Org. Synth. 2002, 78, 177
DOI: 10.15227/orgsyn.078.0177
SYNTHESIS OF (−)-(E,S)-3-(BENZYLOXY)-1-BUTENYL PHENYL SULFONE
VIA A HORNER-WADSWORTH-EMMONS REACTION OF (−)-(S)-2-(BENZYLOXY)PROPANAL
[
Benzene, [[[1-methyl-3-(phenylsulfonyl)-2-propenyl]oxy]methyl]-,
[S-(E)]-) from (Propanal, 2-(phenylmethoxy)-, (S)-)]
Submitted by D. Enders
1
, S. von Berg
1
, and B. Jandeleit
2
.
Checked by Brad M. Savall and William R. Roush.
1. Procedure
A.
(−)-(S)-Ethyl
2-(benzyloxy)propanoate.
As described in ref.
3, a
flame-dried, 500-mL Schlenk flask
equipped with a
magnetic stirring bar,
rubber septum,
and an
argon balloon is charged with
11.8
g (100 mmol) of (S)-ethyl 2-hydroxypropanoate
[(S)-ethyl lactate]
(Note 1)
and
50.9 g (200 mmol)
of O-benzyl-2,2,2-trichloroacetimidate
(Note 2). The reagents are dissolved in
250
mL of a mixture of anhydrous cyclohexane
(Note 3)
and anhydrous dichloromethane
(Note 4)
(7:1 v/v) under an atmosphere of
argon.
Neat
trifluoromethanesulfonic acid
(Note 5) (0.4
mL, 4.53 mmol) is added dropwise by means of a
syringe while the mixture is stirred rapidly
(Note 6). The reaction
mixture is stirred for 48 to 60 hr at room temperature
(Note 7)
and subsequently diluted with water (100 mL) and
hexane
(300 mL). Stirring is continued for an additional 3 hr
at room temperature. The precipitated colorless
trichloroacetamide
is filtered off by means of a
Büchner funnel. The aqueous phase
is separated and extracted three times with
50-mL portions
of hexane
. The combined organic extracts are washed
with
50 mL of aqueous saturated sodium
bicarbonate (NaHCO3) solution and finally with
50 mL of aqueous saturated sodium chloride
(NaCl) solution. After drying over
magnesium
sulfate (MgSO4), filtration and removal of the solvents
under reduced pressure by means of a
rotary evaporator, the
residue is purified by fractional distillation using a Vigreux column (15-20 cm) to
yield
18.7 g (
90%) of a colorless slightly turbid liquid (Notes
8,
9).
B.
(−)-(S)-2-(Benzyloxy)propanal
.
A flame-dried, 500-mL Schlenk flask equipped with a magnetic
stirring bar, dropping funnel sealed with a rubber
septum, and an argon balloon is loaded under an atmosphere
of argon with
18.7 g (90
mmol) of (−)-(S)-ethyl 2-(benzyloxy)propanoate
and the compound is dissolved in anhydrous diethyl
ether (180 mL)
(Note 10).
The reaction mixture is cooled to −78°C by means of a cooling bath
(dry ice/ethanol). A 1 M solution of diisobutylaluminum
hydride (DIBAH) in
hexane
(126 mL, 126 mmol)
(Note 11)
is added very slowly dropwise to the solution of the ester and stirring is continued
for at least 1 hr after the complete addition of the DIBAH solution (Note 12).
Upon complete consumption of the ester, the crude reaction mixture is poured directly
with vigorous stirring into
360 mL of ice
cold 4 N hydrochloric acid
(Note 13).
The aqueous phase is extracted with
diethyl ether
(4 × 180 mL) and the combined organic extracts are washed
with
50 mL of aqueous saturated NaCl solution.
After drying over MgSO4, filtration and removal of the solvents under reduced
pressure by means of a rotary evaporator, 14.4 g (98%)
of the crude aldehyde is obtained (Note 14).
C.
(−)-(E,S)-3-(Benzyloxy)-1-butenyl
phenyl sulfone
. As described in ref.
