COMMUNICATIONS
upon the solvent was removed under reduced pressure. The residue was
extracted with C6H6 (50 mL), and the resultant red supernatant liquid was
decanted. The red solution was concentrated to about 5 mL at which point
a colorless solid precipitated. Hexane (50 mL) was added and the solution
was heated to dissolve the majority of the precipitates. The solution was
then decanted (608C) and allowed to cool slowly to room temperature
affording X-ray diffraction quality, colorless crystals of 2. Yield 0.96 g,
[11] P. Schwerdtfeger, L. J. Laakkonen, P. Pyykkö, J. Chem. Phys. 1992, 96,
6807.
[12] B. Twamley, C. D. Sofield, M. M. Olmstead, P. P. Power, J. Am. Chem.
Soc. 1999, 121, 3357.
[13] N. Tokitoh, Y. Arai, R. Okazaki, S. Nagase, Science 1997, 277, 78.
[14] K. Ruhlandt-Senge, J. J. Ellison, R. J. Wehmschulte, F. Pauer, P. P.
Power, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1993, 115, 11353.
29.3%. M.p.: on heating the crystals became red at 1308C and purple at
1
1398C (decomp); IR: nÄ 1759 cmÀ1 (s, Bi H); H NMR (400 MHz, C6D6):
À
d 1.85 (s, 12H; o-CH3), 1.88 (s, 12H; o-CH3), 2.24 (s, 12H; p-CH3), 6.81,
3
3
6.82(8H; m-Mes), 6.84 (d, JH,H 7.2Hz, 4H; m-C6H3), 7.01 (t, JH,H
7.6 Hz, 2H; p-C6H3); 13C {1H} NMR (100 MHz, C6H6): d 21.29 (p-CH3),
21.87 (o-CH3), 126.396 (m-C6H3), 128.306 (p-C6H3), 129.09 (m-Mes), 135.79
(o-Mes), 136.62( o-C6H3), 144.3 (i-Mes), 150.9 (p-Mes), 153.2( i-C6H3);
satisfactory C,H analysis.
Synthesis of (E)-a,b-Unsaturated Esters and
Amides with Total Selectivity Using Samarium
Diiodide**
3: LiAlD4 (0.25 g, 5.95 mmol) was added by using a solids addition tube to a
solution of 1 (5.27 g, 5.8 mmol) in toluene (40 mL) at about À788C. The
solution was allowed to warm slowly to room temperature overnight and
stirring was continued for 30 h by which time the supernatant liquid had
become red. This solution was filtered and the supernatant liquid was
pumped to dryness. The resulting solid was extracted with hexane/toluene
(3/1) (3 Â 80 mL). Colorless, X-ray diffraction quality, crystals of 3 were
obtained from these solutions upon cooling to À208C. Yield 0.52g, 10%.
Â
Â
Â
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Jose M. Concellon,* Juan A. Perez-Andres, and
Humberto Rodríguez-Solla
The development of methods for the stereoselective
formation of carbon ± carbon double bonds could be consid-
ered one of the most important challenges in organic syn-
thesis.[1] The synthesis of a,b-unsaturated esters[2] is generally
M.p.: on heating the crystals became red at 1328C and purple at 1398C;.
1
IR: nÄ 1260 cmÀ1 (s, Bi D); H NMR (400 MHz, C6D6): d 1.85 (s, 12H;
À
o-CH3), 1.88 (s, 12H; o-CH3), 2.24 (s, 12H; p-CH3), 6.81, 6.82(8H; m-Mes),
6.84 (d, 3JH,H 7.2Hz, 4H; m-C6H3), 7.01 (t, 3JH,H 7.6 Hz, 2H, p-C6H3); 13
C
[3]
achieved by C C bond formation with Wittig, Horner±
{1H} NMR (100 MHz, C6D6): d 21.29 (p-CH3), 21.87 (o-CH3), 126.396 (m-
C6H3), 128.306 (p-C6H3), 129.09 (m-Mes), 135.79 (o-Mes), 136.62( o-C6H3),
144.3 (i-Mes), 150.9 (p-Mes), 153.2( i-C6H3); satisfactory C,H analysis.
