Alcohols halo esters

A large variety of methods is applicable to the formation of isolated double bonds. This permits selection of reagents compatible with other functionality present. Alcohol dehydration, ester elimination and other nonreductive p eliminations are the most common methods. Reductive elimination of halo-hydrins, vic-dihalides, etc., and of a variety of ketone derivatives has also been used. 

Usually, after hydrolysis, the alcohol is the product, but sometimes (especially with aryl aldehydes) elimination follows directly and the product is an olefin. By the use of Bu,P along with Zn, the olefin can be made the main product,454 making this an alternative to the Wittig reaction (6-47). Since Grignard reagents cannot be formed from a-halo esters, the method is quite useful, though there are competing reactions and yields are sometimes low. A similar reaction (called the Blaise reaction) has been carried out on nitriles 455... 

Indium-mediated Barbier-type reaction of glyoxal monoacetal with bromomethyl acrylonitrile or bromomethyl-acrylate gives a masked a-hydroxy aldehyde (Equation (48)).91 The reaction of 3-bromo-2-chloro-l-propene, an aldehyde, and indium in water gives the corresponding homoallyl alcohol, which upon ozonolysis in methanol furnishes a / -hydroxy ester. The overall reaction is equivalent to the Reformatsky reaction, which cannot be realized by a direct indium-mediated reaction of an ct-halo ester with an aldehyde in water (Scheme 59).235... 

A variety of bases have been used to effect dehydrohalogenation of halo acids and halo esters. a-Bromo esters or a-bromo acyl halides give a,/3 lefinic acids with alcoholic potassium hydroxide. Yields are poor with the higher-molecular-weigbt a-bromo acids other products are those formed by substitution of the halogen atom by the basic anions. 

Various derivatives of fiuan and pyran are cleaved to give open-chain di- and poly-functional compounds. Fission to give dihalides, halo alcohols, and halo esters is described elsewhere (method 34). Hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis reactions lead to hydroxy compounds, as in the preparation of 5-hydroxy-2-pentanone and 1,4-pentanediol from methyl-... 

The interaction of alkyl halides, preferably iodides or bromides, with hexamine in chloroform or alcohol solution forms quaternary ammonium salts which on heating with hydrochloric acid are readily converted to primary amines. The procedure has been employed successfully in the reaction of primary, but not secondary or tertiary, aliphatic halides, certain benzyl halides, halo ketones, halo acids, and halo esters. The yields range from 40% to 85%. 

RC = CCH,X — RCX = C==CH,. /S.y- and 7,S-Acetylenic alcohols can be transformed to the halides in better yields by an alternative procedure, which consists in their esterification with p-toluenesulfonyl chloride and subsequent cleavage of the ester by the action of sodium iodide, lithium chloride, or calcium bromide in an appropriate solvent (60-90%). Halo ethers are prepared by the action of phosphorus tribromide on hydroxy ethers, as in the preparation of /3-ethoxyethyl bromide (66%). In a similar manner, /3-halo esters have been prepared without appreciable dehydration of the /3-hydroxy ester (40-60%). The reaction of cyanohydrins leads to a-halo nitriles. Treatment of 2-nitro-l-propanol with phosphorus pentachloride gives l-chloro-2-nitropropane (47%). ... 

The use of organic halogen compounds as the starting products for the synthesis of other organic chemicals is too immense a field to do more than indicate some of the commercial applications. In his book I4S) on the chemistry of petroleum derivatives, Ellis includes a chapter on the production of alcohols and esters from alkyl halides, and also one on miscellaneous reactions of halo-paraffins and cycloparaffins. The manufacture of amyl alcohols and related products from the chlorides has been well covered 14 ) 1 )-A two-step process for the synthesis of cyclopropane by chlorinating propane from natural gas and dechlorinating with zinc dust was devised in 1936 152). A critical review of syntheses from l,3-dichloro-2-butene was published in Russia in 1950 (1-54). The products obtainable from the allylic chlorides are covered in a number of articles 14If 14 157). 

New fatty compounds have been synthesized in high yields using radical addition reactions. Alkyl 2-haloalkanoates have been added to the double bond of unsaturated fatty compounds to give y-lactones. 2-Haloalkanenitriles have been added as well to give 4- haloalkanenitriles. 2-Halo fatty compounds, e.g., methyl 2-bromopalmitate, have been added to alkenes, allyl alcohol, vinyl esters, and trimethylsilyl enol ethers to give interesting branched and functionalized compounds. Key features of the re-... 

In yeast, the reduction of P-ketoesters is carried out by dehydrogenase complexes that can individually afford either the (l)- or the (d)configuration (36e). Therefore inhibition of the (L)cnzyme will provide (D)-products and vice versa. Nakamura et al. [52] reported that addition of allyl alcohol or a,P-unsaturated carbonyls resulted in the formation of (D)-hydroxyesters 137, thereby inhibiting the (L)-enzyme. To shift the product formation toward the t-side 138 a-halo esters can be used. Thus, the best results were obtained with a-chloroacetates. In this way, the additive serves as a switch between the formation of the enantiomeric P-hydroxy esters 137 and 138. 

It is frequently advisable in the routine examination of an ester, and before any derivatives are considered, to determine the saponification equivalent of the ester. In order to ensure that complete hydrolysis takes place in a comparatively short time, the quantitative saponi fication is conducted with a standardised alcoholic solution of caustic alkali—preferably potassium hydroxide since the potassium salts of organic acids are usuaUy more soluble than the sodium salts. A knowledge of the b.p. and the saponification equivalent of the unknown ester would provide the basis for a fairly accurate approximation of the size of the ester molecule. It must, however, be borne in mind that certain structures may effect the values of the equivalent thus aliphatic halo genated esters may consume alkali because of hydrolysis of part of the halogen during the determination, nitro esters may be reduced by the alkaline hydrolysis medium, etc. 

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