Alkenes Friedel-Crafts acylations

Like aldehydes, ketones can be prepared in a number of ways. The following sections detail some of the more common preparation methods the oxidation of secondary alcohols, the hydration of alkynes, the ozonolysis of alkenes, Friedel-Crafts acylation, the use of lithium dialkylcuprates, and the use of a Grignard reagent. 

Acylation of alkenes. Friedel-Crafts acylation (AlCl,) of alkenes suffers from lack of selectivity and low yields. The reaction is markedly improved by use of CHdj-Zn/Cu (3, 255) as catalyst. No cyclopropanation is observed. 

The synthesis of an alkylated aromatic compound 3 by reaction of an aromatic substrate 1 with an alkyl halide 2, catalyzed by a Lewis acid, is called the Friedel-Crafts alkylation This method is closely related to the Friedel-Crafts acylation. Instead of the alkyl halide, an alcohol or alkene can be used as reactant for the aromatic substrate under Friedel-Crafts conditions. The general principle is the intermediate formation of a carbenium ion species, which is capable of reacting as the electrophile in an electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction. 

In principle, the acylation of aliphatic compounds is analogous with the Friedel-Crafts acylation of aromatics in the sense that a hydrogen of the reacting alkanes, alkenes, or alkynes is replaced by an acyl group to yield ketones, unsaturated ketones, or conjugated acetylenic ketones, respectively. As discussed subsequently, however, the reactions are more complex. The acylation of aliphatics is an important but less frequently used and studied process.11-13... 

The Friedel-Crafts acylation of alkanes requires hydride abstraction, which can be induced by the acylium ion itself, to form the corresponding carbocation. This may undergo carbocationic rearrangements prior to a proton loss to form an alkene, which then reacts with the acylating agent. Similar to the acylation of alkenes, the product is an unsaturated ketone. The reaction is limited to alkanes that are prone to undergo hydride transfer. 

Hydroboration of a variety of alkenes and terminal alkynes with catecholborane in the fluorous solvent perfluoromethylcyclohexane was performed using fluorous analogs of the Wilkinson catalyst.135 136 Recycling of a rhodium-based alkene hydrosilylation catalyst was also successful.137 Activated aromatics and naphthalene showed satisfactory reactivity in Friedel-Crafts acylation with acid anhydrides in the presence of Yb tris(perfluoroalkanesulfonyl)methide catalysts.138... 

Attempts have recently been made to prepare solid acids by loading triflic acid into various inert oxides including silica,184 titania,185,186 and zirconia.187,188 Silica functionalized with anchored aminopropyl groups was also used to immobilize triflic acid.189 These new catalysts have been tested in a variety of organic transformations, such as alkane-alkene alkylation, Friedel-Crafts acylation, alkene dimerization, and acetalization. Silica nanoboxes prepared by dealumination of Na-X- and Ca-A-type zeolites were also loaded with triflic acid up to 32 wt%.190 The materials were thoroughly characterized but have not been tested as catalysts. 

Friedel-Crafts acylation of alkenes.9 C2H5A1C12 is an effective catalyst for acylation of alkenes with acyl chlorides or anhydrides in CH2C12. The reaction proceeds in higher yield than that previously reported with other Lewis acid catalysts (such as ZnCl2). The reaction provides a useful route to /J,y-enones. 

This Lewis acid-catalyzed electrophilic aromatic substitution allows the synthesis of alkylated products via the reaction of arenes with alkyl halides or alkenes. Since alkyl substituents activate the arene substrate, polyalkylation may occur. A valuable, two-step alternative is Friedel-Crafts Acylation followed by a carbonyl reduction. 

The Friedel-Crafts acylation of an alkene is a useful reaction which can lead to the formation of an unsaturated ketone (Scheme 3.13). 

Friedel-Crafts acylation of alkenes (Daizens-Nenitzescu reaction ) with unsaturated acylium ions generated from acid halides and Lewis acids constitutes a general synthesis of divinyl ketones. 

A significant advance in the use of Friedel-Crafts acylation of alkenes to prepare divinyl ketones was the employment of vinylsilanes to control the site of electrophilic substitution. Two groups have developed this approach to cyclopentenone annulation using slightly different strategies. In the method described by Magnus the reagent vinyltrimethylsilane (80) is used primarily as an ethylene equivalent (equation 44). The construction of bicyclic systems followed readily as Nazarov cyclization proceeded under the reaction conditions. Tin(lV) chloride was found to be the most effective promoter of the overall transformation. As expected the position of the double bond is thermodynamically controlled. 

