Amidation of Nitriles

Other processes involving metal catalysts like nickel(II), zinc(II), palladium(ll) and ruthenium(I) have not found broad application, but a related amidation of nitriles uses Ae ruthenium catalyst [RuH2(PPh3>4]. ... 

Ruthenium-Catalyzed Hydrolytic Amidation of Nitriles with Amines. 93... 

Scheme 10 The hydrolytic amidation of nitriles with amines...

Murahashi SI, Naota T, Saito E (1986) Ruthenium-catalyzed amidation of nitriles with amines. A novel, facile route to amides and polyamides. J Am Chem Soc 108 7846... 

Other methods of polyamidation such as (a) the amidation of esters by primary amines and (b) amidation of nitriles by primary amines are much less used. 

At temperatures of 220-240 C it functions as an efficient, neutral dehydrating agent, amides yielding nitriles and alcohols yielding alkenes. 

Ammonium salt of any acid Acid amides Acid nitriles Imides of dibasic acids... 

The lower members of other homologous series of oxygen compounds— the acids, aldehydes, ketones, anhydrides, ethers and esters—have approximately the same limits of solubility as the alcohols and substitution and branching of the carbon chain has a similar influence. For the amines (primary, secondary and tertiary), the limit of solubility is about C whilst for the amides and nitriles it is about C4. 

Preliminary indication of the presence of a phenol ester may be obtained by heating the compound with soda-lime esters of phenols and also aromatic hydroxy-acids usually give the phenol. (Likewise amides, Imides, nitriles, substituted hydrazines, uretheines, etc. eifiord ammonia.)... 

The imides, primaiy and secondary nitro compounds, oximes and sulphon amides of Solubility Group III are weakly acidic nitrogen compounds they cannot be titrated satisfactorily with a standard alkaU nor do they exhibit the reactions characteristic of phenols. The neutral nitrogen compounds of Solubility Group VII include tertiary nitro compounds amides (simple and substituted) derivatives of aldehydes and ketones (hydrazones, semlcarb-azones, ete.) nitriles nitroso, azo, hydrazo and other Intermediate reduction products of aromatic nitro compounds. All the above nitrogen compounds, and also the sulphonamides of Solubility Group VII, respond, with few exceptions, to the same classification reactions (reduction and hydrolysis) and hence will be considered together. 

R4N= BnEtsN or BU4N Heterocylces 1980, 14, 1437, 1441 reduction of amides to amines reduction of nitriles to amines... 

The use of oximes as nucleophiles can be quite perplexing in view of the fact that nitrogen or oxygen may react. Alkylation of hydroxylamines can therefore be a very complex process which is largely dependent on the steric factors associated with the educts. Reproducible and predictable results are obtained in intramolecular reactions between oximes and electrophilic carbon atoms. Amides, halides, nitriles, and ketones have been used as electrophiles, and various heterocycles such as quinazoline N-oxide, benzodiayepines, and isoxazoles have been obtained in excellent yields under appropriate reaction conditions. 

This chapter concerns the preparation and reactions of acyl chlorides acid anhydrides thioesters esters amides and nitriles These com pounds are generally classified as carboxylic acid derivatives and their nomenclature is based on that of carboxylic acids... 

Nitdles may be prepared by several methods (1). The first nitrile to be prepared was propionitdle, which was obtained in 1834 by distilling barium ethyl sulfate with potassium cyanide. This is a general preparation of nitriles from sulfonate salts and is referred to as the Pelou2e reaction (2). Although not commonly practiced today, dehydration of amides has been widely used to produce nitriles and was the first commercial synthesis of a nitrile. The reaction of alkyl hahdes with sodium cyanide to produce nitriles (eq. 1) also is a general reaction with wide appHcabiUty ... 

