Acyl chlorides.

As we begin now to explore the syntheses of carboxylic acid derivatives, we shall find that in many instances one acid derivative can be synthesized through a nucleophilic addition-elimination reaction of another. The order of reactivities that we have presented gives us a clue as to which syntheses are practical and which are not. In general, less reactive acyl compounds can be synthesized from more reactive ones, but the reverse is usually difficult and, when possible, requires special reagents. 

Since acyl chlorides are the most reactive of the acid derivatives, we must use special reagents to prepare them. We use other acid chlorides, the acid chlorides of inorganic acids We use PCI5 (an acid chloride of phosphoric acid), PCI3 (an acid chloride of phosphorous acid), and SOCI2 (an acid chloride of sulfurous acid). 

All of these reagents react with carboxylic acids to give acyl chlorides in good yield  

These reactions aU involve nucleophilic addition-elimination by a chloride ion on a highly reactive intermediate a protonated acyl chlorosulflte, a protonated acyl chlorophos-phite, or a protonated acyl chlorophosphate. These intermediates contain even better acyl leaving groups than the acyl chloride product. Thionyl chloride, for example, reacts with a carboxylic acid in the following way. 

Synthesis of Acyl Chlorides Using Thionyl Chloride 

---

This preparation illustrates the use of phosphorus pentachloride for the preparation of acyl chlorides in this case no difficulty is experienced in separating the 3,5-dinitrobenzoyl chloride from the phosphorus oxychloride formed simultaneously (c/. p. 240), because the former is readily isolated as a crystalline... 

TTie true ketones, in which the >CO group is in the side chain, the most common examples being acetophenone or methyl phenyl ketone, C HjCOCH, and benzophenone or diphenyl ketone, C HjCOC(Hj. These ketones are usually prepared by a modification of the Friedel-Crafts reaction, an aromatic hydrocarbon being treated with an acyl chloride (either aliphatic or aromatic) in the presence of aluminium chloride. Thus benzene reacts with acetyl chloride... 

With acid anhydrides, an acyl chloride is probably formed first ... 

By the interaction of an acyl chloride with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of alkali (H Oj + 2NaOH = Na Oj), for example ... 

In synthetic target molecules esters, lactones, amides, and lactams are the most common carboxylic acid derivatives. In order to synthesize them from carboxylic acids one has generally to produce an activated acid derivative, and an enormous variety of activating reagents is known, mostly developed for peptide syntheses (M. Bodanszky, 1976). In actual syntheses of complex esters and amides, however, only a small selection of these remedies is used, and we shall mention only generally applicable methods. The classic means of activating carboxyl groups arc the acyl azide method of Curtius and the acyl chloride method of Emil Fischer. 

In these cases the acyl azides formed have been used to prepare amines via Curtius rearrangement. The acyl chloride or azide intermediates can. however, also be reacted with amines or alcohols to form amides or esters. 

As a catalyst for ester and amide formation from acyl chlorides or anhydrides, 4-(di-methylamino)pyridine has been recommended (DMAP G. Hdfle, 1978). In the presence of this agent highly hindered hydroxyl groups, e.g. of steroids and carbohydrates, are acylated under mild conditions, which is difficult to achieve with other catalysts. 

Regioselectivity becomes important, if unsymmetric difunctional nitrogen components are used. In such cases two different reactions of the nitrogen nucleophile with the open-chain educt may be possible, one of which must be faster than the other. Hydrazone formation, for example, occurs more readily than hydrazinoLysis of an ester. In the second example, on the other hand, the amide is formed very rapidly from the acyl chloride, and only one cyclization product is observed. 

The carbonylation of aryl halides under mild conditions in the presence of CsF afford.s the acid fluoride 490 in good yields. Unlike acyl chlorides, acyl fluorides are inert toward Pd(0) catalyst[345]. Benzenesulfonyl chloride (491) undergoes desulfonylation-carbonylation to give the benzoate 492 in the presence of titanium tetralkoxide at 160 °C[346]. 

Acyi halides are reactive compounds and react with nucleophiles without a catalyst, but they are activated further by forming the acylpalladium intermediates, which undergo insertion and further transformations. The decarbonyla-tive reaction of acyl chlorides as pseudo-halides to form the aryipalladium is treated in Section 1,1.1.1. The reaction without decarbonylation is treated in this section. 

The Pd-catalyzed coupling of an acyl chloride with benzyl chloride to form the benzyl ketone 854 proceeds in the presence of an excess of Zn. In this reaction, benzyl chloride reacts with Zn to form benzylzinc, which undergoes transmetallation with acylpaliadium complex[729]. The reaction has been applied to the synthesis of riccardin B (855)[730]. 

The o -diketone 865 can be prepared by the coupling of the acylstannane 864 with acyl chlorides[738,739]. The a-keto ester 868 is prepared by the coupling of (a-methoxyvinyl)tributylstannane (866) with acyl chloride, followed by ozo-nization of the coupled product 867[740,741],... 

The Pd-catalyzed hydrogenoiysis of acyl chlorides with hydrogen to give aldehydes is called the Rosenmund reduction. Rosenmund reduction catalyzed by supported Pd is explained by the formation of an acylpalladium complex and its hydrogenolysis[744]. Aldehydes can be obtained using other hydrides. For example, the Pd-catalyzed reaction of acyl halides with tin hydride gives aldehydes[745]. This is the tin Form of Rosenmund reduction. Aldehydes are i ormed by the reaction of the thio esters 873 with hydrosilanes[746,747]. 

The acylstannanes 874 and 875 are prepared by the reaction of acyl chlorides with (MciSnl - The symmetrical 1,2-diketones 877 can be prepared by the reaction of an excess of benzoyl chloride with (EtjSn) . Half of the benzoyl chloride is converted into the benzoyltin reagent 876, which is then coupled with the remaining benzoyl chloride under a CO atmosphere to afford the a-diketone 877[748], Triethyl phosphite is used as a ligand. 