The procedure described here is typical for the catalytic alkylation of aromatic ketones at the ortho position by alkenes. Aromatic ketones are readily available by Friedel-Crafts acylation and many other methods, and many of these ketones are suitable substrates for the present catalytic alkylation with alkenes affording the corresponding ortho-alkylated ketones. The present method provides a direct way to alkylate aromatics with olefins. Moreover, the C-C bond formation takes place with exclusive ortho selectivity, while mixtures of 0-, m-, p-isomers are usually obtained in the conventional Friedel-Crafts alkylation of aromatic compounds. 

New C—C bonds to arenes can be made by Friedel-Crafts reactions. Friedel-Crafts alkylations are traditionally executed with an alkyl chloride and catalytic AICI3 or an alkene and a strong Brpnsted or Lewis acid the key electrophilic species is a carbocation. Friedel-Crafts acylations are usually executed with an acyl chloride and an excess of AICI3 the key electrophilic species is an acylium ion (RC=0+). In the Bischler-Napieralski reaction, intramolecular attack on a nitrilium ion (RC=NR) occurs. 

The carbonium ion may also be formed from an alkene or alcohol. The carbonium ion formed from any of these starting materials is particularly prone to rearrangement reactions. These are called Wagner-Meerwein rearrangements, and severely limit the synthetic utility of this reaction to form simple alkyl substituted aromatic compounds. The tendency to rearrange may be reduced if the acyl derivative is used instead. This modification is called the Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction, and it has the further advantage that normally only monoacylation occurs, instead of the polyalkylation that happens using the simple Friedel-Crafts reaction. 

Acylations. Some alkenes undergo Friedel-Crafts acylation (e.g, with AcClr on a sacrificial A1 anode during electrolysis with Et NCl as electrolyte in dichloromethane. 

Significant advances resulting from the use of aluminosilicate solids were made during the last few years [3-6] and the first industrial application of zeolites in large scale Friedel-Crafts acylations was reported very recently [7]. However, most of the efforts devoted so far focused on the acylation of aromatic compounds. To the best of our knowledge, recourse to heterogeneous aluminosilicate catalysts for the acylation of alkenes has not yet been reported. Conventional methods for alkene acylation [8] involve the use of Br0nsted or Lewis acids such as sulfuric acid [9], boron trifluoride [10], zinc chloride [11], or... 

By comparison with the reactions with aromatic substrates, the absence of the driving force of rearo-matization by proton loss in electrophilic acylations of alkenes leads to competition between alternative pathways for the carbocation intermediate. In particular, capture of halide to form 3-halo ketones can become dominant. Hence, the aliphatic Friedel-Crafts acylation reaction need not necessarily result in substitution of an acyl residue for a hydrogen atom in an alkene, nor in the formation of unsaturated ketones. Indeed, within this broader scope, acylations of alkynes and some classes of alkanes can be synthetically useful. 

The regioselectivity of Friedel-Crafts acylations of unsymmetrical alkenes can often be predicted simply by consideration of the alternative carbenium ions formed in an initial electrophilic attack. Pathways via tertiary carbocations are generally preferred over those involving secondary ions. It is the subsequent fate of the initially generated ion that determines the products formed. As has been indicated already, elimination of a proton completes a substitution, although there is a predominance of nonconjugated unsaturated ketone formed, and treatment with base is required to form the conjugated product."... 

The acylation of alkenes gives rise to unsaturated ketones, which themselves may be further acylated under the same reaction conditions. This is particularly the case with the nonconjugated products that often are formed preferentially. The diacyl derivatives readily cyclize to form pyrylium salts when this can be accommodated, and the sequence represents one of the best strategies for the formation of pyrylium salts symmetrically substituted at the 2- and 6-positions. Friedel-Crafts acylation as a route to pyrylium salts has been reviewed, and compared with other synthetic strategies. ... 

Silicon has also been used to control the acylation of 1,3-dienes in a manner analogous to the situation with alkenes. Isoprenylation with 2-trimethylsilylmethylbuta-1,3-diene follows the course expected of acylation of the allylic silane. In these very rapid reactions, titanium tetrachloride seems to be one of the more efficient catalysts, as is aluminum chloride. The method was used in synthetic approaches to the terpenes ipsenol (14) and ipsdienol (15 Scheme 16). Of particular interest is the comparison of this iso-prenylating agent with isoprene itself. The examples of Friedel-Crafts acylations cited show the regio-control that can be achieved by suitable choice of substrate. 

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