Anion nitromethane

In chapter 21 we mentioned nitro compounds as promoters of conjugate addition they also stabilise anions strongly but do not usually act as electrophiles so that self-condensation is not found with nitro compounds. The nitro group is more than twice as good as a carbonyl group at stabilising an enolate anion. Nitromethane (p/ a 10) 1 has a lower pKa than malonates 4 (pKa 13). In fact it dissolves in aqueous NaOH as the enolate anion 3 formed in a way 2 that looks like enolate anion formation. 

The use of nitromethane as a probe of basicity of zeolites (NaX, CsX, CsX 9Cs) and mixed oxides, Mg(Al)0, is discussed. Various species (physisorbed nitromethane, aci-anion nitromethane, and methazonate salt analogue) formed upon nitromethane adsorption were characterized by C MAS NMR spectroscopy. Heterogeneous base catalysis of the Michael addition of nitromethane on cyclohex-2-en-1-one was also studied. Low rates were obtained for catalysts showing only nitromethane physisorption. Formation of aci-anion nitromethane was observed for solids of medium efficiency correlation of the chemical shift with the initial rate was established. Finally, the decrease of Lewis acidity and concomitant increase of basicity led to methazonate formation and to the more efficient catalysts. 

There exist a number of d -synthons, which are stabilized by the delocalization of the electron pair into orbitals of hetero atoms, although the nucleophilic centre remains at the carbon atom. From nitroalkanes anions may be formed in aqueous solutions (e.g. CHjNOj pK, = 10.2). Nitromethane and -ethane anions are particularly useful in synthesis. The cyanide anion is also a classical d -synthon (HCN pK = 9.1). 

Acetophenone enolate and nitromethane anions have also been used successfully in alkyl substitution. 

A convenient method leading to pyrans (38) consists in the nucleophilic addition of R anions to 2,6-disubstituted pyrjdium salts, in which the y-position (secondary carbonium ion) is more reactive than the a-positions (tertiary carbonium ions), in opposition to the reactivity of 2,4,6-trisubstituted pyrylium salts.Krohnke and Dickore as well as Dimroth and WolH showed that 2,6-diphenyl-pyrylium salts add the anions R of nitromethane, 1,3-diketones, malonodinitrile, ethyl cyanoacetate, and benzoylacetonitrile. Similar reactions are known in the flavylium series. -Nonactivated R ... 

Although the base-catalyzed addition of nitroalkanes to electron-deficient olefins has been extensively used in organic synthesis fsee Michael addition Chapter 4, it is only recently that the reaction has been extended to the cyclopropanadon reaction. In 1978, it was reported that the anion of nitromethane reacts with certain highly electron-deficient olefins to produce cycloptopanesingoodyieldrEq. 7.36. More recently, this reaction has been extended to more general cyclopropanadons, as shown in Eqs. 7.37 and 7.38, in which potassittm salts of nitroalkanes are employed in DMSO as alkylidene transfer reagents." ... 

Benzyl chloride can be converted into benzaldebyde by treatment with nitromethane and base. The reaction involves initial conversion of nilro-methane into its anion, followed by SN2 reaction of the anion with benzyl chloride and subsequent E2 reaction. Write the mechanism in detail, using curved arrows to indicate the electron flow in each step. 

A proof for the formation of alkyl radicals was found by their addition to the aci-nitromethane anion (CH2=N02 ) and by their reaction with p-benzoquinone to give the optically active nitroalkane radical-anion and the semiquinone radicals, respectively. In the case of di-r-butyl sulfoxide the f-butyl radical was observed directly by its absorption spectra. 

The condensation of nitro compounds and imines, the so-called aza-Henry or nitro-Mannich reaction, has recently emerged as a powerful tool for the enantioselective synthesis of 1,2-diamines through the intermediate /3-amino nitro compounds. The method is based on the addition of a nitronate ion (a-nitro carbanion), generated from nitroalkanes, to an imine. The addition of a nitronate ion to an imine is thermodynamically disfavored, so that the presence of a protic species or a Lewis acid is required, to activate the imine and/or to quench the adduct. The acidic medium is compatible with the existence of the nitronate anion, as acetic acid and nitromethane have comparable acidities. Moreover, the products are often unstable, either for the reversibility of the addition or for the possible /3-elimination of the nitro group, and the crude products are generally reduced, avoiding purification to give the desired 1,2-diamines. Hence, the nitronate ion is an equivalent of an a-amino carbanion. 

