Ketones alkylation reactions

Claisen-Schmidt reaction. Aromatic aldehydes condense with aliphatic or mixed alkyl-aryl ketones in the presence of aqueous alkali to form ap-unsaturated ketones ... 

Isopropylnaphthalenes produced by alkylation of naphthalene with propjdene have gained commercial importance as chemical intermediates, eg, 2-isopropylnaphthalene [2027-17-OJ, and as multipurpose solvents, eg, mixed isopropylnaphthalenes. Alkylation of naphthalene with alkyl haUdes (except methyl hahdes), acid chlorides, and acid anhydrides proceeds in the presence of anhydrous aluminum chloride by Friedel-Crafts reactions (qv). The products are alkylnaphthalenes or alkyl naphthyl ketones, respectively (see Alkylation). 

Method 3. Reductive alkylation reaction of an amine or ammonia and hydrogen with an aldehyde or ketone over a hydrogenation catalyst. 

The alkylation reactions of enolate anions of both ketones and esters have been extensively utilized in synthesis. Both very stable enolates, such as those derived from (i-ketoesters, / -diketones, and malonate esters, as well as less stable enolates of monofunctional ketones, esters, nitriles, etc., are reactive. Many aspects of the relationships between reactivity, stereochemistry, and mechanism have been clarified. A starting point for the discussion of these reactions is the structure of the enolates. Because of the delocalized nature of enolates, an electrophile can attack either at oxygen or at carbon. 

As first demonstrated by Stork,the metal enolate formed by metal-ammoni reduction of a conjugated enone or a ketol acetate can be alkylated in liquic ammonia. The reductive alkylation reaction is synthetically useful since ii permits alkylation of a ketone at the a-position other than the one at whicf thermodynamically controlled enolate salt formation occurs. Direct methyl-ation of 5a-androstan-17-ol-3-one occurs at C-2 whereas reductive methyl-... 

Anotheranalogy between the enolate anions derived from a,)3-unsatura ted ketones and the corresponding enamines is encountered in their alkylation reactions (57), which proceed by the kinetically controlled attack at the a-carbon atom. For instance, Stork and Birnbaum (51) found that the alkylation of the morpholine enamine of /J -octalone-2 (117) with methyl iodide gave the C-1 methylated derivative (118). 

One of the advantages of the enamine alkylation reaction over direct alkylation of the ketone under the influenee of strong base is that the major product is the monoalkylated derivative 29,32). When dialkylation is observed, it occurs at the least substituted carbon in contrast to alkylation with base, where the a-disubstituted product is formed. Dialkylation becomes the predominant reaction when a strong organic base is added and an excess of alkyl halide is used (29). Thus 1-N-pyrrolidino-l-cyclo-hexene (28) on treatment with two moles of allyl bromide in the presence of ethyl dicyclohexylamine (a strong organic base which is not alkylated under the reaction conditions) gave a 95 % yield of 2,6-diallylcyclohexanone (29). 

Reaction of organometallic compounds with enamine salts have been successfully used for the synthesis of some natural products (256). Thus reaction of the immonium salt of 0-alkylated enamino ketone 122 with isobutyllithium affords the compound 169. 

The illumination of enamines as general activa ting derivatives of ketones in alkylation reactions also threw light on their special usefulness for controlling alkylations (3), particularly in the formation of monosubstituted cyclohexanones. Thus 2-methylcyclohexanone could be obtained in 80% yield from the pyrrolidine enamine of cyclohexanone, and further alkylation, which required more drastic conditions, gave only 2,6-dimethylcyclo-hexanone (1,237). 

The side-chain cyanoethylation of alkyl thienyl ketones with acrylonitrile has been studied " and used for the preparation of 8-oxonitriles and S-oxoacids. Aminomethylation (Mannich reaction) of 2-acetylthiophene followed by steam distillation yielded 50% of 2-thienyl vinyl ketone, and has also been used for the synthesis of compounds of biological interest. ... 

The Schmidt reaction of ketones works best with aliphatic and alicyclic ketones alkyl aryl ketones and diaryl ketones are considerably less reactive. The reaction is only seldom applied to aldehydes as starting materials. The hydrazoic acid used as reagent is usually prepared in situ by treatment of sodium azide with sulfuric acid. Hydrazoic acid is highly toxic, and can detonate upon contact with hot laboratory equipment. 

A. number of rutro compounds used m ndturdl product synthesis have been prepared by the n of alkyl halides Some recent examples are summarized m Table 2 4 fi-Nitro carbonyl compounds are important for synthesis of natural products The reaction of alkyl vinyl ketones with sodium nitrite and acetic acid in THF gives thecorrespondmgfi-nitro carbonyl compounds in42-82% ""rhis method is better for the preparation of fi-nitro carbonyl compounds than the nitration of the corresponclmg halides... 

Ketones, esters, and nitriles can all be alkylated using LDA or related dialkyl-amide bases in THE. Aldehydes, however, rarely give high yields of pure products because their enolate ions undergo carbonyl condensation reactions instead of alkylation. (We ll study this condensation reaction in the next chapter.) Some specific examples of alkylation reactions are shown. 

