Alkyl halides alcohol synthesis

With respect to the synthesis from amines, C02 and alkyl halides, the synthesis of carbamates from amines, C02 and alcohols (Equation 6.10) is not only a phosgene-free, but also a halogen-free process. Moreover, water forms as the only reaction coproduct. Whilst these features make the route very attractive from the point of view of environmental sustainability, unfortunately the reaction suffers from both thermodynamic and kinetics limitations. Kinetic impediments make necessary the use of a suitable catalyst which, moreover, must be water-tolerant in order to avoid deactivation by cogenerated H20. Several strategies have been explored to overcome these restraints, based mainly on the use of alcohols in a dehydrated form (for instance, as ortho esters or ortho carbonates) [63], or on the use of dehydrating agents [64, 65]. 

Dehydrogenation of alkanes is not a practical laboratory synthesis for the vast majority of alkenes The principal methods by which alkenes are prepared m the labo ratory are two other (3 eliminations the dehydration of alcohols and the dehydrohalo genation of alkyl halides A discussion of these two methods makes up the remainder of this chapter... 

A reaction useful only with sub strates that do not undergo E2 elimi nation readily It is rarely used for the synthesis of alcohols since alkyl halides are normally prepared from alcohols... 

Both reactants m the Williamson ether synthesis usually originate m alcohol pre cursors Sodium and potassium alkoxides are prepared by reaction of an alcohol with the appropriate metal and alkyl halides are most commonly made from alcohols by reaction with a hydrogen halide (Section 4 7) thionyl chloride (Section 4 13) or phosphorus tri bromide (Section 4 13) Alternatively alkyl p toluenesulfonates may be used m place of alkyl halides alkyl p toluenesulfonates are also prepared from alcohols as their imme diate precursors (Section 8 14)... 

WILLIAMSON Ether synthesis Synthesis of ethers from alcoholates with alkyl halides... 

Sulfonate esters are especially useful substrates in nucleophilic substitution reactions used in synthesis. They have a high level of reactivity, and, unlike alkyl halides, they can be prepared from alcohols by reactions that do not directly involve bonds to the carbon atom imdeigoing substitution. The latter aspect is particularly important in cases in which the stereochemical and structural integrity of the reactant must be maintained. Sulfonate esters are usually prepared by reaction of an alcohol with a sulfonyl halide in the presence of pyridine ... 

Reactions of alcohols with hydrogen halides (Section 4.7) Alcohols react with hydrogen halides to yield alkyl halides. The reaction is useful as a synthesis of alkyl halides. The reactivity of hydrogen halides decreases in the order HI > HBr > HCI > HF. Alcohol reactivity decreases in the order tertiary > secondary > primary > methyl. 

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. 

The second element of general importance in the synthesis of a task-specific ionic liquid is the source of the functional group that is to be incorporated. Key to success here is the identification of a substrate containing two functional groups with different reactivities, one of which allows the attachment of the substrate to the core, and the other of which either is the functional group of interest or is modifiable to the group of interest. Functionalized alkyl halides are commonly used in this capacity, although the triflate esters of functionalized alcohols work as well. 

Thomson . Click Organic Interactive to use a web-based palette to design a synthesis of alkyl halides, beginning with alcohols. 

Alcohols undergo many reactions and can be converted into many other functional groups. They can be dehydrated to give alkenes by treatment with POCI3 and can be transformed into alkyl halides by treatment with PBr3 or SOCU- Furthermore, alcohols are weakly acidic (p/C, — 16-18) and react with strong bases and with alkali metals to form alkoxide anions, which are used frequently in organic synthesis. 

The most generally useful method of preparing ethers is by the Williamson ether synthesis, in which analkoxido ion reacts with a primary alkyl halide or tosylate in an S 2 reaction. As we saw earlier in Section 17.2, thealkoxide ion is normally prepared by reaction of an alcohol with a strong base such as sodium hydride, NaH. 

A useful variation of the Williamson synthesis involves silver oxide, Ag20, as a mild base rather than NaH. Under these conditions, the free alcohol reacts directly with alkyl halide, so there is no need to preform the metal alkoxide intermediate. Sugars react particularly well glucose, for example, reacts with excess iodomethane in the presence of Ag20 to generate a pentaether in 85% yield. 

C ( propyl) N phenylmtrone to N phenylmaleimide, 46, 96 semicarbazide hydrochloride to ami noacetone hydiochlonde, 46,1 tetraphenylcyclopentadienone to diphenyl acetylene, 46, 44 Alcohols, synthesis of equatorial, 47, 19 Aldehydes, aromatic, synthesis of, 47, 1 /3-chloro a,0 unsaturated, from ke tones and dimethylformamide-phosphorus oxy chloride, 46, 20 from alky 1 halides, 47, 97 from oxidation of alcohols with dimethyl sulfoxide, dicyclohexyl carbodumide, and pyndimum tnfluoroacetate, 47, 27 Alkylation, of 2 carbomethoxycyclo pentanone with benzyl chloride 45,7... 

