Acid catalysts ester formation

Exercise 18-24 Ester interchange also can proceed (but more slowly) with an acidic instead of a basic catalyst. Write a mechanism for this reaction consistent with acid-catalyzed ester formation (Section 18-3A). 

Hydrocarboxylation is the formal addition of hydrogen and a carboxylic group to double or triple bonds to form carboxylic acids or their derivatives. It is achieved by transition metal catalyzed conversion of unsaturated substrates with carbon monoxide in the presence of water, alcohols, or other acidic reagents. Ester formation is also called hydroesterification or hydrocarb(o)alkoxylation . The transition metal catalyst precursors are nickel, iron or cobalt carbonyls or salts of nickel, iron, cobalt, rhodium, palladium, platinum, or other metals4 5. 

If methyl butanoate (71) reacts with ethanol and an acid catalyst, for example, the product is ethyl butanoate (29). Analysis of the reaction shows that the OEt that replaces OMe results from ethanol attacking the acyl carbon and loss of methanol. This also requires a proton transfer, and the acid catalysts suggest formation of an oxocarbenium ion. This acyl substitution must proceed by a tetrahedral intermediate that contains both the OMe and the OEt units. This walk-through leads to a mechanism that is closely related to that shown for the conversion of a carboxylic acid to an ester (21 70). 

In these procedures, the hydroxyl-containing polymer is reacted with an excess of a standard non-aqueous solution of acetic anhydride or phthalic anhydride, sometimes in the presence of a catalyst such as p-toluene sulfonic acid. After ester formation is complete, an excess of water is added to convert excess anhydride to the free carboxylic acid. The acid is titrated with aqueous or alcoholic standard potassium hydroxide to the phenol phthalein end-point to determine unconsumed acid. A blank run is carried out in which the sample is omitted. The hydroxyl... 

The esters thus produced are glycol esters and involve a reaction of the aldehyde in two stages, the first of which is base-catalyzed (aldolization) and the second is acid catalyzed (ester formation). These glycol esters will be formed with an amphoteric catalyst or a complex catalyst such as the complex alkoxides. 

Formic acid forms esters with primary, secondary, and tertiary alcohols. The high acidity of formic acid makes use of the usual mineral acid catalysts unnecessary in simple esterifications (17). Formic acid reacts with most amines to form formylamino compounds. With certain diamines imida2ole formation occurs, a reaction that has synthetic utiHty (18) ... 

Transesterification of methyl methacrylate with the appropriate alcohol is often the preferred method of preparing higher alkyl and functional methacrylates. The reaction is driven to completion by the use of excess methyl methacrylate and by removal of the methyl methacrylate—methanol a2eotrope. A variety of catalysts have been used, including acids and bases and transition-metal compounds such as dialkjitin oxides (57), titanium(IV) alkoxides (58), and zirconium acetoacetate (59). The use of the transition-metal catalysts allows reaction under nearly neutral conditions and is therefore more tolerant of sensitive functionality in the ester alcohol moiety. In addition, transition-metal catalysts often exhibit higher selectivities than acidic catalysts, particularly with respect to by-product ether formation. 

N-Acylation is readily carried out by reaction of the alkaU metal salts with the appropriate acid chloride. C-Acylation of pyrroles carrying negative substituents occurs in the presence of Friedel-Crafts catalysts. Pyrrole and alkylpyrroles can be acylated noncatalyticaHy with an acid chloride or an acid anhydride. The formation of trichloromethyl 2-pyrryl ketone [35302-72-8] (20, R = CCI3) is a particularly useful procedure because the ketonic product can be readily converted to the corresponding pyrrolecarboxyUc acid or ester by treatment with aqueous base or alcohoHc base, respectively (31). 

Oxidative Garbonylation. Carbon monoxide is rapidly oxidized to carbon dioxide however, under proper conditions, carbon monoxide and oxygen react with organic molecules to form carboxyUc acids or esters. With olefins, unsaturated carboxyUc acids are produced, whereas alcohols yield esters of carbonic or oxalic acid. The formation of acryUc and methacrylic acid is carried out in the Hquid phase at 10 MPa (100 atm) and 110°C using palladium chloride or rhenium chloride catalysts (eq. 19) (64,65). 

For the kinetically controlled formation of 1,3-disubstituted tetrahydro-P-carbolines, placing both substituents in equatorial positions to reduce 1,3-diaxial interactions resulted in the cw-selectivity usually observed in these reactions." Condensation reactions carried out at or below room temperature in the presence of an acid catalyst gave the kinetic product distribution with the cw-diastereomer being the major product observed, as illustrated by the condensation of L-tryptophan methyl ester 41 with benzaldehyde. At higher reaction temperatures, the condensation reaction was reversible and a thermodynamic product distribution was observed. Cis and trans diastereomers were often obtained in nearly equal amounts suggesting that they have similar energies."... 

Obviously, the use of a nonvolatile ionic liquid simplifies the distillative workup of volatile products, especially in comparison with the use of low-boiling solvents, where it may save the distillation of the solvent during product isolation. Moreover, common problems related to the formation of azeotropic mixtures of the volatile solvents and the product/by-products formed are avoided by use of a nonvolatile ionic liquid. In the Rh-catalyzed hydroformylation of 3-pentenoic acid methyl ester it was even found that the addition of ionic liquid was able to stabilize the homogeneous catalyst during the thermal stress of product distillation (Figure 5.2-1) [21]. This option may be especially attractive technically, due to the fact that the stabilizing effects could already be observed even with quite small amounts of added ionic liquid. 

