Theoretical study of the Michael addition of acetylacetone to methyl vinyl ketone catalyzed by the ionic liquid 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hydroxide

By performing density functional theory calculations, we have investigated the Michael addition of acetylacetone to methyl vinyl ketone in the absence and presence of the ionic liquid 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hydroxide ([bmIm]OH). In the absence of ionic liquids, acetylacetone is firstly tautomerized to enol form and then takes place Michael addition to methyl vinyl ketone. As in the catalyzed Michael addition reaction, a bmIm⁺‐OH^? ion pair is introduced into the reaction system to model the effect of the ionic liquid environment on the reactivity. The calculated results show that the anion enhances nucleophilic ability of acetylacetone since the OH^? anion captures a proton to form an acetylacetone anion‐H₂O complex, and the cation improves the electrophilic ability of methyl vinyl ketone by forming intermolecular hydrogen‐bonds. Both the remarkable effects of the cation and anion on the reactivity of reactants promote this reaction, which take place more easily compared with uncatalyzed reaction. The calculated results show that the main product of the Michael addition is in its ketone form. Our study provides a detailed reaction mechanism of Michael addition catalyzed by basic ionic liquid [bmIm]OH and clearly reveal the catalytic role of ionic liquid in important chemical reaction. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2010     

Highly Enantioselective Synthesis of α‐Stereogenic Esters through Catalytic Asymmetric Michael Addition of 4‐Oxo‐4‐arylbutenoates

Highly enantioselective Michael addition of 1,3‐dicarbonyl compounds and nitromethane to 4‐oxo‐4‐arylbutenoates catalyzed by N,N′‐dioxide–Sc(OTf)₃ complexes has been developed. Using 0.5–2 mol % catalyst loading, various α‐stereogenic esters were obtained regioselectively with excellent yields (up to 97 %) and enantioselectivities (up to >99 % ee). Moreover, the reaction performed well under nearly solvent‐free conditions. The products with functional groups are ready for further transformation, which showed the potential value of the catalytic approach. According to the experimental results and previous reports, a plausible working model has been proposed to explain the origin of the activation and the asymmetric induction.     

Reactions of nitrophenide and halonitrophenide ions with acrylonitrile and alkyl acrylates in the gas phase: addition to the carbonyl group versus Michael addition

Gas‐phase reactions of isomeric nitrophenide ions and p‐halonitrophenide ions with acrylonitrile, methyl acrylate, and ethyl acrylate have been studied using mass spectrometry and computational methods. Depending on the structure of the α,β‐unsaturated compound, formation of adducts to the carbonyl group of the acrylate (for methyl acrylate and ethyl acrylate) and β‐adducts (adducts of p‐halonitrophenide ions to α,β‐unsaturated compounds in β position) was observed. Further transformations of these adducts lead to the products of elimination of an alcohol molecule and the anionic products of intramolecular substitution of a halogen atom, respectively. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Total synthesis of (-)-dendrobine

Cascading to alkaloids: An 18-step total synthesis of (-)-dendrobine is based on a reaction cascade with a key amine group (see scheme, Bn=benzyl). The amine is the initiator of the cascade and provides an efficient method for installing the stereocenters at C11 and C3. The overall transformation occurs stereoselectively only when the conversion is carried out without the isolation of intermediates.     

Asymmetric Michael addition of silyl nitronates to cyclic α,β-unsaturated ketones catalyzed by chiral quaternary ammonium bifluorides: isolation and selective functionalization of enol silyl ethers of optically active γ-nitro ketones

Highly enantioselective Michael addition of silyl nitronates to cyclic α,β-unsaturated ketones has been accomplished by the utilization of N-spiro C₂-symmetric chiral quaternary ammonium bifluoride 1 as an efficient catalyst, offering a new route to the enol silyl ethers of optically active γ-nitro ketones. The synthetic utility of this transformation has been demonstrated by the diastereoselective derivatizations of the optically active enol silyl ethers to the corresponding α-substituted cyclic ketones having three consecutive stereochemically defined stereocenters.