Acid Halides to Nitriles

Nitriles are similar in some respects to carboxylic acids and are prepared either by SN2 reaction of an alkyl halide with cyanide ion or by dehydration of an amide. Nitriles undergo nucleophilic addition to the polar C=N bond in the same way that carbonyl compounds do. The most important reactions of nitriles are their hydrolysis to carboxylic acids, reduction to primary amines, and reaction with organometallic reagents to yield ketones. 

Closely related to the carboxylic acids and nitriles discussed in the previous chapter are the carboxylic acid derivatives, compounds in which an acyl group is bonded to an electronegative atom or substituent that can net as a leaving group in a substitution reaction. Many kinds of acid derivatives are known, but we ll be concerned primarily with four of the more common ones acid halides, acid anhydrides, esters, and amides. Esters and amides are common in both laboratory and biological chemistry, while acid halides and acid anhydrides are used only in the laboratory. Thioesters and acyl phosphates are encountered primarily in biological chemistry. Note the structural similarity between acid anhydrides and acy) phosphates. 

In the course of this study, the authors determined /Lvalues for dibenzyl, methyl phenyl, methyl p-nitrophenyl, di-p-tolyl, di-isopropyl and tetramethylene sulphoxides and for diethyl, dipropyl and dibutyl sulphites. The /Lscales are applied to the various reactions or the spectral measurements. The /Lscales have been divided into either family-dependent (FD) types, which means two or more compounds can share the same /Lscale, family-independent (FI) types. Consequently, a variety of /Lscales are now available for various families of the bases, including 29 aldehydes and ketones, 17 carboxylic amides and ureas, 14 carboxylic acids esters, 4 acyl halides, 5 nitriles, 10 ethers, 16 phosphine oxides, 12 sulphinyl compounds, 15 pyridines and pyrimidines, 16 sp3 hybridized amines and 10 alcohols. The enthalpies of formation of the hydrogen bond of 4-fluorophenol with both sulphoxides and phosphine oxides and related derivatives fit the empirical equation 18, where the standard deviation is y = 0.983. Several averaged scales are shown in Table 1588. 

Derivatives of these acids formed by change in the carboxy group (salts, esters, lactones, acyl halides, amides, nitriles, etc.) are named according to 2-Carb-20.2. The anion takes the ending -uronate . Esters are also named using the ending -uronate . 

Treatment with alkaline H2O2 oxidizes trialkylboranes to esters of boric acid. This reaction does not affect double or triple bonds, aldehydes, ketones, halides, or nitriles. The R group does not rearrange, and this reaction is a step in the hydro-boration method of converting alkenes to alcohols (15-16). The mechanism has been formulated as involving a rearrangement from boron to oxygenr ... 

Thiolates, generated in situ by the action of ammonium tetra-thiomolybdate on alkyl halides, thiocyanates, and disulfides, undergo conjugate addition to a, (1-unsaturatcd esters, nitriles, and ketones in water under neutral conditions (Eq. 10. II).29 Conjugate addition of thiols was also carried out in a hydrophobic ionic liquid [bmim]PF6/water-solvent system (2 1) in the absence of any acid catalyst to afford the corresponding Michael adducts in high to quantitative yields with excellent 1,4-selectivity under mild and neutral conditions (Eq. 10.12). The use of ionic liquids helps to avoid the use of either acid or base catalysts... 

In a similar approach (Equation 53), the use of a resin-bound nitrile allowed access to the corresponding resin-bound amidoximes 274, which could be converted into 1,2,4-oxadiazoles 275 via acylation with either an appropriate acid halide/ anhydride in the presence of a base or a carboxylic acid in the presence of a coupling reagent followed by cyclization, where the latter step was performed by heating in pyridine or diglyme and could be accelerated by the use of a microwave oven. Cleavage from the resin was easily achieved by the use of TFA in dichloromethane <2000BML1431>. 

In addition, the mechanism of the zinc-catalyzed [3+2] dipolar cycloaddition of azides and nitriles to form tetrazoles was examined <2003JA9983>. The energy barrier of the reaction is lowered by 5-6kcalmol 1 which corresponds to an acceleration of 3 1 orders of magnitude. The source of the catalytic activity seems to be the coordination of the Lewis acidic zinc halide to the nitrile, which is supported by model calculations. Also AICI3 was examined as another Lewis acid which catalyzes the reaction to a greater extent than ZnBr2-... 

