Ammonia nucleophilicity

Perhaps the obvious extension of the methodology is to replace the ammonia nucleophile with the carbon nucleophile nitromethane. The reaction of [Co(en)3]3+ with formaldehyde and nitromethane in the presence of a base gives complex 7.15 (Fig. 7-14). Con-... 

The product is then reacted with ammonia. The ammonia nucleophile attacks the carbonyl carbon of the ester group, resulting in the formation of an amide group. This product is not isolated but spontaneously proceeds to the next step. 

The formation of the above anions ("enolate type) depend on equilibria between the carbon compounds, the base, and the solvent. To ensure a substantial concentration of the anionic synthons in solution the pA" of both the conjugated acid of the base and of the solvent must be higher than the pAT -value of the carbon compound. Alkali hydroxides in water (p/T, 16), alkoxides in the corresponding alcohols (pAT, 20), sodium amide in liquid ammonia (pATj 35), dimsyl sodium in dimethyl sulfoxide (pAT, = 35), sodium hydride, lithium amides, or lithium alkyls in ether or hydrocarbon solvents (pAT, > 40) are common combinations used in synthesis. Sometimes the bases (e.g. methoxides, amides, lithium alkyls) react as nucleophiles, in other words they do not abstract a proton, but their anion undergoes addition and substitution reactions with the carbon compound. If such is the case, sterically hindered bases are employed. A few examples are given below (H.O. House, 1972 I. Kuwajima, 1976). 

Typical nucleophiles known to react with coordinated alkenes are water, alcohols, carboxylic acids, ammonia, amines, enamines, and active methylene compounds 11.12]. The intramolecular version is particularly useful for syntheses of various heterocyclic compounds[l 3,14]. CO and aromatics also react with alkenes. The oxidation reactions of alkenes can be classified further based on these attacking species. Under certain conditions, especially in the presence of bases, the rr-alkene complex 4 is converted into the 7r-allylic complex 5. Various stoichiometric reactions of alkenes via 7r-allylic complex 5 are treated in Section 4. 

Some nucleophiles other than carbon nucleophiles are allylated. Amines are good nucleophiles. Diethylamine is allylated with allyl alcohol[7]. Allylammes are formed by the reaction of allyl alcohol with ammonia by using dppb as a ligand. Di- and triallylamines are produced commercially from allyl alcohol and ammonia[l74]. 

A standard method for the preparation of an a ammo acid uses a bromo carboxylic acids as the substrate and aqueous ammonia as the nucleophile... 

Ammonia is more nucleophilic than water making it possible to carry out this reaction using aqueous ammonia... 

The reaction of ammonia and amines with esters follows the same general mech anistic course as other nucleophilic acyl substitution reactions (Figure 20 6) A tetrahe dral intermediate is formed m the first stage of the process and dissociates m the second stage... 

Amines like ammonia are weak bases They are however the strongest uncharged bases found m significant quantities under physiological conditions Amines are usually the bases involved m biological acid-base reactions they are often the nucleophiles m biological nucleophilic substitutions... 

Nucleophilic ring opening of epoxides by ammonia (Section 16 12) The strained ring of an epoxide is opened on nucleo philic attack by ammonia and amines to give 3 ammo alcohols Azide ion also re acts with epoxides the products are p azido alcohols... 

Nucleophilic substitution by ammonia on a halo acids (Section 19 16) The a halo acids obtained by halogenation of car boxylic acids under conditions of the Hell-Volhard-Zelinsky reaction are reac tive substrates in nucleophilic substitu tion processes A standard method for the preparation of a ammo acids is dis placement of halide from a halo acids by nucleophilic substitution using excess aqueous ammonia... 

Alkylamines are in principle capable of being prepared by nucleophilic substitution reactions of aUtyl halides with ammonia... 

Although this reaction is useful for preparing a ammo acids (Table 22 3 fifth entry) it IS not a general method for the synthesis of amines Its major limitation is that the expected primary amine product is itself a nucleophile and competes with ammonia for the alkyl halide... 

Ammonia can act as a nucleophile toward primary and some secondary alkyl halides to give primary alkylamines Yields tend to be modest because the primary amine IS itself a nucleophile and undergoes alkylation Alkylation of ammonia can lead to a mixture containing a primary amine a secondary amine a tertiary amine and a quaternary ammonium salt... 

Bromo 1 3 dimethylbenzene is inert to nucleophilic aromatic substitution on treatment with sodium amide in liquid ammonia It is recovered unchanged even after extended contact with the reagent Suggest an explanation for this lack of reactivity... 

