Amide ion reactions

No systematic study of the mass spectra of pyridopyrazines has been noted, but those of 2,3-dialkyl and 2,3-diaryl derivatives have been recorded 750MS97), and mass spectrometry has been used in the elucidation of problems in the reactions of pyrido[2,3-f ]pyrazines with amide ion (including use of and derivatives) (79JHC305), and of pyrido[2,3-f ]pyrazinium salts with indoles (78ZOR431). The mass spectra of some 1-deazaflavins have been recorded (74JCS(P1)1965). 

Amines are insufficiently nucleophilic to react with most azoles which do not contain a ring oxygen, and the stronger nucleophile NH2 is required. When treated with amide ions, thiazoles can be aminated in the 2-position by NaNHa at 150 °C. Only TV-substituted condensed imidazoles such as 1-alkylbenzimidazole react in such Chichibabin reactions. Imidazoles are aminated by alkaline NH2OH. 

The commonest of these for oxirane opening are amines and azide ion [amide ions promote isomerization to allylic alcohols (Section 5.05.3.2.2)]. Reaction with azide can be used in a sequence for converting oxiranes into aziridines (Scheme 49) and this has been employed in the synthesis of the heteroannulenes (57) and (58) (80CB3127, 79AG(E)962). 

Ring expansion of haloalkyloxiranes provides a simple two-step procedure for the preparation of azetidin-3-ols (Section 5.09.2.3.2(f)) which can be extended to include 3-substituted ethers and O-esters (79CRV331 p. 341). The availability of 3-hydroxyazetidines provides access to a variety of 3-substituted azetidines, including halogeno, amino and alkylthio derivatives, by further substitution reactions (Section 5.09.2.2.4). Photolysis of phenylacylamines has also found application in the formation of azetidin-3-ols (33). Not surprisingly, few 2-0-substituted azetidines are known. The 2-methoxyazetidine (57) has been produced by an internal displacement, where the internal amide ion is generated by nucleophilic addition to an imine. 

This variation from the ester hydrolysis mechanism also reflects the poorer leaving ability of amide ions as compared to alkoxide ions. The evidence for the involvement of the dianion comes from kinetic studies and from solvent isotope effects, which suggest that a rate-limiting proton transfer is involved. The reaction is also higher than first-order in hydroxide ion under these circumstances, which is consistent with the dianion mechanism. 

Although Lehn and his coworkers prepared a large number of cryptands and derived complexes over the years, the synthetic approach to these compounds remained essentially similar for most of them. Details are presented for a number of such compounds in ref. 26. The essential features of these syntheses were use of amide-forming reactions in the absence of templating ions with reliance on a high dilution step to form the second ring. An alternative approach for the synthesis of cryptands was developed by Dye and his coworkers. Their approach involved the use of a flow synthesis to replace the high dilution step. 

Ammonolysis of 2-chlorobenzothiazole in liquid ammonia was studied by Lemons et al. and found to be approximately first-order with respect to this substrate at the fairly high concentrations used. The actual nucleophilic reagent was, as expected, the neutral species NH3, and reaction via the amide ion NH2 arising from the autoprotolysis equilibrium [Eq. (5)] was excluded on the grounds that addition of ammonium chloride did not depress the reaction rate. In accordance with this interpretation and in connection with the existence of aromatic substitutions other than normal it is of interest that 2-chlorobenzothiazole was found to react difiFerently with sodamide, although the products were unidentified in this case. 

Heterocyclic structures analogous to the intermediate complex result from azinium derivatives and amines, hydroxide or alkoxides, or Grignard reagents from quinazoline and orgahometallics, cyanide, bisulfite, etc. from various heterocycles with amide ion, metal hydrides,or lithium alkyls from A-acylazinium compounds and cyanide ion (Reissert compounds) many other examples are known. Factors favorable to nucleophilic addition rather than substitution reactions have been discussed by Albert, who has studied examples of easy covalent hydration of heterocycles. 

Alteration of the relative reactivity of the ring-positions of quinoline is expected and observed when cyclic transition states can intervene. Quinoline plus phenylmagnesium bromide (Et20,150°, 3 hr) produces the 2-phenyl derivative (66% yield) phenyllithium gives predominantly the same product along with a little of the 4-phenylation product. Reaction of butyllithium (Et 0, —35°, 15 min) forms 2-butylquinoline directly in 94% yield. 2-Aryl- or 6-methoxy-quinolines give addition at the 2-position with aryllithium re-agents, and reaction there is so favored that appreciable substitution (35%) takes place at the 2-position even in the 4-chloroquinoline 414. Hydride reduction at the 2-position of quinoline predominates. Reaction of amide ion at the 2-position via a cyclic... 

The use of the amide ions in these reactions leads sometimes to unexpected side reactions, since besides addition amide ions can also act as a deprotonation agent. An illustrating example is the formation of... 

Notice that water can act either as an acid or as a base, d.epending on the circumstances. In its reaction with HC1, water is a base that accepts a proton to give the hydronium ion, In its reaction with amide ion, -NH2, however,... 

Following formation of the amide intermediate, a second nucleophilic addition of hydroxide ion to the amide carbonyl group then yields a tetrahedral alkoxide ion, which expels amide ion, NHZ-, as leaving group and gives the car-boxylate ion, thereby driving the reaction toward products. Subsequent acidification in a separate step yields the carboxylic acid. We ll look at this process in more detail in Section 21.7. 

Basic hydrolysis occurs by nucleophilic addition of OH- to the amide carbonyl group, followed by elimination of amide ion (-NH2) and subsequent deprotonation of the initially formed carboxylic acid by amide ion. The steps are reversible, with the equilibrium shifted toward product by the final deprotonation of the carboxylic acid. Basic hydrolysis is substantially more difficult than the analogous acid-catalyzed reaction because amide ion is a very poor leaving group, making the elimination step difficult. 

In these reactions (12-41-12-44), a carbonyl group is attacked by a hydroxide ion (or amide ion) giving an intermediate that undergoes cleavage to a carboxylic acid (or an amide). With respect to the leaving group, this is nucleophilic substitution at a carbonyl group and the mechanism is the tetrahedral one discussed in Chapter 10. 

PROBLEMS Show the mechanism for the reaction that takes place when you mix the amide ion (H2N ) with each of the following compounds (remember that you need to look for the most acidic proton in each case). 

Alkyltriphenylphosphonium halides are only weakly acidic, and a strong base must be used for deprotonation. Possibilities include organolithium reagents, the anion of dimethyl sulfoxide, and amide ion or substituted amide anions, such as LDA or NaHMDS. The ylides are not normally isolated, so the reaction is carried out either with the carbonyl compound present or with it added immediately after ylide formation. Ylides with nonpolar substituents, e.g., R = H, alkyl, aryl, are quite reactive toward both ketones and aldehydes. Ylides having an a-EWG substituent, such as alkoxycarbonyl or acyl, are less reactive and are called stabilized ylides. 

Information about the products of a reaction can be particularly informative when one of them is quite unexpected. Thus the reaction of chloro-4-methylbenzene (p-chlorotoluene, 6) with amide ion, eNH2, in liquid ammonia (p. 173) is found to lead not only to the expected 4-methylphenylamine (p-toluidine, 7), but also to the quite unexpected 3-methylphenylamine (w-toluidine, 8), which is in fact the major product ... 

Another reaction that is catalyzed by a base is that which leads to the formation of the benzyne intermediate. In this case, the strong base is the amide ion, NH2 . 

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