Schiff bases from aldehydes

In Tables VI, XI, XV, and XVII are compiled a number of styryl derivatives of oxazoles and oxadiazoles that have been prepared from SchifFs bases of heteroaromatic aldehydes. 

Secondary amines can be prepared from the primary amine and carbonyl compounds by way of the reduction of the derived Schiff bases, with or without the isolation of these intermediates. This procedure represents one aspect of the general method of reductive alkylation discussed in Section 5.16.3, p. 776. With aromatic primary amines and aromatic aldehydes the Schiff bases are usually readily isolable in the crystalline state and can then be subsequently subjected to a suitable reduction procedure, often by hydrogenation over a Raney nickel catalyst at moderate temperatures and pressures. A convenient procedure, which is illustrated in Expt 6.58, uses sodium borohydride in methanol, a reagent which owing to its selective reducing properties (Section 5.4.1, p. 519) does not affect other reducible functional groups (particularly the nitro group) which may be present in the Schiff base contrast the use of sodium borohydride in the presence of palladium-on-carbon, p. 894. 

Cobalt complexes derived from Schiff bases 388 catalyzed the hydroxyacylation of electron-deficient alkenes (Fig. 90) [431, 432]. Thus, methyl acrylate 387 reacted with aliphatic aldehydes 386 in the presence of 5 mol% of the in situ generated catalyst, molecular oxygen, and acetic anhydride to 2-acyloxy-4-oxoesters 389 in 56-77% yield. When acetic anhydride was omitted, the yields of products were lower and mixtures of the free hydroxy compounds and acylated compounds resulting from Tishchenko reactions were obtained. Electron-rich alkenes did not undergo the transformation, since the addition of the acyl radical is much slower. The acylcobalt species inserts oxygen instead and acts as an epoxidation catalyst. 

Another classical approach is the Pictet-Spengler isoquinoline synthesis. 66c x is variation generates an iminium salt from an amine and an aldehyde (a Schiff base), which cyclizes with an aromatic ring to complete the reaction. A synthetic example is taken from Liang s synthesis of chrysotricine.1 2 xhg reaction of amine 279 with aldehyde 280, in the presence of trifluoroacetic acid, initially gave an iminium salt (281). Subsequent Friedel-Crafts cyclization of the iminium salt gave the isoquinoline product (282 in 70% yield). The amino groups of amino acid derivatives also serve as excellent partners in this reaction.1 3... 

Epimerization of diastereoisomers of related complexes [M(CO)2(LL )( -C5H5)] (M = Mo or W) where LL is a bidentate ligand derived from Schiff bases of benz-aldehyde (5) follows first-order kinetics with the activation parameters given in Table 2. In these cases the epimerization process, as with pyridine carbaldehyde... 

Most fabric softeners have a pH of about 3.5, which limits to some extent the materials that can be used in the fragrances. For example, acetals carmot be used because they break down and cause malodor problems in addition, there is the likelihood of discoloration from Schiff bases (imines formed from aldehydes and methyl anthrarulate), certain natural extracts (e.g., oakmosses) and a few specialty chemicals. Testing of Iragrance materials in product bases is done under accelerated aging conditions (e.g., 40°C in plastic bottles) to check for odor stability and discoloration. 

Doring et al. developed a CUCI2 -catalyzed synthesis of imidazo[l,5- ]pyridines, imidazo[l,5- ]imidazoles, and imidazo[5,l- ]isoquinolines starting from Schiff base which could be prepared readily from the appropriate aldehydes and primary amines [97] (Scheme 8.56). 

Pd-cataly2ed reactions of butadiene are different from those catalyzed by other transition metal complexes. Unlike Ni(0) catalysts, neither the well known cyclodimerization nor cyclotrimerization to form COD or CDT[1,2] takes place with Pd(0) catalysts. Pd(0) complexes catalyze two important reactions of conjugated dienes[3,4]. The first type is linear dimerization. The most characteristic and useful reaction of butadiene catalyzed by Pd(0) is dimerization with incorporation of nucleophiles. The bis-rr-allylpalladium complex 3 is believed to be an intermediate of 1,3,7-octatriene (7j and telomers 5 and 6[5,6]. The complex 3 is the resonance form of 2,5-divinylpalladacyclopentane (1) and pallada-3,7-cyclononadiene (2) formed by the oxidative cyclization of butadiene. The second reaction characteristic of Pd is the co-cyclization of butadiene with C = 0 bonds of aldehydes[7-9] and CO jlO] and C = N bonds of Schiff bases[ll] and isocyanate[12] to form the six-membered heterocyclic compounds 9 with two vinyl groups. The cyclization is explained by the insertion of these unsaturated bonds into the complex 1 to generate 8 and its reductive elimination to give 9. 

