Alkyl halides, displacement reactions

Although proton abstraction reactions often occur with alkyl halides, displacement reactions are observed when the ylid is treated with organo-metallics, e.g., trimethylbromosilane, trimethylbromogermane, and tri-methylbromostannane 110>. 

The reaction often works poorly unless an excess of the nucleophile is used because the product thiol can undergo a second S 2 reaction with alkyl halide to give a sulfide as a by-product. To circumvent this problem, thiourea, (NH2J2C=S, is often used as the nucleophile in the preparation of a thiol from an alkyl halide. The reaction occurs by displacement of the halide ion to yield an intermediate alkyl isothiourea salt, which is hydrolyzed by subsequent reaction with aqueous base. 

Preparation of alkyl azides The azide ion (N3 ), a good nucleophile, can displace leaving groups from 1° and 2° alkyl halides. Alkyl azides are easily prepared from sodium or potassium azides and alkyl halides. The reaction mechanism resemhles the formation of nitrile. 

Although lower-order cuprate reagents will often engage in displacement reactions with alkyl halides, such reactions are usually slow. They are generally much less facile than 1,4-addition reactions to a,P-unsaturated enones or enoates. The latter processes are particularly facile when trimethylsilyl chloride is employed as an additive. It was Corey and Boaz10 who first recognised the accelerating effect of trimethylsilyl chloride on cuprate addition reactions to a,p-unsaturated carbonyls. Buszek therefore capitalised on Corey s earlier observations in his reaction of 10 with lithium dimethylcuprate to obtain 15. 

Neutral metal complexes can be sufficiently nucleophilic to effect halide displacement from alkyl halides. These reactions, not discussed in detail here, are mechanistically similar to reactions involving anionic complexes, e.g ... 

Nucleophilic attack The nucleophilic enolate attacks the alkyl halide, displacing the halide (a good leaving group) and forming the alkylation product by an 8 2 reaction. 

Alkylation involves treating ammonia or an amine with an alkyl halide. The amine, as a Lewis base with a non-bonding electron pair, is a good nucleophile and displaces the halide ion from the alkyl halide the reaction is nucleophilic substitution with a neutral nucleophile. SN2 reactions are common. Since alkylation tends to continue until four groups are bonded to the nitrogen, it has limited synthetic utility. 

In 1952 Perkow discovered a new type of rearrangement in which trialkyl phosphites react with a-aldehyde.6,7 This anomalous Arbuzov reaction, which resulted in the formation of dialkylvinylphosphates, subsequently became known as the Perkow reaction. 1 The reaction of trialkyl phosphites with alkyl halides (Arbuzov reaction) proceeded to yield dialkoxy alkyl phosphonates.8 The alkyl halide undergoes a nucleophilic displacement to yield the nonisolable alkyl trialkoxy phophonium halide.8 The halide can then attack an alkoxy group to give phosphonate ester and RX. An increase in temperature favors the Arbuzov reaction leading to phosphonates (Sn2 displacement). 

The C-X bond of alkyl halides and sulfonate esters is polarized such that the carbon has a positive dipole. Halides and sulfonate anions are good leaving groups. Nucleophiles attack primary and secondary alkyl halides, displacing the leaving group in what is known as aliphatic, bimolecular nucleophilic substitution, the Sn2 reaction. The 8 2 reaction follows second-order kinetics, has a transition state rather than an intermediate, and proceeds via back-side attack of the nucleophile on the halide and inversion of configuration. 

The reactions of alcohols with hydrogen halides to give alkyl halides (Chapter 4) are nucleophilic substitution reactions of alkyloxonium ions m which water is the leaving group Primary alcohols react by an 8 2 like displacement of water from the alkyloxonium ion by halide Sec ondary and tertiary alcohols give alkyloxonium ions which form carbo cations m an S l like process Rearrangements are possible with secondary alcohols and substitution takes place with predominant but not complete inversion of configuration... 

The Williamson ether synthesis (Sec tion 16 6) An alkoxide ion displaces a halide or similar leaving group in an Sn2 reaction The alkyl halide cannot be one that is prone to elimination and so this reaction is limited to methyl and primary alkyl halides There is no limitation on the alkoxide ion that can be used... 

Various sources of fluoride ion have been investigated, of which highly nucleophilic tetraalkylammonium fluorides ate the most effective Thuf, fluoro alkyl halides and N (fluoroalkyl)amines are efficiently synthesized by treatment of the corresponding trifluoromethanesulfonic esters with tetrabutylammonium fluoride trihydrate in aprotic solvents [5fl] (equation 34) The displacement reactions proceed quantitatively at room temperature within seconds, but tail with hydrogen fluoride-pyridine and give reasonable yields only with hydrogen fluo ride-alkylamine reagents... 

The haloalkane dehydrogenase is believed to act by using one of its side-chain carboxylates to displace chloride by an Sn2 mechanism. (Recall the reaction of carboxylate ions with alkyl halides from Table 8.1.)... 

In a similar vein, the amino group in sulfide 14 (obtained presumably by an aromatic displacement reaction) is first converted to the bromide by Sandmeyer reaction to give 25. Reduction of the nitro group (16) followed by cyclization gives the substituted phenothiazine. Alkylation with the familiar halide (3) affords dimethothiazine (18). ... 

Reactions in liquid ammonia (cf. Chapter 3, Section III) require a certain amount of care, since the solvent is low boiling (—33 ) and its fumes are noxious. Nevertheless, with reasonable caution, the preparation of an ammonia solution of sodium acetylide can be carried out as described. The reagent so prepared can then be directly used for displacements on alkyl halides or for additions to suitable carbonyl compounds. Examples of both reactions are given. 

Because they re negatively charged, enolate ions act as nucleophiles and undergo many of the reactions we ve already studied. For example, enolates react with primary alkyl halides in the SK2 reaction. The nucleophilic enolate ion displaces halide ion, and a new C-C bond forms ... 

Carboxylic acids can be prepared from nitriles by reaction with hot aqueous acid or base by a mechanism that we ll see in Section 20.9. Since nitriles themselves are usually made by Sts 2 reaction of a primary or secondary7 alkyl halide with CN , the two-step sequence of cyanide displacement followed by nitiile hydrolysis is a good way to make a carboxylic acid from an alkyl halide (RBr —> RC=N RC02H). 

Perhaps the single most important reaction of enolate ions is their alkylation by treatment with an alkyl halide or tosylate, thereby forming a new C-C bond and joining two smaller pieces into one larger molecule. Alkylation occurs when the nucleophilic enolate ion reacts with the electrophilic alkyl halide in an SN2 reaction and displaces the leaving group by backside attack. 

A carboxylic acid (not the salt) can be the nucleophile if F is present. Mesylates are readily displaced, for example, by benzoic acid/CsF. Dihalides have been converted to diesters by this method. A COOH group can be conveniently protected by reaction of its ion with a phenacyl bromide (ArCOCH2Br). The resulting ester is easily cleaved when desired with zinc and acetic acid. Dialkyl carbonates can be prepared without phosgene (see 10-21) by phase-transfer catalyzed treatment of primary alkyl halides with dry KHCO3 and K2C03- ... 

Sulphoxides can be used as phase transfer catalysts, for example, a-phosphoryl sulphoxides (Scheme 24) have been used as phase transfer catalysts in the two-phase alkylation of phenylacetonitrile or phenylacetone with alkyl halides and aqueous sodium hydroxide. However, they are considered to be inefficient catalysts for simple displacement reactions. ... 

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