Acetoacetic ester synthesis of methyl ketone

Fig. 13.26. Acetoacetic ester synthesis of methyl ketones I preparation of an alkylated acetoacetic ester.

The butylated /J-ketoester C of Figure 13.26 is not the final synthetic target of the acetoacetic ester synthesis of methyl ketones. In that context, the /J-ketoester C is converted into the corresponding /J-ketocarhoxylic acid via acid-catalyzed hydrolysis (Figure 13.27 for the mechanism, see Figure 6.22). This /i-ketocarboxylic acid is then heated either in the same pot or after isolation to effect decarboxylation. The /f-ketocarboxylic acid decarboxylates via a cyclic six-membered transition state in which three valence electron pairs are shifted at the same time. The reaction product is an enol, which isomerizes immediately to a ketone (to phenyl methyl ketone in the specific example shown). 

Acetoacetic Ester Synthesis of Methyl Ketones (Section 23-2)... 

Section 19.19 The Acetoacetic Ester Synthesis Synthesis of Methyl Ketones... 

What alkyl bromide should be used in the acetoacetic ester synthesis of each of the following methyl ketones ... 

SYNTHESIS OF METHYL KETONES THE ACETOACETIC ESTER SYNTHESIS... 

Acetoacetic ester synthesis synthesis of methyl ketones (Section 18.19). The steps in the reaction are shown on page 887. 

Alpha hydrogen atoms of carbonyl compounds are weakly acidic and can be removed by strong bases, such as lithium diisopropylamide (LDA), to yield nucleophilic enolate ions. The most important reaction of enolate ions is their Sn2 alkylation with alkyl halides. The malonic ester synthesis converts an alkyl halide into a carboxylic acid with the addition of two carbon atoms. Similarly, the acetoacetic ester synthesis converts an alkyl halide into a methyl ketone. In addition, many carbonyl compounds, including ketones, esters, and nitriles, can be directly alkylated by treatment with LDA and an alkyl halide. 

Acetoacetic ester synthesis (Section 22.7) The synthesis of a methyl ketone by alkylation of an alkyl halide, followed by hydrolysis and decarboxylation. 

Fig. 13.29. Synthesis of complicated ketones in analogy to the acetoacetic ester synthesis II generation of a cyclic ketone. In the first step, the /3-ketoester is alkylated at its activated position. In the second step, the /3-ketoester is treated with Li I . SN2 reaction of the iodide at the methyl group generates the /3-ketocar-boxylate ion as the leaving group. The /3-ketocarboxylate decarboxylates immediately under the reaction conditions (temperature above 100 °C) and yields the enolate of a ketone.

Alkylation of the enolate anion derived from ethyl acetoacetate followed by removal of the ester group is known as the acetoacetic ester synthesis and is an excellent method for the preparation of methyl ketones. The product of an acetoacetic ester synthesis is the same as the product that would be produced by the addition of the same... 

In the malonic ester synthesis this enolate ion is alkylated in the same manner as in the acetoacetic ester synthesis. Saponification of the alkylated diester produces a diacid. The carbonyl group of either of the acid groups is at the /3-position relative to the other acid group. Therefore, when the diacid is heated, carbon dioxide is lost in the same manner as in the acetoacetic ester synthesis. The difference is that the product is a carboxylic acid in the malonic ester synthesis rather than the methyl ketone that is produced in the acetoacetic ester synthesis. The loss of carbon dioxide from a substituted malonic acid to produce a monoacid is illustrated in the following equation ... 

As in the malonic ester synthesis, you should identify the structural fragments of the target compound. The acetoacetic ester synthesis converts an alkyl halide to a methyl ketone ("substituted acetone"). The methyl ketone component comes from acetoacetic ester the other component comes from a halide. 

Monoalkylation of ethyl acetoacetate and subsequent ketonic hydrolysis gives methyl ketones of the type CHjCOCHjR (acetoacetic ester synthesis). 

The only difference between the acetoacetic ester synthesis and the malonic ester synthesis is the use of acetoacetic ester rather than malonic ester as the starting material. The difference in starting material causes the product of the acetoacetic ester synthesis to be a methyl ketone rather than a carboxylic acid. The carbonyl group of the methyl ketone and the carbon atoms on either side of it come from acetoacetic ester, and the rest of the ketone comes from the alkyl halide used in the second step of the reaction. 

Acetoacetic ester synthesis preparation of methyl ketones (Section 19.19). 

Variations of the malonic ester and acetoacetic ester sequenees lead to many useful synthetic opportunities. In the examples quoted, the base-solvent pair used was ethanol-sodium ethoxide, where the alkoxide is the conjugate base of tbe solvent. If NaOEt-EtOH were used with a methyl ester, transesterification would give a mixture of methyl and ethyl esters as products. For both malonic ester and acetoacetic ester removal of the most acidic proton (a to both carbonyls) also gives the more thermodynamically stable enolate. Either NaOEt-EtOH or LDA-THF will generate the desired enolate. The malonic ester synthesis is most useful for the synthesis of highly substituted monoacids, and tbe acetoacetic ester synthesis is used to prepare substituted methyl ketones. 

Notice that the acetoacetic ester synthesis only makes methyl ketones, because the CH.tCO portion of the acetoacetic ester molecule is carried unchanged into the final product. To make other kinds of ketones, other 3-IcetoesKrs must be prepared first Problem 47 outlines the situation, and the general scheme below illustrates the process. 

The acetoacetic ester synthesis is a useful technique that converts an alkyl hahde into a methyl ketone with the introduction of three new carbon atoms. 

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