4, a
flame-dried, 500-mL Schlenk
flask (or three-necked flask with a thermometer) equipped with a
large
magnetic stirring bar
(Note 15),
dropping
funnel sealed with a
rubber septum, and an
argon
balloon is charged under an atmosphere of
argon with
13.1 g (151 mmol) of lithium
bromide
(Note 16) and
36.6
g (125 mmol) of diethyl [(phenylsulfonyl)methyl]phosphonate
(Note 17). The reagents are suspended in
250
mL of anhydrous acetonitrile
(Note 18)
and
19.1 mL (13.9 g, 138
mmol) of triethylamine
(Note 19)
is then added. The reaction mixture is stirred at room temperature until it becomes
homogeneous
(Note 20) and is then cooled to 0°C (an
ice-salt
bath is used to maintain the internal temperature at 0°C). The
dropping
funnel is charged with a solution of
20.6
g (125 mmol) of (−)-(S)-2-(benzyloxy)propanal
in
50 mL of anhydrous acetonitrile
.
The aldehyde solution is added dropwise at 0°C with vigorous stirring. After complete
addition the reaction mixture is stirred for ca. 12 hr and allowed to warm to room
temperature during this period. The reaction is monitored by TLC and is halted by
the addition of
0.1 N hydrochloric acid
(150 mL) and water (150 mL). The reaction mixture is diluted
with
diethyl ether (200 mL).
After phase separation, the aqueous phase is reextracted with
diethyl
ether (4 × 200 mL) and the combined organic
extracts are washed with
aqueous saturated NaCl solution
(200 mL). After drying over MgSO
4, filtration,
and removal of the solvents under reduced pressure using a
rotary evaporator,
the crude product is purified by column chromatography using a
15
: 1 (w/w) ratio of silica gel to crude product and
1:2
→ 1:1 (v/v) diethyl ether/light petroleum as
eluent to yield
34.2 g (
90%) of the pure (E)-isomer as a colorless
viscous oil (Notes
21 and
22).
2. Notes
1.
(S)-Ethyl lactate
was purchased from Merck, Darmstadt, Germany, in enantiomerically
pure form (ee >> 99%) and was used without further
purification.
2.
O-Benzyl 2,2,2-trichloroacetimidate
was synthesized in
98% yield
according to ref.
5
by addition of
1.0 equiv of benzyl alcohol
(Aldrich Chemical Company, Inc.; previously distilled over calcium
hydride (CaH2) under an atmosphere of argon),
to
1.0 equiv of trichloroacetonitrile
(Aldrich Chemical Company, Inc.; no previous purification)
in the presence of
0.1 equiv of sodium hydride
in
anhydrous diethyl ether
.The
resulting viscous, dark brown crude compound showed sufficient purity (> 97%) by
1H NMR and GLC analysis and was used without further purification. The
benzylating agent can be stored at 4°C under an atmosphere of
argon
for several weeks without decomposition or loss of quality. However, the compound
can be further purified by distillation to yield a colorless viscous liquid, or, alternatively,
can be purchased from Aldrich Chemical Company, Inc.
3.
Cyclohexane
was purified by distillation from CaH
2 under
argon.
4.
Dichloromethane
was purified by distillation from CaH
2 under
argon.
5.
Trifluoromethanesulfonic acid
was purchased from Aldrich Chemical Company, Inc.
,
stored and handled under an atmosphere of
argon, and used without
further purification.
6.
During the addition of the catalyst an almost colorless precipitate
of
trichloroacetamide
forms,
which might dissolve again after a few minutes. If this happens or if the reaction
mixture does not become turbid at all, more
(0.4
mL) trifluoromethanesulfonic acid
can be
added.
7.
The submitters indicated that extended reaction times are essential
to obtain complete consumption of the starting material and good yields. However,
the checkers observed that the reaction appeared to be complete within several hours
according to TLC analysis.
8.
The checkers observed that a crystalline solid (
trichloroacetamide
)
formed in the condenser at the beginning of the distillation, and that the distillate
contained small amounts of a precipitated crystalline solid (
trichloroacetamide
)
that could be removed by filtration through a
sintered glass funnel.