The condensation of arylsulfonyl acetonitriles 369a-c with 22a proceeds via addition of the in-situ formed anion 370 to the arylsulfonyl acetonitriles 369 to afford the dimers 371, in 69-94% yield, and hexamethyldisiloxane 7 [136]. Furthermore, y9-dicarbonyl compounds such as ethyl acetoacetate 372 a or ethyl benzoyl-acetate 372b are O-silylated by 22 a or 22 c to rather stable alkyl 3-O-trimethylsilyl-oxycrotonoate 373a and alkyl 3-0-trimethylsilyloxy-3-phenyl acrylate 373b [130]. Aliphatic nitro compounds such as nitromethane are O-trimethylsilylated and further transformed into oligomers [132] (cf Section 7.6) and are thus unsuitable reactants for silylation-C-substitutions (Scheme 4.50). 

Ab-initio Study of the Intramolecular Hydrogen Shift in Nitromethane and its Acid-dissociated Anion... 

Table 1. Optimized geometries for the 1,3 -intramolecular hydrogen shift of nitromethane and its acid-dissociated anion... 

Finally, we can see that, neutral meolecules, either in nitro-type or in aci-nitro-type, are more stable than acid-dissociated anions the anion formation is a high endothermic reaction. The energy difference between neutral molecules and acid-dissociated anions calculated at the MP2/6311+-I-G level is 1539 kJ/mol for nitro-type species, and 1683 kJ/mol for aci-nitro-type species. It is clear that, in these conditions, the acid dissociation of the neutral molecules can hardly occur.in pure nitromethane solutions. It provides another theoretieal support for nitromethane as an ideal model of aprotic solvents. 

On the assumption that = 2, the theoretical values of the ion solvation energy were shown to agree well with the experimental values for univalent cations and anions in various solvents (e.g., 1,1- and 1,2-dichloroethane, tetrahydrofuran, 1,2-dimethoxyethane, ammonia, acetone, acetonitrile, nitromethane, 1-propanol, ethanol, methanol, and water). Abraham et al. [16,17] proposed an extended model in which the local solvent layer was further divided into two layers of different dielectric constants. The nonlocal electrostatic theory [9,11,12] was also presented, in which the permittivity of a medium was assumed to change continuously with the electric field around an ion. Combined with the above-mentioned Uhlig formula, it was successfully employed to elucidate the ion transfer energy at the nitrobenzene-water and 1,2-dichloroethane-water interfaces. 

Acyl imidazolides are more reactive than esters but not as reactive as acyl halides. Entry 7 is an example of formation of a (3-ketoesters by reaction of magnesium enolate monoalkyl malonate ester by an imidazolide. Acyl imidazolides also are used for acylation of ester enolates and nitromethane anion, as illustrated by Entries 8, 9, and 10. (V-Methoxy-lV-methylamides are also useful for acylation of ester enolates. 

Nickel(II) complexes of type (599) unsaturated 14-membered tetrazamacrocycles react with the anion of nitromethane under basic conditions to give the 5-nitromethyl derivatives (600), and the square planar diperchlorates (601) upon treatment with HC104 (Equation (19)) 151... 

The anion of nitromethane adds easily to the carbonyl functions of sugars. This is a useful strategy for extension of the carbon chain.100 2-Acetamido-2-deoxy-P-D-glucose (A-acetyl-D-glucosamine) is the carbohydrate unit of glycoproteins that occurs most often. The nitromethy-lation method provides a straightforward route to a series of C-glycosyl compounds with the acetamido functionality (Eq. 3.62).101... 

The Michael addition of nitromethane to cyclopentenone derivatives is used for synthesis of prostaglandins (Scheme 4.20).158 Here, the anion of nitromethane is used as a formyl anion synthon. 

The anion of nitromethane is particularly reactive in S l reactions. Various kinds of tertiary nitro groups are replaced by a nitromethyl group on treatment with the anion of nitromethane (Section 7.1).49 2-Iodoadamantane reacts with the anion of nitromethane in the presence of acetone enolate (entrainment reaction) under irradiation of a 400-W UV lamp to give 2-ni-tromethyladamantane in 68% yield, (see Eq. 5.32).50a 1-Iodoadamantane also reacts with the anion of nitromethane in a similar way.50b... 

---