A-methylenation

A -Bromosuccinimide (prepared by the action of bromine on succinimide at o in the presence of sodium hydroxide) is a valuable specific reagent for brominating olefines in the a-methylene position to the double bond without simultaneously adding bromine to this bond. For example, if A -bromosuccini-mide is represented by (C4H40t)NBr —... 

Make up a methylene-blue solution by grinding 0 1 g. with water and making up to i litre with water. 

Removal of a methylene hydrogen of the acetylacetonc to form acetyl-acetone anion ... 

CgHjCOCHj + SeOa —> CgHgCOCHO + Se + H O This is one example of the oxidation by selenium dioxide of compounds containing a methylene group adjacent to a carbonyl group to thecorresponding a-ketoaldehyde or a-diketone (see also Section VII,23). 

Mannich Reaction - a,p-unsaturated carbonyls (a-methylene carbonyls)... 

The reaction itself works by the action of Na or K from NaOH or KOH which form what is called a catechoxide dianion with the two OHs of the catechol species. This makes the two ripe for an attack by a methylene halide which can be either DCM (methylene chloride, or dichloromethane), DBM (methylene bromide, or di-bromomethane) or DIM (methylene iodide, or diiodomethane). DCM is cheap and works pretty well, but DBM and DIM work better yet are more expensive. 

The Peterson reaction has two more advantages over the Wittig reaction 1. it is sometimes less vulnerable to sterical hindrance, and 2. groups, which are susceptible to nucleophilic substitution, are not attacked by silylated carbanions. The introduction of a methylene group into a sterically hindered ketone (R.K. Boeckman, Jr., 1973) and the syntheses of olefins with sulfur, selenium, silicon, or tin substituents (D. Seebach, 1973 B.T. Grdbel, 1974, 1977) illustrate useful applications. The reaction is, however, more limited and time consuming than the Wittig reaction, since metallated silicon derivatives are difficult to synthesize and their reactions are rarely stereoselective (T.H. Chan, 1974 ... 

Carbonylation of halides in the presence of primary and secondary amines at I atm affords amides[351j. The intramolecular carbonylation of an aryl bromide which has amino group affords a lactam and has been used for the synthesis of the isoquinoline alkaloid 498(352], The naturally occurring seven-membered lactam 499 (tomaymycin, neothramycin) is prepared by this method(353]. The a-methylene-d-lactam 500 is formed by the intramolecular carbonylation of 2-bromo-3-alkylamino-l-propene(354]. 

The acylpalladium complex formed from acyl halides undergoes intramolecular alkene insertion. 2,5-Hexadienoyl chloride (894) is converted into phenol in its attempted Rosenmund reduction[759]. The reaction is explained by the oxidative addition, intramolecular alkene insertion to generate 895, and / -elimination. Chloroformate will be a useful compound for the preparation of a, /3-unsaturated esters if its oxidative addition and alkene insertion are possible. An intramolecular version is known, namely homoallylic chloroformates are converted into a-methylene-7-butyrolactones in moderate yields[760]. As another example, the homoallylic chloroformamide 896 is converted into the q-methylene- -butyrolactams 897 and 898[761]. An intermolecular version of alkene insertion into acyl chlorides is known only with bridgehead acid chlorides. Adamantanecarbonyl chloride (899) reacts with acrylonitrile to give the unsaturated ketone 900[762],... 

The reaction can be applied to allyl malonates. Alkylation of diallyl mal-onate (734) with bromoacetate and acetoxymethylation afford the mixed triester 735. Treatment of the tricster 735 with Pd catalyst affords allyl ethyl itaconate (736). In a similar way, a-methylene lactone and the lactam 737 can be prepared[462]. 

The a-methylene-/3-lactam 103 is obtained by the carbonylation of the inethyleneaziridine 102 under mild conditions[91]. The azirine 104 undergoes an interesting dimerization-carbonylation to form the fused )3-lactam 105[92]. 