Notable examples of general synthetic procedures in Volume 47 include the synthesis of aromatic aldehydes (from dichloro-methyl methyl ether), aliphatic aldehydes (from alkyl halides and trimethylamine oxide and by oxidation of alcohols using dimethyl sulfoxide, dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, and pyridinum trifluoro-acetate the latter method is particularly useful since the conditions are so mild), carbethoxycycloalkanones (from sodium hydride, diethyl carbonate, and the cycloalkanone), m-dialkylbenzenes (from the />-isomer by isomerization with hydrogen fluoride and boron trifluoride), and the deamination of amines (by conversion to the nitrosoamide and thermolysis to the ester). Other general methods are represented by the synthesis of 1 J-difluoroolefins (from sodium chlorodifluoroacetate, triphenyl phosphine, and an aldehyde or ketone), the nitration of aromatic rings (with ni-tronium tetrafluoroborate), the reductive methylation of aromatic nitro compounds (with formaldehyde and hydrogen), the synthesis of dialkyl ketones (from carboxylic acids and iron powder), and the preparation of 1-substituted cyclopropanols (from the condensation of a 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol derivative and ethyl-... 

This is not a new reaction. This is just an Sn2 reaction. We are simply using the alkoxide ion (ethoxide in this case) to function as the attacking nucleophile. But notice the net result of this reaction we have combined an alcohol and an alkyl halide to form an ether. This process has a special name. It is called the Williamson Ether Synthesis. This process relies on an Sn2 reaction as the main step, and therefore, we must be careful to obey the restrictions of Sn2 reactions. It is best to use a primary alkyl halide. Secondary alkyl halides cannot be used because elimination will predominate over substitution (as seen in Sections 10.9), and tertiary alkyl halides certainly cannot be used. 

ANSWER We are using a Williamson Ether synthesis, so we will need to start with an alcohol and an alkyl halide to form the ether linkage. Working backwards (retrosynthetic analysis), we get the following ... 

Ammonia has always been the starting material for the synthesis of aliphatic amines. Thus, processes have been developed for the condensation of NH3 with alkyl halides (Hoffman reaction) or with alcohols in the presence of various catalysts. The latter reachon, first discovered by Sabatier in 1909 [8, 9] is nowadays the main method of industrial production of light amines (e.g. methylamines 600 000 t/yr) [5]. 

As noted in the preceding section, one of the most general methods of synthesis of esters is by reaction of alcohols with an acyl chloride or other activated carboxylic acid derivative. Section 3.2.5 dealt with two other important methods, namely, reactions with diazoalkanes and reactions of carboxylate salts with alkyl halides or sulfonate esters. There is also the acid-catalyzed reaction of carboxylic acids with alcohols, which is called the Fischer esterification. 

Alternatively, the Sn2 nucleophilic substitution reaction between alcohols (phenols) and organic halides under basic conditions is the classical Williamson ether synthesis. Recently, it was found that water-soluble calix[n]arenes (n = 4, 6, 8) containing trimethylammonium groups on the upper rim (e.g., calix[4]arene 5.2) were inverse phase-transfer catalysts for alkylation of alcohols and phenols with alkyl halides in aqueous NaOH solution to give the corresponding alkylated products in good-to-high yields.56... 

The concept of performing microwave synthesis in room temperature ionic liquids (RTIL) as reaction media has been applied to several different organic transformations (Scheme 4.18), such as 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions [54], catalytic transfer hydrogenations [55], ring-closing metathesis [56], the conversion of alcohols to alkyl halides [57, 58], and several others [59-61],... 

Although the ability of microwaves (MW) to heat water and other polar materials has been known for half a century or more, it was not until 1986 that two groups of researchers independently reported the application of MW heating to organic synthesis. Gedye et al. [1] found that several organic reactions in polar solvents could be performed rapidly and conveniently in closed Teflon vessels in a domestic MW oven. These reactions included the hydrolysis of amides and esters to carboxylic acids, esterification of carboxylic acids with alcohols, oxidation of alkyl benzenes to aromatic carboxylic acids and the conversion of alkyl halides to ethers. 

Alcohols, conversion to alkyl halides with triphcnylphosphine-halogen adducts, 48, 53 synthesis of equatorial, 47, 19 Aldehydes, aromatic, synthesis of, 47, 1... 

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]. 

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