The checkers obtained
78-83%
yields of product, with material collected from 125 - 135° to maximize the yield of
product.
9.
The compound shows the following physical data: R
f
= 0.40 (
0.25 mm silica gel on glass,
diethyl ether/light petroleum = 1:5);
bp:
124-127°C/6 mm,
αD
21 : −73.6° (neat), {
[α]D
20 : −74.5 (CHCl3,
c 2.94)};
3
31H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl
3)
δ: 1.30 (t, 3 H, J = 7.2), 1.44 (d, 3 H, J = 6.9),
4.05 (q, 1 H, J = 6.8), 4.22 (m, 2 H), 4.45 (d, 1
H, J = 11.8), 4.69 (d, 1 H, J = 11.8), 7.20-7.40 (m, 5 H)
;
13C NMR (75 MHz,
CDCl
3) δ: 14.2, 18.7, 60.8,
71.9, 74.0, 127.8, 127.9, 128.4,
136.6, 173.2
; IR
(film) cm
−1: 2985, 1746, 1455,
1200, 1143
; HRMS
calcd for C
12H
17O
3 [M+H] 209.1178, found
209.1183
. Anal. Calcd for C
12H
16O
3:
C, 69.21; H, 7.73, Found: C, 69.17; H, 7.74. The O-Bn protected
(S)-ethyl
lactate can be stored without special precautions.
10.
Diethyl ether
was purified by distillation from
sodium benzophenone
ketyl
under
argon.
11.
Diisobutylaluminum hydride
(DIBAH) (1 M in hexane) was purchased from Aldrich
Chemical Company, Inc.
, and used without further purification.
DIBAH should be handled with caution and all operations should be performed by employing
the usual inert gas techniques (cannula, syringe, etc.).
12.
To avoid reduction of the generated aldehyde that is more prone
to reduction than the corresponding ester, the reducing agent should be added very
slowly, avoiding any local temperature increase. The reaction mixture should be kept
below −70°C. The checkers used a
three-necked flask equipped
with a
low temperature thermometer to monitor the internal
reaction temperature.
13.
It is strongly recommended that the reaction mixture be added
to the beaker containing the ice-cold acid solution with vigorous stirring because
of the strong evolution of
hydrogen gas. Reversing the order
of addition causes freezing of the acid and effects a vigorous evolution of
hydrogen
gas on warming.
14.
The resulting viscous colorless crude compound obtained by the
submitters showed sufficient purity (> 97%) by
1H NMR and GLC analysis
to be used without further purification. The submitters report that the aldehyde can
be stored at −20°C under an atmosphere of
argon for several
days without detectable racemization or loss of quality. However, the checkers observed
that some crystalline material resembling aluminum salts formed when the crude aldehyde
was stored in the refrigerator. The salts could be removed by dissolving the product
in
diethyl ether
and washing
with
1 N HCl (2 × 50 mL). The
purity of the aldehyde obtained by the checkers was 80% by GC analysis. Nevertheless,
this material gave acceptable results in the following Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction.
If desired, the aldehyde can be purified by distillation to yield a colorless viscous
liquid.
3 The compound shows the following physical
data: R
f = 0.27 (
0.25 mm silica gel
on glass,
diethyl ether/light petroleum
= 1:3);
α: −65.3° (neat)
{
α: −65.9° (neat)};
3
1H
NMR (300 MHz, CDCl
3) δ: 1.31 (d, 3 H, J = 7.2), 3.88
(qd, 1 H, J = 6.9, 1.9), 4.57 (d, 1 H, J = 11.8), 4.67 (d,
1 H, J = 11.8), 7.35 (m, 5 H), 9.64 (d, 1 H, J = 1.6)
;
13C NMR (75 MHz,
CDCl
3) δ: 15.5, 72.0, 79.4,
127.9, 128.6, 137.3, 203.4
;
IR (film) cm
−1: 3448,
2870, 1733, 1455, 1375, 1094
;
HRMS calcd for C
10H
16NO
2
[M+NH
4
+] 182.1181, found 182.1176
.
