Investigation of UV Light-Promoted Synthesis of α-Sulfonyl Amides from N-Sulfonyl Ynamides.

UV light-promoted synthesis of α-sulfonyl amides from N-sulfonyl ynamides without any additives is reported. The reaction proceeds through a radical chain mechanism involving the photoinduced cleavage of the nitrogen-sulfur bond and addition of an electrophilic sulfonyl radical to the triple bond of the ynamide followed by ß-fragmentation of the sulfonyl group leading to a ketenimine hydrated upon workup. This highly efficient rearrangement leads, after acidic treatment, to a wide range of α-sulfonyl amides in high yields.

Ynamides in Radical Reactions: A Route to Original Persubstituted 2-Aminofurans.

Mn(OAc)3/Cu(OAc)2-mediated reaction between ynamides, derived from oxazolidone or 3-methylindole carboxylate, and cyclic α-dicarbonyl radicals led to the one-pot synthesis of 2-aminofurans. The transformation involves addition of the α-dicarbonyl radical to ynamide, oxidation to ketene-iminium, and polar cyclization steps to provide original persubstituted 2-aminofurans in good to excellent yields. This work represents the first radical route for the synthesis of furans from ynamides.

Intermolecular Addition of Carbon-Centered Radicals to Ynamides. A Regio- and Stereoselective Route to Persubstituted α-Iodo-enamides.

Rather surprisingly, C-C bond formation through "intermolecular" radical addition to internal ynamides has never been reported. Actually, ynamides are excellent acceptors for "electrophilic" carbon-centered radicals. These processes enable the introduction of functionalized alkyl chains at Cß, groups that have not yet been introduced via the addition of organometallics. Radical carboiodination affords persubstituted α-iodo-enamides in moderate to high yield. The addition is totally stereoselective. Theoretical support to the mechanism and the scope and limitation of the reaction are discussed.

Intramolecular trapping of allenylzincs by carbonyl groups.

Allenylzinc formed via oxygen-promoted zinc/iodine exchange between propargyl iodides and diethylzinc can be trapped by intramolecular reaction with various electrophiles such as aldehydes, ketones, esters, carbamates, and imides. Potentially useful building blocks were obtained in high yields.

Theoretical support for the involvement of a radical pathway in the formation of allenylzincs from propargyl iodides and dialkylzincs: influence of zinc coordination.

Propargyl iodides are good precursors for allenylzincs via reaction with diethylzinc, even in nondegassed medium. These reactions proceed via zinc/iodine exchange. Owing to the previously reported detection of propargyl radical by ESR experiments, in this process a radical mechanism was suspected. Calculations of the C-Zn BDEs in allenyl- and propargylzinc species were performed with the CBS-QB3 method to demonstrate that propargyl radicals could undergo homolytic substitution at zinc. The stabilization of allenylzinc derivatives by chelation, made possible by the selection of appropriate ortho-substituted 3-phenylalkynyl iodides as precursors, was shown to influence the regioselectivity of their addition to aldehydes and ketones. The more stabilized the chelated allenylzinc intermediate, the higher the ratio of homopropargylic alcohols.

EPR investigation of zinc/iodine exchange between propargyl iodides and diethylzinc: detection of propargyl radical by spin trapping.

The production of propargyl radicals in the reaction of dialkylzincs with propargyl iodides in nondegassed medium was investigated by EPR using tri-tert-butylnitrosobenzene (TTBNB) as a spin trap. The radical mechanism and the nature of the observed species were confirmed by the trapping of propargyl radicals generated by an alternative pathway: i.e., upon irradiation of propargyl iodides in the presence of hexa-n-butyldistannane. In dialkylzinc-mediated experiments a high concentration of adduct was instantaneously observed, whereas no spontaneous production of spin adduct was detected in a blank experiment performed with the propargylic iodide and TTBNB in the absence of diethylzinc. Under irradiation in the presence of distannane, two different species were observed at the very beginning of the irradiation; the nitroxide resulting from the trapping of propargyl radical at the propargyl carbon remained the only species detected after irradiating for several minutes. The absence of adducts resulting from the trapping of allenyl canonical forms was supported by DFT calculations and by the preparation of an authentic sample.

Aminomethylation of Michael acceptors: complementary radical and polar approaches mediated by dialkylzincs.

Phtalimidomethyl iodide and substituted maleimidomethyl iodide were used as radical precursors in dialkylzinc-mediated radical addition to diethyl fumarate. The reactions led stereoselectively to functionalized pyrrolizidines. The radical mechanism was supported by spin-trapping experiments and rationalized by theoretical calculations. Radical additions, on the one hand, and carbozincation followed by transmetalation with copper(I), on the other, were shown to be complementary methods to achieve the formal aminomethylation of activated unsaturated compounds.

Unprecedented noncatalyzed anti-carbozincation of diethyl acetylenedicarboxylate through alkylzinc group radical transfer.

The radical carbozincation of diethyl acetylenedicarboxylate, performed at room temperature in the presence of air, leads to fumaric derivatives through a selective alkylzinc group radical transfer controlled by coordination. The total trans stereocontrol is unprecedented, carbocupration is well-known to give the reversal selectivity at low temperature, while classical radical addition methodologies lead to mixtures of isomers.

Spin-trapping evidence for the formation of alkyl, alkoxyl, and alkylperoxyl radicals in the reactions of dialkylzincs with oxygen.

The reactions of dialkylzincs (Me(2)Zn, Et(2)Zn, and nBu(2)Zn) with oxygen have been investigated by EPR spectroscopy using spin-trapping techniques. The use of 5-diethoxyphosphoryl-5-methyl-1-pyrrroline N-oxide (DEPMPO) as a spin-trap has allowed the involvement of alkyl, alkylperoxyl, and alkoxyl radicals in this process to be probed for the first time. The relative ratio of the corresponding spin-adducts depends strongly on the nature of the R group, which controls the C-Zn bond dissociation enthalpy, and on the experimental conditions (excess of spin-trap compared with R(2)Zn and vice versa). The results have demonstrated that Et(2)Zn and, to a lesser extent, nBu(2)Zn are much better traps for oxygen-centered species than Me(2)Zn. When the dialkylzincs were used in excess with respect to the spin-trap, the concentration of the oxygen-centered radical adducts of DEPMPO was much lower for Et(2)Zn and nBu(2)Zn than for Me(2)Zn. A detailed reaction mechanism is discussed and C-Zn, O-Zn, and O-O bond dissociation enthalpies for the proposed reaction intermediates were calculated at the UB3LYP/6-311++G(3df,3pd)//UB3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level of theory to support the rationale.

A flexible, stereoselective dimethylzinc-mediated radical-anionic cascade: dramatic influence of additional Lewis acids.

Dimethylzinc-mediated addition of acyloxymethyl radicals to diethyl fumarate led to the highly stereoselective formation of disubstituted gamma-lactones in mean to good yields; this cascade provides a new example of a one-pot process mediated by dimethylzinc involving a tandem radical-anionic reaction; the chemoselectivity of the reaction was totally modified by additional Lewis acids.