Polar solvents shift the keto enol equilibrium toward the enol form (174b). Thus the NMR spectrum in DMSO of 2-phenyl-A-2-thiazoline-4-one is composed of three main signals +10.7 ppm (enolic proton). 7.7 ppm (aromatic protons), and 6.2 ppm (olefinic proton) associated with the enol form and a small signal associated with less than 10% of the keto form. In acetone, equal amounts of keto and enol forms were found (104). In general, a-methylene protons of keto forms appear at approximately 3.5 to 4.3 ppm as an AB spectra or a singlet (386, 419). A coupling constant, Jab - 15.5 Hz, has been reported for 2-[(S-carboxymethyl)thioimidyl]-A-2-thiazoline-4-one 175 (Scheme 92) (419). This high J b value could be of some help in the discussion on the structure of 178 (p. 423). 

This latter method consists in treating 2 moles of thiourea and 1 mole of ketone, having a methylene group adjacent to the carbonyl, with 1 mole of iodine overnight on a steam bath. Unreacted products are then extracted with ether after alkalinization of the reaction mixture. 

These two products arise because m one of the propagation steps a chlorine atom may abstract a hydrogen atom from either a methyl or a methylene group of butane... 

The second step is a reduction of the carbonyl group (C=0) to a methylene group (CH2)... 

The two step acylation-reduction sequence is required Acylation of benzene puts the side chain on the ring with the correct carbon skeleton Clemmensen reduc tion converts the carbonyl group to a methylene group... 

Both the Clemmensen and the Wolff-Kishner reductions are designed to carry out a specific functional group transformation the reduction of an aldehyde or ketone carbonyl to a methylene group Neither one will reduce the carbonyl group of a carboxylic acid nor... 

A bond between a-methyl group and a methylene group can be formed... 

This reaction is called the Smmons-Smith reaction and is one of the few methods avail able for the synthesis of cyclopropanes Mechanistically the Simmons-Smith reaction seems to proceed by a single step cycloaddition of a methylene (CH2) unit from lodomethylzmc iodide to the alkene... 

Reduction of amides (Section 22 9) Lithi um aluminum hydride reduces the car bonyl group of an amide to a methylene group Primary secondary or tertiary amines may be prepared by proper choice of the starting amide R and R may be ei ther alkyl or aryl... 

Clemmensen reduction (Section 12 8) Method for reducing the carbonyl group of aldehydes and ketones to a methylene... 

For most vinyl polymers, head-to-tail addition is the dominant mode of addition. Variations from this generalization become more common for polymerizations which are carried out at higher temperatures. Head-to-head addition is also somewhat more abundant in the case of halogenated monomers such as vinyl chloride. The preponderance of head-to-tail additions is understood to arise from a combination of resonance and steric effects. In many cases the ionic or free-radical reaction center occurs at the substituted carbon due to the possibility of resonance stabilization or electron delocalization through the substituent group. Head-to-tail attachment is also sterically favored, since the substituent groups on successive repeat units are separated by a methylene... 

The a-methylene groups also add to double bonds eg, 1-decene at 160°C gives up to 80% of a-decylbutyrolactone (160). With photochemical initiation similar additions take place at room temperature (161). 

Because the stmcture of 1,3-diketones comprise a methylene group between two activating carbonyls, equiUbrium is shifted toward the enol form. The equihbrium distribution varies with stmcture and solvent (303,306) (Table 13). The enol forms are cycHc and acidic and form covalent, colored, soHd chelates with metals ... 

A ceUulose ether thickener such as hydroxypropyl methylceUulose can be added to thicken a methylene chloride remover. Removers that are acid or alkaline activated requite thickeners that wid not be hydroly2ed by the acid or the base. 

Alkoxyall l Hydroperoxides. These compounds (1, X = OR , R = H) have been prepared by the ozonization of certain unsaturated compounds in alcohol solvents (10,125,126). 2-Methoxy-2-hydroperoxypropane [10027-74 ] (1, X = OR , R" = methyl), has been generated in methanol solution and spectral data obtained (127). A rapid exothermic decomposition upon concentration of this peroxide in a methylene chloride—methanol solution at 0°C has been reported (128). 2-Bromo-l-methoxy-l-methylethylhydroperoxide [98821-14-8]has been distilled (bp 60°C (bath temp.), 0.013 kPa) (129). Two cycHc alkoxyaLkyl hydroperoxides from cyclodecanone have been reported (1, where X = OR R, R = 5-oxo-l, 9-nonanediyl) with mp 94—95°C (R" = methyl) and mp 66—68°C (R" = ethyl) (130). Like other hydroperoxides, alkoxyaLkyl hydroperoxides can be acylated or alkylated (130,131). 

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