Direct Preparation of Lanthanoid Ester Homoenolates from 3-Halo Esters and Lanthanoid Metals: Their Homo-Reformatsky-Type Reaction with Carbonyl Compounds

Article abstract of DOI:10.1021/jo00292a043

The direct reaction of ethyl 3-bromopropionate (2a) or 3-iodopropionate (2b) with lanthanoid metals (La, Ce, Nd, Sm) in tetrahydrofuran produces lanthanoid ester homoenolates (3), which react with ketones to give γ-lactones in good yields under mild conditions.The isolation of 3-phenylseleno (8a), 3-phenyltelluro (8b), and 3-tri-n-butylstannyl esters (10) from the reaction with diphenyl diselenide (7a), ditelluride (7b), and tri-n-butyltin iodide (9), respectively, suggests the formation of the lanthanoid ester homoenolate.