One of the oldest methods for the synthesis of ammo acids dates back to the nineteenth century and is simply a nucleophilic substitution m which ammonia reacts with an a halo carboxylic acid... 

The 7 glutamyl phosphate formed m this step is a mixed anhydride of glutamic acid and phosphoric acid It is activated toward nucleophilic acyl substitution and gives glutamine when attacked by ammonia... 

Many of these reactions are reversible, and for the stronger nucleophiles they usually proceed the fastest. Typical examples are the addition of ammonia, amines, phosphines, and bisulfite. Alkaline conditions permit the addition of mercaptans, sulfides, ketones, nitroalkanes, and alcohols to acrylamide. Good examples of alcohol reactions are those involving polymeric alcohols such as poly(vinyl alcohol), cellulose, and starch. The alkaline conditions employed with these reactions result in partial hydrolysis of the amide, yielding mixed carbamojdethyl and carboxyethyl products. 

Aqueous ammonia and acryUc esters give tertiary amino esters, which form the corresponding amide upon ammonolysis (34). Modem methods of molecular quantum modelling have been appHed to the reaction pathway and energetics for several nucleophiles in these Michael additions (35,36). 

Cyanuric fluoride is readily hydrolyzed to 2,4,6-thhydroxy-l,3,5-triaziae [108-80-5] (cyanuric acid). Cyanuric fluoride reacts faster with nucleophilic agents such as ammonia and amines than cyanuric chloride. 

Aluminum chloride [7446-70-0] is a useful catalyst in the reaction of aromatic amines with ethyleneknine (76). SoHd catalysts promote the reaction of ethyleneknine with ammonia in the gas phase to give ethylenediamine (77). Not only ammonia and amines, but also hydrazine [302-01-2] (78), hydrazoic acid [7782-79-8] (79—82), alkyl azidoformates (83), and acid amides, eg, sulfonamides (84) or 2,4-dioxopyrimidines (85), have been used as ring-opening reagents for ethyleneknine with nitrogen being the nucleophilic center (1). The 2-oxopiperazine skeleton has been synthesized from a-amino acid esters and ethyleneknine (86—89). 

A AlI lation. 1-Substitution is favored when the indole ring is deprotonated and the reaction medium promotes the nucleophilicity of the resulting indole anion. Conditions which typically result in A/-alkylation are generation of the sodium salt by sodium amide in Hquid ammonia, use of sodium hydride or a similar strong base in /V, /V- dim ethyl form am i de or dimethyl sulfoxide, or the use of phase-transfer conditions. 

This Michael-type addition is catalyzed by lanthanum(3+) [16096-89-2] (80). Ethylene glycol [107-21-1] reacts with maleate under similar conditions (81). A wide range of nucleophilic reagents add to the maleate and fumarate frameworks including alcohols, ammonia, amines, sulfinic acids, thioureas, Grignard reagents, Michael reagents, and alkali cyanides (25). 

STMP reacts with other nucleophiles such as aqueous ammonia to yield amidophosphates, which contains a P—N bond. STMP is used for the modification of the physical properties of starch and proteins by reaction with the amino and hydroxyl groups. 

Rifamycin S also undergoes conjugate addition reactions to the quinone ring by a variety of nucleophiles including ammonia, primary and secondary amines, mercaptans, carbanions, and enamines giving the C-3 substituted derivatives (38) of rifamycin SV (117,120,121). Many of the derivatives show excellent antibacterial properties (109,118,122,123). The 3-cycHc amino derivatives of rifamycin SV also inhibit the polymerase of RNA tumor vimses (123,124). 

Amina.tlon, 2-Antinoquinoline [580-22-3] is obtained from quinoline in 80% yield by treatment with barium amide in Hquid ammonia (19). This product, as weU as 3-aminoquinoHne [580-17-6] and 4-antino quinoline [578-68-7], maybe obtained through nucleophilic substitution of the corresponding chloroquinolines with ammonia. 

A.mina.tlon. Amination describes the introduction of amino groups into aromatic molecules by reaction of ammonia or an amine with suitably substituted halogeno, hydroxy, or sulfonated derivatives by nucleophilic displacement. Although reaction and operational conditions vary, the process always involves the heating of the appropriate precursor with excess aqueous ammonia or amine under pressure. 

With Ammonia and Amines. Ethylene oxide reacts with ammonia to form a mixture of mono-, di-, and triethanolamines. Nitrogen is a stronger nucleophile than oxygen (59). A small amount of water is essential for the reaction (60). 

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