Acyl halides are intermediates of the carbonylations of alkenes and organic-halides. Decarbonylation of acyl halides as a reversible process of the carbo-nylation is possible with Pd catalyst. The decarbonylation of aliphatic acid chlorides proceeds with Pd(0) catalyst, such as Pd on carbon or PdC, at around 200 °C[109,753]. The product is a mixture of isomeric internal alkenes. For example, when decanoyl chloride is heated with PdCF at 200 C in a distillation flask, rapid evolution of CO and HCl stops after I h, during which time a mixture of nonene isomers was distilled off in a high yield. The decarbonylation of phenylpropionyl chloride (883) affords styrene (53%). In addition, l,5-diphenyl-l-penten-3-one (884) is obtained as a byproduct (10%). formed by the insertion of styrene into the acyl chloride. Formation of the latter supports the formation of acylpalladium species as an intermediate of the decarbonylation. Decarbonylation of the benzoyl chloride 885 can be carried out in good yields at 360 with Pd on carbon as a catalyst, yielding the aryl chloride 886[754]. 

The reduction of acyl halides with hydrogen to form aldehydes using Pd catalyst is well known as the Rosenmund reduction[756]. Some acyl chlorides give decarbonyiation products rather than aldehydes under Rosenmund conditions. The diene 890 was obtained by decarbonyiation in an attempted Rosenmund reduction of acetyloleanolic acid chloride (889)[757], Rosenmund reduction of sterically hindered acyl chlorides such as diphenyl- and tnpheny-lacetyl chloride (891) gives the decarbonylated products 892[758],... 

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],... 

These compounds are easily prepared from the appropriate 2-aminothiazole and acyl chloride (see Section III.2.D) or by general heterocydization methods. Acyl chlorides may be replaced by the corresponding anhydrides (471). Acids themselves may be used as acylating agents provided that the imidazole-triphenyl phosphine mixture is used as a catalyst (472). The Curtius degradation of 247 yields 2-acetamido-4-phenylthiazole (248) (Scheme 149) (473). 

Treating the iminothiazoles with acyl chlorides yields the aminium salts (415>, which are acylation and alkoxycarbonylation reagents (Scheme 237) (731). 

Since the exocyclic sulfur is more reactive in the ambident anion than in A-4-thiazoIine-2-thione. greater nucleophilic reactivity is to be expected. Thus a large variety of thioethers were prepared in good yields starting from alkylhalides (e.g.. Scheme 38 (54, 91, 111, 166-179). lactones (54, 160), aryl halides (54, 152. 180, 181), acyl chlorides (54. 149, 182-184). halothiazoles (54, 185-190), a-haloesters (149. 152. 177. 191-194), cyanuric chloride (151). fV.N-dimethylthiocarbamoyl chloride (151, 152. 195. 196), /3-chloroethyl ester of acrylic acid (197), (3-dimethylaminoethyl chloride (152). l,4-dichloro-2-butyne (152), 1,4-dichloro-2-butene (152), and 2-chloro-propionitrile (152). A general... 

Many compounds contain more than one functional group Prostaglandin Ei a hormone that regulates the relaxation of smooth muscles con tains two different kinds of carbonyl groups Classify each one (aldehyde ketone carboxylic acid ester amide acyl chloride or acid anhydride) Identify the most acidic proton in prostaglandin Ei and use Table 1 7 to estimate its pK ... 

Acyl cations form by coordination of an acyl chloride with aluminum chloride followed by cleavage of the carbon-chlonne bond... 

Acyl chlorides are readily available They are prepared from carboxylic acids by reaction with thionyl chloride... 

An important difference between Fnedel-Crafts alkylations and acylations is that acyl cations do not rearrange The acyl group of the acyl chloride or acid anhydride is transferred to the benzene ring unchanged The reason for this is that an acyl cation is so strongly stabilized by resonance that it is more stable than any ion that could con ceivably arise from it by a hydride or alkyl group shift... 

Very strongly deactivating 0 II —CCI —C=N —SO3H -CF3 —NO2 (acyl chloride) (cyano) (sulfonic acid) (trifluoromethyl) (nitro) Meta directing... 

Acyl cations (acylium ions) generated by treating an acyl chloride or acid anhydride with aluminum chloride attack aromatic rings to yield ketones The arene must be at least as reactive as a halobenzene Acyl cations are relatively stable and do not re arrange... 

Esters are also formed by the reaction of alcohols with acyl chlorides... 

The mechanisms of the Fischer esterification and the reactions of alcohols with acyl chlorides and acid anhydrides will be discussed m detail m Chapters 19 and 20 after some fundamental principles of carbonyl group reactivity have been developed For the present it is sufficient to point out that most of the reactions that convert alcohols to esters leave the C—O bond of the alcohol intact... 

The acyl group of the carboxylic acid acyl chloride or acid anhydride is trans ferred to the oxygen of the alcohol This fact is most clearly evident m the esterification of chiral alcohols where because none of the bonds to the chirality center is broken m the process retention of configuration is observed... 

The reaction of alcohols with acyl chlorides is analogous to their reaction with p toluenesulfonyl chloride described earlier (Section 8 14 and Table 15 2) In those reactions a p toluene sulfonate ester was formed by displacement of chloride from the sulfonyl group by the oxygen of the alcohol Carboxylic esters arise by displacement of chlonde from a carbonyl group by the alcohol oxygen... 

Esterification with acyl chlorides (Section 15 8) Acyl chlorides react with alcohols to give esters The reaction is usually carried out in the presence of pyridine... 

---