Addition of Nucleophiles to Iminium Intermediates

The previous sections have dealt with stable C=N-I- functionality in aromatic rings as simple salts. Another class of iminium salt reactions can be found where the iminium salt is only an intermediate. The purpose of this section is to point out these reactions even though they do not show any striking differences in their reactivity from stable iminium salts. Such intermediates arise from a-chloroamines (133-135), isomerization of oxazolidines (136), reduction of a-aminoketones by the Clemmensen method (137-139), reductive alkylation by the Leuckart-Wallach (140-141) or Clarke-Eschweiler reaction (142), mercuric acetate oxidation of amines (46,93), and in reactions such as ketene with enamines (143). 

The reactions with nucleophiles include a wide variety such as amines, sulfides (133,135), diazomethane (111), and others. Of particular interest were the reactions of such intermediate iminium salts with 2,3-dimethyl-butadiene to give cyclic products as shown in the reaction of N-bromo-methylpiperidine and N-bromo- and N-chloromethyldiethylamine (134). 

It has been shown (140) that enamines react as well, if not better, under the conditions of the Leuckart-Wallach reaction to give amines than do ketones in the presence of ammonia, primary amines, or secondary amines. This implies that in the Leuckart-Wallach reaction the pathway may be through the enamine and, of course, the iminium salt. The Leuckart-Wallach reaction has been reviewed (141). Examples of enamines reduced under the conditions of the Leuckart-Wallach reaction are listed in Table 12. 

The reductive alkylation reaction under Clarke-Eschweiler conditions has been shown to proceed through an iminium intermediate (142). 

Clemmensen reductions of a-aminoketones that proceed with ring enlargement or ring contraction are presumed to proceed by an iminium intermediate. This reaction has been examined in detail (137-139), and an example is given in the conversion of (94) to an iminium intermediate (95), which is reduced to 96. 

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