Switching the Reactivity of Dihydrothiopyran-4-one with Aldehydes by Aqueous Organocatalysis: Baylis–Hillman, Aldol, or Aldol Condensation Reactions

Synthesis and fluorescence studies of novel bisarylmethylidene derivatives of 2-methoxy-2-methyl-1,3-dioxan-5-one

The first general procedure is described for the synthesis of novel bisarylmethylidenes of 2-methoxy-2-methyl-1,3-dioxan-5-one 1. Thus, several derivatives of 3 are obtained rapidly in high yields by reacting 1 with different aldehydes in the presence of catalytic quantities of pyrrolidine in EtOH at room temperature. Upon completion of the reactions, products are obtained directly by spontaneous precipitation avoiding time consuming and expensive chromatographic separations. All products were characterized by proton and carbon NMR spectroscopy methods, and in one case, the proposed structure was elucidated by X-ray crystallography, confirming the Z stereochemistry for the olefinic C=C bonds. Due to showing different colours in solid and solution states, products were studied for their photophysical properties as well.

Sequential Diels–Alder Reactions in a Conjugated Tetraene System

A sequence of two Diels–Alder reactions is observed for the reaction of bis-diene ( E)-3-[2-(furan-2-yl)vinyl]-5,5-dimethylcyclohex-2-en-1-one with two equivalents of N-phenylmaleimide. This study shows that the electron-deficient furanyl site, which is primarily “inactive” towards a [4 + 2] reaction, easily undergoes cycloaddition with the second equivalent of N-phenylmaleimide to produce the final bis-adduct. This is because the first Diels–Alder reaction between N-phenylmaleimide and the more reactive cyclohex-2-en-1-one site of the diene converts the 2-furanyl ring to a more electron-rich component, since the electron-withdrawing double bond attached to the furan ring changes to an electron-releasing alkyl group after the first cycloaddition. Consequently, the resulting furanyl diene is then able to undergo the second cycloaddition.

An Investigation of the Enolization and Isomeric Products Distribution in the Water Promoted Aldol Reaction of Tropinone and Granatanone

The exo,anti/exo,syn-diastereoselectivity of water promoted direct aldol reactions of tropinone and granatanone (pseudopelletierine) is strongly dependent on the amount of water added and aromatic aldehyde used. DFT methods were applied to calculate the free energies of tropinone and granatanone enols, transition states, and isomeric aldol products. A theoretical model was verified by comparison of results from several DFT methods and functionals with experiments. The 6-31g(d)/CPCM method proved most suited to the problem, although all methods tested predicted similar trends. Explicit inclusion of a water molecule bonded to the amino ketones resulted in increased stability of the enol forms. The dependence of the anti/syn-diastereoselectivity on the amount of water used may be rationalized on the basis of change in the polarity of the reaction medium. The predicted stabilities of competing products agreed with experimental results supporting the notion of thermodynamic control. The isomeric products distributions for the aldol reaction of several aromatic aldehydes in solventless (neat) conditions were accurately calculated from free energies of the aldol addition step in the gas phase using B3LYP/6-31g(d) method and in aqueous conditions using the CPCM-B3LYP/6-31g(d) model. Our methodology can be useful for predicting the outcome of this type of aldol reactions.

Iron-catalyzed aerobic oxidation of allylic alcohols: the issue of C═C bond isomerization

An aerobic oxidation of allylic alcohols using Fe(NO3)3·9H2O/TEMPO/NaCl as catalysts under atmospheric pressure of oxygen at room temperature was developed. This eco-friendly and mild protocol provides a convenient pathway to the synthesis of stereodefined α,β-unsaturated enals or enones with the retention of the C-C double-bond configuration.

Ultrasound mediation for efficient synthesis of monoarylidene derivatives of homo- and heterocyclic ketones

Ultrasonic irradiation was efficiently used for high yield synthesis of monoarylidene derivatives of cyclic systems directly from the reaction of ketone with various aldehydes under solvent-free conditions. Reactions took place rapidly in the presence of catalytic amounts of pyrrolidine, while no significant formation of the undesired bis by-products was observed. Moreover, the procedure was applicable to both homo- and heterocyclic ketones.

Reactions of nitroxides XIII: Synthesis of the Morita-Baylis-Hillman adducts bearing a nitroxyl moiety using 4-acryloyloxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl as a starting compound, and DABCO and quinuclidine as catalysts

The Morita-Baylis-Hillman adducts bearing a nitroxyl moiety were synthesized from 4-acryloyloxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl and aliphatic, aryl and heterocyclic aldehydes.