Alkynes using mercury

O The alkyne uses a pair of electrons to attack the electrophilic mercury(II) ion, yielding a mercury-containing vinylic carbocation intermediate. 

The generally accepted pathway for the hydration of alkynes are the generation and subsequent tautomerization of an intermediate enol. The use of fairly concentrated acids, usually H2S04, is necessary to achieve suitable reaction rates. Addition of catalytic amounts of metal salts, however, greatly accelerates product formation. In most cases mercury(II) salts are used. Mercury-impregnated Nafion-H [with 25% of the protons exchanged for Hg(II)] is a very convenient reagent for hydration 35... 

Instead of silver nitrate, Pagni, Kabalka and coworkers used activated and even out-of-the-bottle y-alumina to promote electrophilic additions of iodine to alkynes (cf. the alumina-catalysed addition of HI). ( )-l,2-diiodoalkenes were obtained in 50-98% yield. With terminal alkynes and unactivated alumina, moreover, a minor amount of 1,1,2-triiodo-l-alkene was detected it was the product of iodine addition to intermediate 1-iodo-1-alkyne. Still another method of electrophilic addition of iodine to alkynes involves mercury(II) salts in dichloromethane at 0 °C. ... 

While some of the initial results in catalytic hydroamination were developed using mercury systems, more recent efforts using group 12 metal centers have focused on simple Zn salts and organometaUic complexes. In intramolecular alkyne hydroamination, Roesky and Blechert have a long-standing collaboration... 

The acid-catalyzed hydration of alkynes (Table 6.7, example 2) is commonly carried out using mercury (11) salts, such as mercuric sulfate (HgS04), as catalysts. The addition (Scheme 6.67) appears to involve a bridged mercurinium ion, which, for unsymmetrical cases such as 1-alkynes other than ethyne (acetylene [HC CH]), is subsequently attacked by water (FI2O) at the carbon that best supports a positive charge. The regiochemistry of Markownikoff addition, seen with alkenes, is followed. 

The first hydration of an alkyne was discovered in 1881 by Mikhail Kucherov, a Russian chemist from the Imperial Forestry Institute in St. Petersburg, using mercury(II) bromide as the catalyst [97] producing acetaldehyde. This reaction has been extensively applied in synthesis, although due to the toxicity of mercury compounds and the relatively low turnover numbers (<500), much effort has been done to find new catalysts. Thus, transition-metal-complexes containing Pd (II) [98], Pt(II) [99], Ru(ll) [100], Rh [101], and other metal centers [91] have been used, although in most cases the catalytic efficiency was only moderate. 

Organic compounds such as terminal alkynes can undergo direct mercuration using various mercury salts. For instance, alkyne 61 has been shown to react with Hg(OAc)2 to form the symmetrical bis-alkyl-mercury complex 62 (Equation (21)).73... 

To circumvent some of the above-mentioned drawbacks of sulfur-based mercury chemodosimeters, a system based on the alkyne oxymercuration of 58 has been developed (Fig. 22) [146]. 58 shows high selectivity, a limit of detection of ca. 8 ppm, resistance against strong oxidants, and a positive reaction even in the presence of cysteine, which is known to form stable mercury complexes and is used for the extraction of mercury from tissue samples. Another metal that is well-known for its catalytic ability is palladium, catalyzing different reactions depending on its oxidation state. Since this metal is toxic, assessment of the maximum allowable concentration of Pd in consumer products such as pharmaceuticals requires highly sensitive and selective detection schemes. For this purpose, indicator 60 was conceived to undergo allylic oxidative insertion to the fluorescein... 

The rhodium-entrapped cage compound which is formed using a stoichiometric amount of [RhCl(CO)2]2 is a notable paradigm of the rhodium-catalyzed [2-I-2-I-1] al-kyne-alkyne and CO coupling [35]. Heating 57 in acetone at 50 °C for 8 h or irradiation by a tungsten or mercury lamp provided the cage compound in 50% yield based on NMR spectroscopy. However, due to mechanical losses it was isolated in only 16% yield from the reaction mixture, by crystallization as the hexafluorophosphate salt 58 (Eq. 13). 

Hydration and Hydroalkoxylation of Alkynes Gold compounds were first applied to catalyze these types of reactions by Utimoto et al. in 1991, when they studied the use of Au(III) catalysts for the effective activation of alkynes. Previously, these reactions were only catalyzed by palladium or platinum(II) salts or mercury(II) salts under strongly acidic conditions. Utimoto et al. reported the use of Na[AuCI41 in aqueous methanol for the hydration of alkynes to ketones [13]. 

Mercury(II) salts317 and Tl(OAc)3318 may be used as catalyst to add aliphatic and aromatic amines to alkynes to yield imines or enamines. Selective addition to the carbon-carbon triple bond in conjugated enynes was achieved by this reaction 319... 

The reaction of a bis-alkynic alcohol (103) with aqueous dimethylamine gives dimethyl-aminofuran (104) (74IZV206). trans-Enynols cyclize presumably through a cis intermediate with base (75RTC70) or mercury(II) sulfate, a method used for the synthesis of the terpenoid bilabone (105) (69JOC857). 

The hydration reaction of alkynes leading to carbonyl compounds is generally carried out in dilute acidic conditions with mercuric 1on salts (often the sulfate) as catalysts (ref. 5). Only very reactive alkynes (phenylacety-lene and derivatives) can be hydrated in strong acidic conditions (HgSO ) without mercury salts (ref. 6). Mercury exchanged or impregnated sulfonic resins have also been used in such reactions (ref. 7). Nevertheless, the loss of the catalyst during the reaction and environmental problems due to the use of mercury make this reaction method not as convenient as it should be for the preparation of carbonyl compounds. 