Emmons,[4] Heck,[5] or Peterson[6] reactions, or with the Cope
rearrangement,[7] from acetylenic compounds[8] or a-sulfanyl-
ester derivatives.[9] However, in most of these papers, total
control of the stereoselectivity of the carbon ± carbon double
bond formation remained unresolved.[3a, b, d, 4±6c, 8a, 9b,c, 10] Some
methodologies are limited by their poor generality,[7, 8b, 9a, 11]
and other papers describe the preparation of a,b-unsaturated
esters in which the substitution pattern of the olefin is quite
simple (monosubstituted or 1,2-disubstituted).[3c, 6d] Only a
few examples of the synthesis of a-substituted a,b-unsatu-
Received: March 13, 2000 [Z14843]
[1] N. N. Greenwood, A. Earnshaw, Chemistry of the Elements, 2nd ed.,
Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, 1987, Chapter 3.
[2] For example bismuthane, BiH3, is unstable at temperatures above
À608C and its chemistry has not been developed: S. M. Godfrey,
C. A. McAuliffe, A. G. Mackie, R. G. Pritchard, Chemistry of Arsenic,
Antimony and Bismuth (Ed.: N. C. Norman), Blackie-Chapman Hall,
London, 1998, Chapter 3.
rated esters in which the C C bond is trisubstituted have been
reported.[12]
Recently, we described a stereoselective synthesis of (Z)-
vinyl halides by treatment of O-acetylated 1,1-dihaloalkan-2-
ols with samarium diiodide; this was the first general stereo-
selective b-elimination reaction promoted by SmI2.[13, 14] Here
we report a new methodology to obtain a,b-unsaturated esters
2 with total stereoselectivity, by treatment of the easily
available 2-halo-3-hydroxyesters 1 with samarium diiodide
[Eq. (1)]. We also describe preliminary results of the synthesis
of related a,b-unsaturated amides.
[3] J. Huheey, E. A. Keiter, R. L. Keiter, Inorganic Chemistry Principles
of Structure and Reactivity, 4th ed., Harper Collins, New York, 1993,
AppendixE; W. E. Dasent Inorganic Energetics, 2nd ed., Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, 1982; J. F. Liebman, J. A. M. Simoes,
S. W. Slayden; ªThermochemistry of organo-arsenic, antimony and
bismuth compoundsº: The Chemistry of organic arsenic, antimony and
bismuth compounds (Ed.: S. Patai), Wiley, Chichester, 1994, Chap-
ter 4, pp. 153 ± 168.
[4] Crystal data for 1 and 2 at 90 K with MoKa radiation (l 0.71073 ): 1,
a 12.3231(8), b 20.3292(14), c 16.137(11) , b 102.977(2)8,
Z 4, space group P21/n, R1 0.0596 for 3994 data with I > 2(s)I; 2,
a 21.0073(12), b 44.156(3), c 8.1877(5) , Z 8, space group
Fdd2, R1 0.046 for 2402 data with I > 2s(I). Crystallographic data
(excluding structure factors) for the structures reported in this paper
have been deposited with the Cambridge Crystallographic Data
Centre as supplementary publication no. CCDC-143879 and CCDC-
143880. Copies of the data can be obtained free of charge on
application to CCDC, 12Union Road, Cambridge CB21EZ, UK (fax:
(44)1223-336-033; e-mail: deposit@ccdc.cam.ac.uk).
When a solution of SmI2 in THF was added dropwise to
several 2-halo-3-hydroxyesters 1 (prepared by reaction be-
tween the corresponding lithium enolates of a-haloesters and
Â
Â
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[*] Dr. J. M. Concellon, Dr. J. A. Perez-Andres, H. Rodríguez-Solla
Â
Â
Departamento de Química Organica e Inorganica
Facultad de Química, Universidad de Oviedo
33071 Oviedo (Spain)
[5] D. M. Hawley, G. Ferguson, J. Chem. Soc. A 1968, 2059.
[6] B. Murray, J. Hvoslef, H. Hope, P. P. Power, Inorg. Chem. 1983, 22,
3421.
[7] X.-W. Li, G. Lorberth, W. Massa, S. Wocadlo, J. Organomet. Chem.
1995, 485, 141.
[8] K. H. Whitmire, D. Labahn, H. W. Roesky, M. Noltemeyer, G. M.
Sheldrick, J. Organomet. Chem. 1991, 402, 55.
[9] K. Balasubramanian, D. Dai, J. Chem. Phys. 1990, 93, 1837.
[10] Attempts to grow crystals suitable for neutron diffraction studies are
in progress.
Fax : (349)8-510-34-46
Â
[**] We thank the II Plan Regional de Investigacion del Principado de
Â
Asturias (PB-PGI99-01) and the Ministerio de Educacion y Cultura
Â
(PB97-1278) for financial support. J.M.C. thanks Carmen Fernandez
for her help. H.R.S. thanks the Universidad de Oviedo for
predoctoral fellowship.
a
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