An alkylation reaction is used to introduce a methyl or primary alkyl group onto the a position of a ketone, ester, or nitrile by S 2 reaction of an enolate ion with an alkyl halide. Thus, we need to look at the target molecule and identify any methyl or primary alkyl groups attached to an a carbon. In the present instance, the target has an a methyl group, which might be introduced by alkylation of an ester enolate ion with iodomethane. 

There is no simple answer to this question, but the exact experimental conditions usually have much to do with the result. Alpha-substitution reactions require a full equivalent of strong base and are normally carried out so that the carbonyl compound is rapidly and completely converted into its enolate ion at a low temperature. An electrophile is then added rapidly to ensure that the reactive enolate ion is quenched quickly. In a ketone alkylation reaction, for instance, we might use 1 equivalent of lithium diisopropylamide (LDA) in lelrahydrofuran solution at -78 °C. Rapid and complete generation of the ketone enolate ion would occur, and no unreacled ketone would be left so that no condensation reaction could take place. We would then immediately add an alkyl halide to complete the alkylation reaction. 

The rate of oxidation/reduction of radicals is strongly dependent on radical structure. Transition metal reductants (e.g. TiMt) show selectivity for electrophilic radicals (e.g. those derived by tail addition to acrylic monomers or alkyl vinyl ketones - Scheme 3.89) >7y while oxidants (CuM, Fe,M) show selectivity for nucleophilic radicals (e.g. those derived from addition to S - Scheme 3,90).18 A consequence of this specificity is that the various products from the reaction of an initiating radical with monomers will not all be trapped with equal efficiency and complex mixtures can arise. 

For the synthesis of quinolines and isoquinolines the classical approaches are the Skraup and the Bischler-Napieralski reactions. The reaction of substituted anilines with different carbonyl compounds in acid medium has been reported to be accelerated under microwave irradiation to give differently substituted quinolines and dihydro quinolines [137]. Although the yields are much better and the conditions are milder than under conventional heating, the acidity of the medium may prevent the preparation of acid-sensitive compounds. Thus, alternative approaches have been investigated. Substituted anilines and alkyl vinyl ketones reacted under microwave irradiation on the surface of sihca gel doped with InCU without solvent [137] to furnish good yields of quinohnes 213 (Scheme 77). 

The radical alkylation of ketones is achieved by their conversion into the desired N-silyloxy enamines 81 (Scheme 13). The reaction of 81 with diethyl bromomalonate in the presence of EtsB (0.5 equiv) in benzene was performed in open air and stirred at room temperature for 3h. With nitro compounds it is achieved by their conversion into the desired ]V-bis(silyloxy)enamines (82) (Scheme 13). When the reaction is carried out with 82 and alkyl iodides with an electron-withdrawing substituent at the a-position, using V-70 as radical initiator (2,2 -azobis(4-methoxy-2,4-dimethylvaleronitrile)), it underwent a clean radical alkylation reaction to yield an oxime ether. Successful radical alkylation of... 

The alkylation of activated halogen compounds is one of several reactions of trialkylboranes developed by Brown (see also 15-16,15-25,18-31-18-40, etc.). These compounds are extremely versatile and can be used for the preparation of many types of compounds. In this reaction, for example, an alkene (through the BR3 prepared from it) can be coupled to a ketone, a nitrile, a carboxylic ester, or a sulfonyl derivative. Note that this is still another indirect way to alkylate a ketone (see 10-105) or a carboxylic acid (see 10-106), and provides an additional alternative to the malonic ester and acetoacetic ester syntheses (10-104). 

Alkyl halides and tosylates react with Na2pe(CO)4 in the presence of ethylene to give alkyl ethyl ketones. The reaction was not successful for higher alkenes, except that where the double bond and the tosylate group are in the same molecule, five- and six-membered rings can be closed. ... 

Aldehydes and ketones have been converted to sulfides by treatment with thiols and pyridine-borane, RCOR -I- R"SH —+ RR CHSR", in a reductive alkylation reaction, analogous to 16-6. 

With alkyl aryl ketones, it is the aryl group that generally migrates to the nitrogen, except when the alkyl group is bulky. The reaction has been applied to a few aldehydes, but rarely. With aldehydes the product is usually the nitrile (16-21). Even with ketones, conversion to the nitrile is often a side reaction, especially with the type of ketone that gives 17-31. A useful variation of the Schmidt reaction treats a cyclic ketone with an alkyl azide (RN3) in the presence of TiCU, generating a... 

Alkyl aryl ketones can be converted to arylacetic acid derivatives in an entirely different manner. The reaction consists of treatment of the substrate with silver nitrate and I2 or Br2, ° or with thallium nitrate, MeOH, and trimethyl orthoformate adsorbed on Montmorillonite K-10 clay, an acidic clay. ... 

This section lists examples of the reaction of RH RR (R,R = alkyl or aryl). For the reaction C=CH -> C=C-R (R = alkyl or aryl), see Section 209 (Alkenes from Alkenes). For alkylations of ketones and esters, see Section 177 (Ketones from Ketones) and Section 113 (Esters from Esters). 

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