Effect of a Phosphazene Base on the Diastereoselectivity of Addition of alpha-Sulfonyl Carbanions to Butyraldehyde and Isopropylideneglyceraldehyde

The effect of tBuP4, a strong and cation-free base, on the yield and diastereoselectivity of additions of thus formed "naked" alpha-sulfonyl carbanions to achiral butyraldehyde and chiral isopropylideneglyceraldehyde was studied. It has been found that with tBuP4 a reasonable yield ( approximately 55%) and a slightly better diastereoselectivity (72% of the anti diastreomer) are obtained with achiral and nonfunctionalized butyraldehyde while with isopropylideneglyceraldehyde the use of tBuP4 allowed us to greatly increase the yields (up to 95-100%) and the diastereoselectivities (83-89% of a single diastereomer over the four possible diastereomers). It was also shown that the extra oxygen atom in the alpha-position plays a determinant role in this effect.