforded only the desired cycloadduct 21 with the correct absolute stereochemistry needed for the synthesis of the arisugacin class of natural products.