Primary aromatic amines react with aldehydes to form Schiff bases. Schiff bases formed from the reaction of lower aUphatic aldehydes, such as formaldehyde and acetaldehyde, with primary aromatic amines are often unstable and polymerize readily. Aniline reacts with formaldehyde in aqueous acid solutions to yield mixtures of a crystalline trimer of the Schiff base, methylenedianilines, and polymers. Reaction of aniline hydrochloride and formaldehyde also yields polymeric products and under certain conditions, the predominant product is 4,4 -methylenedianiline [101 -77-9] (26), an important intermediate for 4,4 -methylenebis(phenyhsocyanate) [101-68-8], or MDI (see Amines, aromatic amines, l thylenedianiline). 

A variation involves the reaction of benzylamines with glyoxal hemiacetal (168). Cyclization of the intermediate (35) with sulfuric acid produces the same isoquinoline as that obtained from the Schiff base derived from an aromatic aldehyde and aminoacetal. This method has proved especially useful for the synthesis of 1-substituted isoquinolines. 

Common impurities found in aldehydes are the corresponding alcohols, aldols and water from selfcondensation, and the corresponding acids formed by autoxidation. Acids can be removed by shaking with aqueous 10% sodium bicarbonate solution. The organic liquid is then washed with water. It is dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate or magnesium sulfate and then fractionally distilled. Water soluble aldehydes must be dissolved in a suitable solvent such as diethyl ether before being washed in this way. Further purification can be effected via the bisulfite derivative (see pp. 57 and 59) or the Schiff base formed with aniline or benzidine. Solid aldehydes can be dissolved in diethyl ether and purified as above. Alternatively, they can be steam distilled, then sublimed and crystallised from toluene or petroleum ether. 

As has been outlined for the Strecker synthesis, the Ugi reaction also proceeds via initial formation of a Schiff base from an aldehyde and an amine. The imine intermediate is attacked by the isocyanidc, a process which is supported by protonation of the imine by the carboxylic acid component. The resulting a-amino nitrilium intermediate is immediately trapped by the carboxylate to give an 6>-acyl imidiate. All steps up to this stage are reversible. Only the final oxygen to nitrogen acyl shift is irreversible and delivers the A-acyl-a-amino amide as the thermodynamically favored product which contains two amide groups. 

With Aromatic Aldehydes. To a solution of 10.3 g (20 mmol) of 2,3,4,6-tetra O-pivaloyl-/ -i>galactopyra-nosylaminc in 50 rnL of /-PrOI 1 or heptane are added 30 mmol of the corresponding aromatic aldehyde and 30 drops of acetic acid. After 30 min to 2 h, the Schiff base precipitates from the /-PrOH solution. When the reaction is carried out in heptane, 2 g of Na2S04 or 3 g of 3 A molecular sieves are added after 15 min, and the mixture is filtered. On cooling to 0 °C the Schiff base crystallizes from the heptane solution. The aldimines are collected by filtration and rapidly washed with ice-cold /-PrOH or pentane, respectively. Generally, they are pure enough for further transformations. 

L = tridentate Schiff base from pyridine-2-aldehyde and N,N,2,2-tetramethylpropane-l,3-diamine. 

Aldehyde-containing macromolecules will react spontaneously with hydrazide compounds to form hydrazone linkages. The hydrazone bond is a form of Schiff base that is more stable than the Schiff base formed from the interaction of an aldehyde and an amine. The hydrazone, however, may be reduced and further stabilized by the same reductants utilized for reductive amination purposes (Chapter 3, Section 4.8). The addition of sodium cyanoborohydride to a hydrazide-aldehyde reaction drives the equilibrium toward formation of a stable covalent complex. Mallia (1992) found that adipic acid dihydrazide derivatization of periodate-oxidized dextran (containing multiple formyl functionalities) proceeds with much greater yield when sodium cyanoborohydride is present. 

Derivatives of hydrazine, especially the hydrazide compounds formed from carboxylate groups, can react specifically with aldehyde or ketone functional groups in target molecules. Reaction with either group creates a hydrazone linkage (Reaction 44)—a type of Schiff base. This bond is relatively stable if it is formed with a ketone, but somewhat labile if the reaction is with an aldehyde group. However, the reaction rate of hydrazine derivatives with aldehydes typically is faster than the rate with ketones. Hydrazone formation with aldehydes, however, results in much more stable bonds than the easily reversible Schiff base interaction of an amine with an aldehyde. To further stabilize the bond between a hydrazide and an aldehyde, the hydrazone may be reacted with sodium cyanoborohydride to reduce the double bond and form a secure covalent linkage. 

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