A reaction which has proved to be of much use in synthetic organic chemistry is the formation of the ortho and/or the para isomers of a hydroxyketone (CVI and CVTI) by treatment of a phenolic ester (CV) with an acid catalyst, viz. 

The Pictet-Spengler reaction has mainly been investigated as a potential source of polycyclic heterocycles for combinatorial apphcations or in natural product synthesis [149]. Tryptophan or differently substituted tryptamines are the preferred substrates in a cyclocondensation that involves also aldehydes or activated ketones in the presence of an acid catalyst. Several versions of microwave-assisted Pictet-Spengler reactions have been reported in the hter-ature. Microwave irradiation allowed the use of mild Lewis acid catalysts such as Sc(OTf)3 in the reaction of tryptophan methyl esters 234 with different substituted aldehydes (aliphatic or aromatic) [150]. Under these conditions the reaction was carried out in a one-pot process without initial formation of the imine (Scheme 86). 

It is possible to treat ketones with allyl alcohol and an acid catalyst to give y,5-unsaturated ketones directly, presumably by initial formation of the vinylic ethers, and then Claisen rearrangement.In an analogous procedure, the enolates (126) of allylic esters [formed by treatment of the esters with lithium isopropylcyclohex-... 

In our first experiment we decided to test the conversion of sunflower oil into biodiesel (16). Treatment of sunflower oil (1) with NaOMe in MeOH results in formation of a mixtme of fatty acid methyl esters (FAME), also known as biodiesel, and glycerol (2) (Figme 4.3). The reaction was performed with a six-fold molar excess of methanol with respect to sunflower oil at elevated temperatures (60°C) using a basic catalyst (NaOMe, 1% w/w with respect to sunflower oil). The CCS was equipped with a heating jacket to ensure isothermal conditions. The sunflower oil was preheated to 60°C and was pumped at 12.6 ml/min into one entrance of the CCS. Subsequently, a solution of NaOMe in MeOH was introduced through the other entrance at a flow rate of 3.1 ml per minute. After about 40 minutes, the system reaches steady state and the FAME containing some residual sunflower oil is coming... 

The Ph2SiH2/AlCl3 reduction of /3-sulfonyl-o, /Tunsaturated esters results in the formation of the /3-sulfonyl ester. Good yields are obtained and A1C13 is the best Lewis acid catalyst for this reaction (Eq. 290).373... 

For instance, 2-methylpropene reacted with acetic acid at 18°C in the presence of Al-bentonite to form the ester product (75). Ion-exchanged bentonites are also efficient catalysts for formation of ketals from aldehydes or ketones. Cyclohexanone reacted with methanol in the presence of Al-bentonite at room temperature to give 33% yield of dimethyl ketal after 30 min of reaction time. On addition of the same clay to the mixture of cyclohexanone and trimethyl orthoformate at room-temperature, the exothermic reaction caused the liquid to boil and resulted in an almost quantitative yield of the dimethyl ketal in 5 min. When Na- instead of Al-bentonite is used, the same reaction did not take place (75). Solomon and Hawthorne (37) suggest that elimination reactions may have been involved in the geochemical transformation of lipid and other organic sediments into petroleum deposits. 

In the case of the esterification of the diacid, the reaction is self-catalyzed as the terephthalic acid acts as its own acid catalyst. The reverse reaction, the formation of TPA and EG from BHET is catalytic with regard to the usual metal oxides used to make PET, but is enhanced by either the presence of hydroxyl groups or protons. In the case of transesterification of dimethyl terephthalate with ethylene glycol, the reaction is catalytic, with a metal oxide needed to bring the reaction rate to commercial potential. The catalysts used to produce BHET are the same as those needed to depolymerize both the polymer to BHET and BHET to its simpler esters. Typically, titanium, manganese and zinc oxides are used for catalysts. 

Anionicallv Activated Alumina. At this time we had also developed an interest in anionically activated alumina. These basic reagents were active in promoting alkylation(42), condensation(43) and hydrolysis(44) reactions. Thus, we impregnated alumina with sodium hydroxide and used this combination both with and without a phase transfer catalyst (benzyltriethyl ammonium chloride). When BTEAC was added, the conversion to ether was decreased and the formation of ester was noted. In the absence of a phase transfer catalyst, the ether became a minor product and methyl phenylacetate became the major product with coproduction of phenylacetic acid. This ester does not result from esterification of the acid as simple stirring of phenylacetic acid with Na0H/A1203 in methanol does not produce methyl phenylacetate. 

In a recent modification of the second synthesis (50S) effected for fluvibactin (45) an o-xylene protection group was proposed (reaction of 2,3-dihydroxy-benzoic acid methyl ester with 1,2-di(bromomethyl)benzene) which could be removed later by hydrogenolysis. The formation of the oxazoline ring from protected DHB-L-threonine methyl ester was achieved with Mo(VI) catalysts (e.g. (NH4)2Mo04) without affecting the chiral centers. Derivatization of the primary amino groups of norspermidine with the protected DHB methyl ester was catalyzed by Sb(OC2115)3. 

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