.
Angewandte
Communications
phosphine ligands (entries 2–5), and decided on the use of
tppms (sodium diphenylphosphinobenzene-3-sulfonate)[13]
for our reactions. When the loading of tppms was reduced
to 6 mol%, the formation of a significant amount of 3a was
observed (entry 7). With regards to solvents, although DMF,
DMSO, and DMA in the presence of 4ꢀ molecular sieves
(MS) were effective, 1,4-dioxane gave the best result, even in
the absence of 4ꢀ MS (entry 11). The yield was further
improved by reducing the concentration (entry 12). It should
be noted that, in the absence of Rh catalysts, the reaction at
808C afforded only a small amount of 3a (11%); the desired
product, 2a, was not detected.[14]
noteworthy that the reactions selectively afforded the product
with a Z configuration at the alkylidene moiety.
Moreover, the reaction of (Z)-1j,[15] which has a methyl
group at the cyclopropane ring, afforded 2,3,5-trisubstituted
azepine derivative 2j in good yield, along with a considerable
amount of the four-membered cyclic nitrone 3j [Eq. (2)]; the
reaction did not afford the regioisomer 2j’.[2g,9e]
Next, as summarized in Table 2, the reactions were carried
out under the optimal reaction conditions (Table 1, entry 12)
using various substrates to investigate the scope of (Z)-1.
Table 2: Rh-catalyzed reactions of (Z)-1.[a]
The E isomer of the substrate, (E)-1a, which results in the
formation of the same product (2a), reacted under the same
conditions (as the Z isomer) to give the product in poor yield
(Table 3, entry 1). Therefore, the reaction conditions were
1
R1
R2
t [h]
2
Yield
[%][b]
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
1b
1c
1d
1e
1 f
1g
1h
1i
p-ClC6H4
p-MeOC6H4
Ph
Ph
Ph
Ph
24
12
20
16
28
36
12
120
2b
2c
2d
2e
2 f
2g
2h
2i
84
67[c]
36
nPr
Cy
Ph
Ph
Ph
Ph
67
79
76
Table 3: Optimization of the reaction with (E)-1a.
p-MeC6H4
p-MeOC6H4
p-F3CC6H4
nPr
78
45[d]
[a] Reactions with (Z)-1 (0.4 mmol) were carried out in the presence of
[{RhCl(cod)}2] (2.5 mol%) and tppms (18 mol%) in 1,4-dioxane (2 mL)
at 808C. [b] Yield of isolated product. [c] 20% of the four-membered
cyclic nitrone 3c was obtained. [d] A trace amount of the E-isomer of 2i
was detected using 1H NMR spectroscopy. Cy=cyclohexyl, tppms=
sodium diphenylphosphinobenzene-3-sulfonate.
tppms [mol%]
Solvent
2a
3a
1a
[%][a]
[%][a]
[%][a]
1
2
3
4
5
6
18
18
18
18
13
10
1,4-dioxane[b]
DMSO
DMA
16
41
31
39
(73)
40
8
5
3
3
6
54
40
45
42
4
DMF
Substrate (Z)-1b, which possesses an electron-deficient
aromatic ring at the alkyne terminus, was successfully
converted into product 2b (Table 2, entry 1), whereas sub-
strate (Z)-1c, which bears an electron-rich p-anisyl group,
gave the product in a lower yield, along with a considerable
amount (20%) of the corresponding four-membered cyclic
nitrone 3c as a by-product (entry 2). Substrate (Z)-1e, which
possesses a cyclohexyl group at the alkyne terminus, was
efficiently converted into the desired product, 2e, in good
yield (entry 4), whereas (Z)-1d, which bears an n-propyl
group at the alkyne terminus, resulted in a low yield of 2d
owing to the instability of this product (entry 3). Substrates
(Z)-1 f, (Z)-1g, and (Z)-1h, all of which possess an aryl group
at the propargyl position, were converted into products 2 f,
2g, and 2h (entries 5–7), respectively, in good yields, regard-
less of their electronic nature. In contrast, an alkyl substituent
at the propargylic position (entry 8) decreased the efficiency
of the reaction (longer reaction time and lower yield). It is
DMF
DMF[c]
43
0
[a] The yield was determined using 1H NMR spectroscopy with 1,2-
dichloroethane as an internal standard; yield of isolated product shown
in parentheses. [b] 0.2m, without 4ꢀ molecular sieves. [c] 12 h.
cod=1,5-cyclooctadiene.
reoptimized for (E)-1a, as summarized in Table 3. This time,
the amount of tppms significantly affected the yield of 2a
(entries 4–6); the best result was obtained with tppms
(13 mol%) in DMF in the presence of 4ꢀ MS (entry 5).
The use of 10 mol% of tppms resulted in the unfavorable
formation of the four-membered cyclic nitrone 3a (entry 6),
whereas the use of 18 mol% of tppms resulted in a slow
reaction (entry 4).
Substrates (E)-1 were effectively converted into products
2 by carefully adjusting the amount of tppms, as summarized
2
ꢀ 2012 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2012, 51, 1 – 5
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