Anal. Calcd for C
10H
12O
2:
C, 73.14; H,
7.37. Found: C, 68.98; H, 7.52.
15.
Because of precipitating lithium phosphates during the course
of the reaction the mixture forms a sticky slurry and so the use of a
large
stirring bar is recommended.
16.
Lithium bromide
was purchased from Fluka Chemical Corp.
and dried
for ca. 12 hr at 100-110°C under reduced pressure using a high vacuum pump. The salt
was handled and stored under an atmosphere of
argon with the
exclusion of moisture.
17.
Diethyl [(phenylsulfonyl)methyl]phosphonate
was synthesized according to the accompanying procedure:
Org. Synth.
2002,
78, 169.
18.
Acetonitrile was purified by distillation
from CaH
2 under
argon.
19.
Triethylamine was purified by distillation
from CaH
2 under
argon.
20.
To obtain good chemical yields and a very high (E)-selectivity
in the olefination step it seems to be crucial that all of the phosphonate must be
transformed into its chelated lithium derivative before the aldehyde is added. Sometimes
the reaction mixture becomes turbid during cooling but this does not affect reactivity.
21.
During the olefination step only very small amounts of the corresponding
(Z)-isomer are formed, which are easily removed by column chromatography on silica
gel. The (Z)-isomer has a slightly higher R
f-value than the (E)-isomer:
R
f(Z) = 0.49 (
0.25 mm silica gel on
glass,
diethyl ether/light petroleum
(v/v) 1:1).
22.
The compound shows the following physical data: R
f
= 0.44 (
0.25 mm silica gel on glass,
dimethyl ether/light petroleum (v/v) 1:1);
[α[: −31.9° (CHCl3, c
1.10);
1H
NMR (300 MHz, CDCl
3) δ: 1.31 (d, 3 H, J = 6.6), 4.18
(qdd, 1 H, J = 6.6, 4.8, 1.6), 4.44 (d, 1 H, J = 12.0), 4.48
(d, 1 H, J = 12.0), 6.57 (dd, 1 H, J = 15, 1.5), 6.94 (dd,
1 H, J = 15.3, 4.9), 7.21-7.34 (m, 5 H), 7.48-7.55 (m, 2
H), 7.57-7.64 (m, 1 H), 7.85-7.90 (m, 2 H)
;
13C NMR (75 MHz,
CDCl
3) δ: 20.0, 71.0, 72.9,
127.5, 127.6, 127.8, 128.4, 129.3,
130.3, 133.4, 137.6, 140.3, 147.0
;
IR (film) cm
−1: 3063,
1447, 1307, 1147, 1086, 834
;
HRMS calcd for C
17H
22O
3NS
[M+NH
4
+] 320.1320, found 320.1310
.
Anal. Calcd for C
17H
18O
3S: C, 67.43; H, 6.00. Found:
C, 66.45; H, 6.09. The checkers found that the product solidified when stored at −20°C,
cracking the glass bottle.
Handling and Disposal of Hazardous Chemicals
The procedures in this article are intended for use only by persons with prior training in experimental organic chemistry. All hazardous materials should be handled using the standard procedures for work with chemicals described in references such as "Prudent Practices in the Laboratory" (The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C., 2011 www.nap.edu). All chemical waste should be disposed of in accordance with local regulations. For general guidelines for the management of chemical waste, see Chapter 8 of Prudent Practices.
These procedures must be conducted at one's own risk. Organic Syntheses, Inc., its Editors, and its Board of Directors do not warrant or guarantee the safety of individuals using these procedures and hereby disclaim any liability for any injuries or damages claimed to have resulted from or related in any way to the procedures herein.
3. Discussion
(−)-(S)-2-(Benzyloxy)propanal
(
2) has attracted considerable interest since it is readily available in optically
pure form from inexpensive starting materials. This useful aldehyde is widely used
in organic synthesis
6
and has therefore been synthesized many times employing several approaches.
3,
7
8
9
10
11
12
The most frequently used procedures to obtain aldehyde
2 employ commercially
available
ethyl (S)-lactate
.
