Enantioselective Access to Robinson Annulation Products and Michael Adducts as Precursors

The Robinson annulation is a reaction that has been useful for numerous syntheses since its discovery in 1935, especially in the field of steroid synthesis. The products are usually obtained after three consecutive steps: the formation of an enolate (or derivative), a conjugate addition, and an aldol reaction. Over the years, several methodological improvements have been made for each individual step or alternative routes have been devised to access the Robinson annulation products. The first part of this Review outlines the most relevant developments towards the formation of monocarbonyl-derived Robinson annulation products (MRA products, MRAPs) and activated monocarbonyl-derived Robinson annulation products (AMRA products, AMRAPs). The following sections are then devoted to the diastereoselective and enantioselective synthesis of these products, while the last section describes the enantiomeric resolution of racemic mixtures.

Alkali salts of C3-symmetric, linked aryloxides: selective binding of substrates with metal aggregates

The lithium, sodium, and potassium salts of tris(3,5-dialkyl-2-hydroxyphenyl)methanes (tert-butyl, tert-pentyl, methyl) have been prepared by reaction of the triarylmethane with n-butyllithium, sodium hydride, and potassium hydride, respectively. These compounds are all hexanuclear aggregates composed of two triarylmethane units. Whereas the lithium salt is compact and cannot bind oxygen-donor solvent molecules, the sodium and potassium systems have vacant coordination sites that can interact with solvents. For the sodium compounds, the solvent can be subsequently removed, and the resulting coordinatively unsaturated compounds have been shown to selectively bind oxygen-donor substrates (ethers, aldehydes, and ketones) of suitable size and shape. The paper reports the synthesis and characterization of these novel compounds, including thirteen crystal structures of the salts and their adducts.