New insights into the seleniranium ion promoted cyclization of prenyl and propenylbenzene aryl ethers

Controlling the selectivity of an intramolecular Friedel-Crafts alkylation with alkenes using selenium under mild conditions

An efficiently divergent intramolecular Friedel-Crafts alkylation by unactivated alkenes with seleniranium ion-controlled Markovnikov/anti-Markovnikov specificities under mild conditions has been investigated. 2-Benzoxepin, isochroman, and isochromene can be produced in one-pot procedures from the same substrate in high yields and with high regio- and stereospecificity. The products are challenging to access via 7-endo-trig carbocyclizations and by 7-endo-trig carbocyclization/rearrangement/6-exo-trig oxycyclization and 6-exo-trig carbocyclization/deselenenylation reaction sequences, respectively. Mechanistic experiments indicated that in addition to the stereospecific anti-addition processes of the cyclization reactions, the formation of a stable carbocation after ring opening of the seleniranium ion leads to an NPSP-mediated 7-endo-trig carbocyclization; the steric hindrance of the seleniranium intermediate controls the regioselectivity when using TPSCA at 60 °C, which promotes 6-exo-trig carbocyclization. Two distinct catalytic cycles were proposed, and the structures of transition states and products were identified by ab initio calculations and X-ray analyses.

Natural Compounds and Their Structural Analogs in Regio- and Stereoselective Synthesis of New Families of Water-Soluble 2H,3H-[1,3]thia- and -Selenazolo[3,2-a]pyridin-4-ium Heterocycles by Annulation Reactions

It has been found that both eugenol and isoeugenol derivatives reacted with 2-pyridinesulfenyl and 2-pyridineselenenyl halides in a regioselective mode affording products with opposite regiochemistry. Synthesis of new families of 2H,3H-[1,3]thia- and -selenazolo[3,2-a]pyridin-4-ium heterocycles has been developed by annulation reactions of 2-pyridinechalcogenyl halides with natural compounds (eugenol, isoeugenol, methyl eugenol, methyl isoeugenol, acetyl eugenol, trans-anethole) and their structural analogs. The influence of the substrate structure and the nature of halogen on the product yields are studied. The 2-pyridinesulfenyl and 2-pyridineselenenyl chlorides are more efficient reagents compared to corresponding bromides. The obtained condensed heterocycles are novel water-soluble functionalized compounds with promising biological activity.

Remarkable Alkene-to-Alkene and Alkene-to-Alkyne Transfer Reactions of Selenium Dibromide and PhSeBr. Stereoselective Addition of Selenium Dihalides to Cycloalkenes

The original goal of this research was to study stereochemistry of selenium dihalides addition to cycloalkenes and properties of obtained products. Remarkable alkene-to-alkene and alkene-to-alkyne transfer reactions of selenium dibromide and PhSeBr were discovered during this research. The adducts of selenium dibromide with alkenes or cycloalkenes easily exchange SeBr₂ with other unsaturated compounds, including acetylenes, at room temperature, in acetonitrile. Similar alkene-to-alkene and alkene-to-alkyne transfer reactions of the PhSeBr adducts with alkenes or cycloalkenes take place. The supposed reaction pathway includes the selenium group transfer from seleniranium species to alkenes or alkynes. It was found that the efficient SeBr₂ and PhSeBr transfer reagents are Se(CH₂CH₂Br)₂ and PhSeCH₂CH₂Br, which liberate ethylene, leading to a shift in equilibrium. The regioselective and stereoselective synthesis of bis(E-2-bromovinyl) selenides and unsymmetrical E-2-bromovinyl selenides was developed based on the SeBr₂ and PhSeBr transfer reactions which proceeded with higher selectivity compared to analogous addition reactions of SeBr₂ and PhSeBr to alkynes under the same conditions.

Synthesis, structural characterisation, and synthetic application of stable seleniranium ions

Stable seleniranium ions were prepared from easily available stable bromiranium ions and diselenides. The solid state structure of the obtained seleniranium ions was determined by X-ray crystallographic analysis and their alkene-to-alkene transfer was investigated by NMR techniques. The rapid alkene-to-alkene transfer of the selenium group enabled the application of the seleniranium ion salts as selenenylating agents, which led to very efficient and highly diastereoselective, selenium-induced polyene-type cyclisations of terpene analogues.