New Method for Generation of β-Oxido Carbenoid via Ligand Exchange Reaction of Sulfoxides: A Versatile Procedure for One-Carbon Homologation of Carbonyl Compounds

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/S0040-4020(01)89299-1

A new procedure for one-carbon homologation of carbonyl compounds is described.The method is based on the rearrangement of β-oxido carbenoid which is generated via the ligand exchange reaction of the sulfinyl group of α-chloro β-hydroxy sulfoxide with tert-butyllithium.Addition of the carbanion of aryl 1-chloroalkyl sulfoxides to carbonyl compounds gave the adducts in good yields.The β-oxido carbenoid rearrangement of the adducts gave one-carbon homologated carbonyl compounds having an α-alkyl substituent.A similar reaction of the adducts derived from carbonyl compounds with chloromethyl p-tolyl sulfoxide yielded a procedure for a methylene insertion.The stereochemistry of the β-oxido carbenoid rearrangenment is also discussed.