Williamson synthesis aliphatic ethers

The application of phase-transfer catalysis to the Williamson synthesis of ethers has been exploited widely and is far superior to any classical method for the synthesis of aliphatic ethers. Probably the first example of the use of a quaternary ammonium salt to promote a nucleophilic substitution reaction is the formation of a benzyl ether using a stoichiometric amount of tetraethylammonium hydroxide [1]. Starks mentions the potential value of the quaternary ammonium catalyst for Williamson synthesis of ethers [2] and its versatility in the synthesis of methyl ethers and other alkyl ethers was soon established [3-5]. The procedure has considerable advantages over the classical Williamson synthesis both in reaction time and yields and is certainly more convenient than the use of diazomethane for the preparation of methyl ethers. Under liquidrliquid two-phase conditions, tertiary and secondary alcohols react less readily than do primary alcohols, and secondary alkyl halides tend to be ineffective. However, reactions which one might expect to be sterically inhibited are successful under phase-transfer catalytic conditions [e.g. 6]. Microwave irradiation and solidrliquid phase-transfer catalytic conditions reduce reaction times considerably [7]. 

Selected examples of the catalysed Williamson synthesis of aliphatic ethers... 

Aliphatic Ethers. The aliphatic ethers used in industry are made usually by the action of sulfuric acid on an alcohol. Ethyl ether and isopropyl ether are thus prepared. However, more ethyl ether than the market usually absorbs is obtained as a by-product of the hydration of ethylene to alcohol. Alkyl halides react on a hydroxyl group either directly, in the presence of an alkali, or after the hydrogen of a hydroxyl group has been replaced by sodium. This is the Williamson synthesis which is particularly applicable to making mixed ethers ... 

Most acid-labile benzyl alcohol linkers suitable for the attachment of carboxylic acids to insoluble supports can also be used to attach aliphatic or aromatic alcohols as ethers. The attachment of alcohols as ethers is less easily accomplished than esterification, and might require the use of strong bases (Williamson ether synthesis [395,552,553]) or acids. These harsh reaction conditions limit the range of additional functional groups that may be present in the alcohol. Some suitable etherification strategies are outlined in Figure 3.31. Etherifications are treated in detail in Section 7.2. 

Phenols attached to insoluble supports can be etherified either by treatment with alkyl halides and a base (Williamson ether synthesis) or by treatment with primary or secondary aliphatic alcohols, a phosphine, and an oxidant (typically DEAD Mitsu-nobu reaction). The second methodology is generally preferred, because more alcohols than alkyl halides are commercially available, and because Mitsunobu etherifications proceed quickly at room temperature with high chemoselectivity, as illustrated by Entry 3 in Table 7.11. Thus, neither amines nor C,H-acidic compounds are usually alkylated under Mitsunobu conditions as efficiently as phenols. The reaction proceeds smoothly with both electron-rich and electron-poor phenols. Both primary and secondary aliphatic alcohols can be used to O-alkylate phenols, but variable results have been reported with 2-(Boc-amino)ethanols [146,147]. 

Synthesis of Phenyl Ethers A phenol (aromatic alcohol) can be used as the alkoxide fragment, but not the halide fragment, for the Williamson ether synthesis. Phenols are more acidic than aliphatic alcohols (Section 10-6), and sodium hydroxide is sufficiently basic to form the phenoxide ion. As with other alkoxides, the electrophile should have an unhindered primary alkyl group and a good leaving group. 

Much of the chemistry of phenols is like that of aliphatic alcohols. For example, phenols can be acylated to give esters, and phenoxide ions can serve as nucleophiles in the Williamson ether synthesis (Section 14-5). Formation of phenoxide ions is particularly easy because phenols are more acidic than water aqueous sodium hydroxide deproto-nates phenols to give phenoxide ions. 

Methyl ethers are usually prepared by some variant of the Williamson ether synthesis in which an alcohol reacts with either iodomethane, dimethyl sulfate, or methyl triflate (HAZARD) in the presence of a suitable base. A word of caution dimethyl sulfate and methyl triflate, tike all powerful alkylating agents, are potentially carcinogenic and therefore should only be handled in a well-ventilated fume hood. For the 0-methylation of phenols (pKa 10) a comparatively weak base such as potassium carbonate in conjunction with dimethyl sulfate is sufficient,193 whereas simple aliphatic alcohols require stronger bases such as sodium hydride [Scheme 4.111]22 or lithium hexamethyldisilazide [Scheme 4.112].203 The latter transformation is notable for the fact that 0-methyiation was accomplished without competing elimination. 

Whereas haloalkanes are widely used for the electrophilic alkylation of a broad variety of nucleophiles, perfluoroalkyl bromides or iodides do not act analogously as electrophilic perfluoroalkylation reagents (Figure 2.7). For example, the reaction of perfluoroalkyl iodides with aliphatic alcoholates does not yield the expected alkyl perfluoroalkyl ether (analogous to the Williamson ether synthesis) but mostly the hydrofluorocarbon resulting from the reduction of the iodide [1]. In contrast, perfluoroalkyl iodides and bromides have been used as preparatively useful electrophilic iodination or bromination reagents [2]. 

---