As a class of compounds, nitriles have broad commercial utility that includes their use as solvents, feedstocks, pharmaceuticals, catalysts, and pesticides. The versatile reactivity of organonitnles arises both from the reactivity of the C=N bond, and from the abiHty of the cyano substituent to activate adjacent bonds, especially C—H bonds. Nitriles can be used to prepare amines, amides, amidines, carboxyHc acids and esters, aldehydes, ketones, large-ring cycHc ketones, imines, heterocycles, orthoesters, and other compounds. Some of the more common transformations involve hydrolysis or alcoholysis to produce amides, acids and esters, and hydrogenation to produce amines, which are intermediates for the production of polyurethanes and polyamides. An extensive review on hydrogenation of nitriles has been recendy pubHshed (10). 

Adiponitrile undergoes the typical nitrile reactions, eg, hydrolysis to adipamide and adipic acid and alcoholysis to substituted amides and esters. The most important industrial reaction is the catalytic hydrogenation to hexamethylenediarnine. A variety of catalysts are used for this reduction including cobalt—nickel (46), cobalt manganese (47), cobalt boride (48), copper cobalt (49), and iron oxide (50), and Raney nickel (51). An extensive review on the hydrogenation of nitriles has been recendy pubUshed (10). 

A continuous process has been described (14) which can produce either the amide or the nitrile by adjusting the reaction conditions. Boric acid has been used as a catalyst in the amidation of fatty acid (15). Other catalysts employed include alumina (16), titanium, and 2inc alkoxides (17). The difficulty of complete reaction during synthesis has been explained by the formation of RCOOH NH RCOO , a stable intermediate acid ammonium salt (18). 

The hydration of nitriles has been used to synthesize amides, for example, by treating stearonittile in ether with dry hydrochloric acid followed by the addition of water to give a 73—94% yield of stearamide or its hydrochloride (25). The long reaction time at 0°C and the use of ether make this route of tittle commercial value. 

Amides react ia certain cases to form ammonium salts of sulfonated amides (22). For example, treatment with ben2amide yields ammonium A/-ben2oylsulfamate [83930-12-5] C H CONHSO NH, and treatment with ammonium sulfamate yields dianmioiiiumimidodisulfonate [13597-84-17, HN(S020NH 2 Ammonium sulfamate or sulfamic acid and ammonium carbonate dehydrate Hquid or soHd amides to nitriles (27). 

Eatty amines are made by dehydration of amides to nitriles at 280—330°C, followed by hydrogenation of the nitrile over nickel or cobalt catalysts ... 

Hydrolysis of Nitriles. The chemical hydrolysis of nitriles to acids takes place only under strong acidic or basic conditions and may be accompanied by formation of unwanted and sometimes toxic by-products. Enzymatic hydrolysis of nitriles by nitrile hydratases, nittilases, and amidases is often advantageous since amides or acids can be produced under very mild conditions and in a stereo- or regioselective manner (114,115). 

A second practical route to AT-unsubstituted amides is by the controlled hydrolysis of nitriles, which can often be made (in the 5-position) by primary synthesis or (elsewhere) by displacement of an ammonio grouping. Thus 4,6-dimethylpyrimidine-2-carbonitrile (798 R = CN) in warm aqueous ammonia gives the amide (798 R = CONH2) in good yield... 

Other carbon electrophiles which are frequently employed include aldehydes, ketones, esters, nitriles and amides of the type RCONMei. An indirect method of acylation involves the initial reaction of a lithio compound with an aldehyde followed by oxidation of the resulting secondary alcohol to the corresponding acyl derivative. 

Alkylarylisoxazoles can be obtained from the cycloaddition of nitrile Af-oxides to substituted alkynes or alkenes (Section 4.16.4.1.2(ii)), and from the condensation of the 1,4-dilithio oximes (358) with benzonitriles (72JHC183) or amides (78JOC3015). 

Thermolysis of tertiary and secondary alcohols with (caitxsmethoxysulfamoyi) trtethylammonium Inner salt 5 to give olefins also conversion ol amides to nitriles... 

The intermediate formation of covalent inflates is assumed also in the reaction of alcohols with tnflic anhydride in the presence of nitriles to give the corresponding amides [96] (equation 47),... 

We aheady discussed both the acidic and basic hydrolysis of fflnides (see Section 20.17). All that remains to complete the mechanistic picture of nitrile hydrolysis is to examine the conversion of the nitrile to the conesponding amide. 

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