The α-hydroxy ester is converted in the first step to
ethyl
(S)-2-(benzyloxy)propionate
(
1) by O-benzylation. Alkylation
of the ester can be accomplished by using freshly prepared
silver(I)
oxide
and
benzyl bromide
according to a procedure described by Mislow.
13 This method is high yielding, but it is not amenable
to large scale preparation of
1. Benzylation using
benzyl
bromide
and
sodium hydride
is also described in the literature. It is reported that this approach affords the
product in low yield
14
and that the alkylation results in considerable racemization.
7
However, Varelis and Johnson
15
reported that the latter method is also suited to large-scale preparation of virtually
enantiopure
1.
Using the acid-catalyzed benzylation of the
ethyl
lactate
as described here avoids racemization during the reaction
course and affords the product in high yield. In addition all reagents are commercially
available and it is possible to carry out the reaction on a large scale.
Besides the one-step procedure described here, conversion of ester
1 to
aldehyde
2 can be accomplished by reduction of the ester with
lithium
aluminum hydride
, and subsequent oxidation of the alcohol produced
using a Swern-oxidation protocol.
8,
14,
16
The highly enantioenriched vinyl sulfone
3 has been used in the synthesis
of the highly diastereomerically and enantiomerically enriched tetracarbonyl π-allyl
iron(1+) complex
4. Nucleophilic attack on this electrophilic organometal complex
occurs regioselectively at the γ-position with respect to the sulfone functionality.
In addition, the reaction proceeds with conservation of the double bond configuration
allowing syntheses of highly enantioenriched (E)-alkenyl sulfones
5 with a wide range of substitution patterns
at the allylic position
17,18,19 (Scheme 1). The value
of
3 and the related methodology of the iron-mediated chirality transfer has
also been demonstrated in the syntheses of methyl-branched natural products in high
enantiomeric purity and in their naturally occurring absolute configuration.
20,21,22
Scheme 1
This preparation is referenced from:
Appendix
Chemical Abstracts Nomenclature (Collective Index Number);
(Registry Number)
(−)-(E,S)-3-(Benzyloxy)-1-butenyl phenyl sulfone:
Benzene, [[[1-methyl-3-(phenylsulfonyl)-2-propenyl]oxy]methyl]-, [S-(E)]-
(13); (168431-27-4)
(−)-(S)-Ethyl 2-(benzyloxy)propanoate:
Propanoic
acid, 2-(phenylmethoxy)-, ethyl ester, (S)- (9); (54783-72-1)
(−)-(S)-2-(Benzyloxy)propanal:
Propanal,
2-(phenylmethoxy)-, (S)- (11); (81445-44-5)
(S)-Ethyl hydroxypropanoate:
(S)-Ethyl lactate:
Lactic acic, ethyl ester, L- (8);
Propanoic acid, 2-hydroxy-,
ethyl ester, (S)- (9); (687-47-8)
O-Benzyl-2,2,2-trichloroacetimidate:
Ethanimidic
acid, 2,2,2-trichloro-, phenylmethyl ester (11); (81927-55-1)
Trifluoromethanesulfonic acid: HIGHLY CORROSIVE:
Methanesulfonic acid, trifluoro- (8,9); (1493-13-6)
Diisobutylaluminum hydride:
Aluminum, hydrodiisobutyl-
(8);
Aluminum, hydrobis(2-methylpropyl)- (9); (1191-15-7)
Lithium bromide (8,9); (7550-35-8)
Diethyl[(phenylsulfonyl)methyl]phosphonate:
Phosphonic
acid, [(phenylsulfonyl)methyl]-, diethyl ester (9); (56069-39-7)
Acetonitrile: TOXIC (8,9); (75-05-8)
Triethylamine (8);
Ethanamine, N,N-diethyl-
(9); (121-44-8)
Benzyl alcohol (8);
Benzenemethanol
(9); (100-51-6)
Trichloroacetonitrile:
Acetonitrile, trichloro-
(8,9); (545-06-2)
Sodium hydride (8,9); (7646-69-7)
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