The alkoxymercuration-demercuration of alkenes, dienes and alkynes in the presence of alcohols provides an even more versatile approach to the corresponding ethers than the acid-catalyzed process. This reaction has been extensively studied and thoroughly reviewed recently.415 The reaction of alkenes is best carried out using meicury(II) acetate or, for more highly substituted alcohols or alkenes, mercury(II) trifluoroacetate (equation 257).416,417... 

The acyloxymercuration of alkynes has been reported to produce a wide variety of products. Terminal alkynes afford either dialkynylmercurials516,517 or polymercurated products whose structures have not been well established (equation 290). Internal alkynes usually afford vinylic mercurials in which the mercury(II) salt has added in an anti fashion (equation 291 ).518-520 Only sodium borohydride has been used to demercurate a few of these mercurials.520... 

Mercury salts, such as mercury(II) acetate,521-525 mercury(II) oxide,524,526-528 metcury(II) trifluoroace-tate,529,530 mercury(II) sulfate524,531 and mercury(II) phosphate531 catalyze the addition of carboxylic acids to alkynes. Acetic anhydride in the presence of boron trifluoride etherate can also be effectively used in this reaction (equation 292).521,522 Alkynoic acids undergo mercury-catalyzed cyclization to lactones (equation 293).523,532,533... 

Several cyclofunctionalization reactions of alkynic alcohols are synthetically useful. Metal ion-promoted cyclofunctionalization of ris-2-propargylcyclopentanol systems proceeds by the 5-exo mode (equation 77 and Table 23).197 Protiodemetallation or reductive demetallation provides the cyclic enol ether in high yields. This method has been used by Noyori in the synthesis of prostacyclin (PGh).197b,197c Reactions with catalytic amounts of mercury(II) or palladium(II) salts gave the endocyclic enol ether as the major product.197 -198 A related cyclization with Ag2C03 has been reported by Chuche.191 Schwartz... 

Several examples of intramolecular solvomercuration of arylalkynes have been reported (equations 81 to 83).200 The mercury moiety can be removed by protiodemetallation or converted to a variety of other functional groups. The use of a methyl ether as the nucleophilic functionality is noteworthy, as is the change in the regioselectivity (equation 82 versus equation 83). A bromocyclization related to equation (83) using a phenylethynylbenzoate ester also gives an isocoumarin derivative via 6-endo cyclization.201 Palladium-catalyzed cyclizations of 3,y-alkynic ketones or 2-methyl-3-alkyn-l-ols to form substituted furans are discussed in Chapter 1.4, Section 3.1.3 in this volume. 

Organic electroreductions at mercury cathodes in tetraalkylammonium (TAA+) electrolyte solutions at the limit of the cathodic potential window are described. Aromatic hydrocarbons, fluorides, ethers and heterocycles, as well as aliphatic ketones, alkenes and alkynes have been studied, using both aqueous and non-aqueous solvents. At these very negative potentials neither the TAA+ cation nor the mercury cathode are inert, instead they combine to form TAA-mercury. It is hypothesized, and supporting evidence is presented, that TAA-mercury serve as mediators in the organic electroreductions. The mediated reactions show remarkable selectivity in certain cases and it is shown that this selectivity can be improved by the choice of the TAA +. 

Electrochemical studies are usually performed with compounds which are reactive at potentials within the potential window of the chosen medium i.e. a system is selected so that the compound can be reduced at potentials where the electrolyte, solvent and electrode are inert. The reactions described here are distinctive in that they occur at very negative potentials at the limit of the cathodic potential window . We have focused here on preparative reductions at mercury cathodes in media containing tetraalkylammonium (TAA+) electrolytes. Using these conditions the cathodic reduction of functional groups which are electroinactive within the accessible potential window has been achieved and several simple, but selective organic syntheses were performed. Quite a number of functional groups are reduced at this limit of the cathodic potential window . They include a variety of benzenoid aromatic compounds, heteroaromatics, alkynes, 1,3-dienes, certain alkyl halides, and aliphatic ketones. It seems likely that the list will be increased to include examples of other aliphatic functional groups. 

N—C—O + C—C. The construction of the oxazole ring by the condensation of a-halogeno ketones with primary amides (equation 122) is the Bliimlein-Lewy synthesis (1884/1888). The method succeeds best when the resulting oxazole contains one or more aryl substituents. The use of formamide leads to oxazoles with a free 2-position and in this case it is possible that the reaction proceeds as in equation (113). 2-Aminooxazoles are produced by the action of a-halogeno ketones on urea and its derivatives (equation 123) or on cyanamide (80ZOR2185). The mercury(II) sulfate-catalyzed condensation of alkynic alcohols or their esters with primary amides leads to trisubstituted oxazoles (equation 124). 

The anthracyciinone class of anticancer compounds (which includes daunomycin and adriamycin) can be made using a mercury (I I )-promoted alkyne hydration. You saw the synthesis of alkynes in this class on Chapter 9 where we discussed additions of metallated alkynes to ketones. Here is the final step in a synthesis of the anticancer compound deoxydaunomycinone the alkyne is hydrated using Hg2+ in dilute sulfuric acid the sulfuric acid also catalyses the hydrolysis of the phenolic acetate to give the final product. 

Direct mercuration of alkynes has also been achieved. " The interest in mercury alkynyls stems from their documented applications in the rapid separation and detection of toxic organomercurials (particularly, methylmercury derivatives). Upon reaction with alkynes, samples containing methylmercury salts yield Hg(C=CR)2 or Hg(Me)(C=CR) species that can then be analyzed using chromatographic techniques. 

The mercury-catalysed hydration of alkynes is a useful reaction which leads, via protonolysis of the organomercury compound and the enol, to a methylene ketone (Scheme 3.29). 

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