Sandmeyer s synthesis of aromatic nitriles is far more elegant than the removal of water from the ammonium salts of carboxylic acids, which latter reaction is also applicable to benzene derivatives. In particular, the former synthesis permits of the preparation of carboxylic acids via the nitriles, and so provides a complete substitute for Kolbe s synthesis (alkyl halide and potassium cyanide), which is inapplicable to aromatic compounds. The simplest example is the conversion of aniline into benzoic add. The converse transformation is Hofmann s degradation (benzamide aniline, see p. 152). 

Chromium(II) sulfate is a versatile reagent for the mild reduction of a variety of bonds. Thus aqueous dimethylformamide solutions of this reagent at room temperature couple benzylic halides, reduce aliphatic monohalides to alkanes, convert vicinal dihalides to olefins, convert geminal halides to carben-oids, reduce acetylenes to /raw5-olefins, and reduce a,j3-unsatu-rated esters, acids, and nitriles to the corresponding saturated derivatives. These conditions also reduce aldehydes to alcohols. The reduction of diethyl fumarate described in this preparation illustrates the mildness of the reaction conditions for the reduction of acetylenes and o ,j8-unsaturated esters, acids, and nitriles. 

This is a synthetically useful procedure because the a-halo acids are useful starting materials for other reactions. For example, the addition of hydroxide ion leads to the replacement of the halogen with an -OH group. The reaction with ammonia replaces the halogen with -NH2. The reaction with cyanide ion, CN , converts the halide to a nitrile. Figure 12-33 illustrates this reaction. 

Furazan- and furoxan-carboxylic acids are thermally and hydrolytically unstable decomposing to a-(hydroxyimino)nitriles, but their amide, ester, halide, and nitrile derivatives are readily accessible and all undergo the expected functional group interconversions. Dicyanofuroxan reacts with hydroxylamine to give the fused oxazino compound (63) and the pyridazino analogue (64) is similarly formed with hydrazine <82H(19)1063>. 

Amides are the least reactive of the carboxylic acid derivatives, and undergo acid or base hydrolysis to produce the parent carboxylic acids, and reduction to appropriate amines (see Section 4.3.10). They can also be dehydrated to nitriles, most commonly with boiling acetic anhydride, (AcO)20, sulphonyl chloride (SOCI2) or phosphoms oxychloride (POCI3) (see Section 4.3.18). Amines (with one less carbon) are prepared from amides by the treatment of halides (Br2 or CI2) in aqueous NaOH or KOH. This reaction is known as Hofmann rearrangement (see Section 4.3.10). 

The lithium derivatives of 1-substituted pyrroles and indoles provide another general route of access to 2-acyl pyrroles and indoles. The ketones can be obtained directly by reaction with aryl nitriles or acid halides but, at least for 1-benzenesulfonylindole, a two-step procedure involving reaction with an aldehyde followed by oxidation of the carbinol to the ketone is frequently more convenient (equation 179) (73JOC3324, 75JOC2613). This method is probably the most general route to 2-acylindoles, although many have also been prepared by direct Fischer cyclization (see Section 3.06.3.4.2). 

Organic Acids and Their Derivatives (Anhydrides. Nitriles, Ureas). Alkyleneamines react with acids, esters, acid anhydrides or acyl halides to form amidoamines and polyamides. Various diamides of EDA are prepared from the appropriate methyl ester or acid at moderate temperatures. 

Palladium acetate triarylphosphine complexes catalyze the addition of vinylic groups from vinylic halides to olefinic compounds in the presence of amines. Conjugated dienes are major products from 0,/3-unsaturated acids, esters, or nitriles while unactivated olefinic compounds react best in the presence of secondary amines where allylic amines are major products. The reactions are usually regio- and stereospecific. The synthetic utility of the reaction is illustrated with a wide variety of examples. 

This is an extremely efficient reagent and is rapid in its action. Phosphoric oxide is difficult to handle, channels badly, is expensive and tends to form a protective syrupy coating on its surface. A preliminary drying with anhydrous magnesium sulphate, etc., should precede its use. Phosphoric oxide is only employed when extreme desiccation is required. It may be used for hydrocarbons, ethers, alkyl and aryl halides and nitriles, but not for alcohols, acids, amines and ketones. 

Conversion of the halide to a nitrile followed by hydrolysis would also provide the carboxylic acid. This reaction is introduced in the next section (10.7d), so do not be concerned if it did not occur to you when initially working this problem. 

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