Azides, reaction with halides

This short review of equilibria for reactions with halide and azide ions illustrates the utility of measures of carbocation stability other than pA R. Provided they refer to aqueous or largely aqueous media and the carbocations do not contain (3-substituents which interact strongly with the nucleophile in the cation-nucleophile adduct, such as CF3, RO, or N3, values of pA R can usually be related to pATR with an uncertainty of less than 1 log unit. On the other hand, they clearly demonstrate the specificity of geminal interactions between the bound nucleophile and electronegative a-substituents in determining relative values of pATR and pA"R. 

The preparation of a tnflate salt may include the decomposition of tnflyl azide by azide ion Tnflyl azide can be prepared by the reaction of the azide ion with tnfluoromethanesulfonyl fluonde or tnfluoromethanesulfomc anhydnde [18] (equauonlS) Anotherone stepprocedureusesaquatemaryammoniumcountenon [J9] (equation 15) This tnflate can react with primary halides to form tn fluoromethyl sulfones [19 (equation 16) (Table 7)... 

A better method for preparing primary amines is to use the azide synthesis, in which azjde ion, N3, is used for SN2 reaction with a primary or secondary alkyl halide to give an alkyl azide, RN3. Because alkyl azides are not nucleophilic, overalkylation can t occur. Subsequent reduction of the alkyl azide, either by catalytic hydrogenation over a palladium catalyst or by reaction with LiAlK4. then leads to the desired primary amine. Although the method works well, low-molecular-weight alkyl azides are explosive and must be handled carefully. 

Examples of the three mechanistic types are, respectively (a) hydrolysis of diazonium salts to phenols89 (b) reaction with azide ion to form aryl azides90 and (c) reaction with cuprous halides to form aryl chlorides or bromides.91 In the paragraphs that follow, these and other synthetically useful reactions of diazonium intermediates are considered. The reactions are organized on the basis of the group that is introduced, rather than on the mechanism involved. It will be seen that the reactions that are discussed fall into one of the three general mechanistic types. 

Aryl and vinyl nitriles have been prepared very efficiently from the corresponding bromides by palladium-catalyzed reactions under microwaves. This energy source has been employed for the conversion of these nitriles into aryl and vinyl tetrazoles by cycloaddition reactions with sodium azide (Scheme 9.66). The direct transformation of aryl halides to the aryl tetrazoles in a one pot procedure could be accomplished both in solution and on a solid support [115], The reactions were complete in a few minutes, a reaction time considerably shorter than those previously reported for the thermal reactions. The cydoadditions were performed with sodium azide and ammonium chloride in DMF and, although no explosion occurred in the development of this work, the authors point out the necessity of taking adequate precautions against this eventuality. 

Although aliphatic azides can be prepared under liquidrliquid phase-transfer catalytic conditions [3-5], they are best obtained directly by the reaction of a haloalkane with sodium azide in the absence of a solvent [e.g. 6, 7]. Iodides and bromides react more readily than chlorides cyclohexyl halides tend to produce cyclohexene as a by-product. Acetonitrile and dichloromethane are the most frequently used solvents, but it should be noted that prolonged contact (>2 weeks) of the azide ion with dichloromethane can produce highly explosive products [8, 9] dibromomethane produces the explosive bisazidomethane in 60% yield after 16 days [8]. 

Alkyl halides undergo Sn2 reactions with a variety of nucleophiles, e.g. metal hydroxides (NaOH or KOH), metal alkoxides (NaOR or KOR) or metal cyanides (NaCN or KCN), to produce alcohols, ethers or nitriles, respectively. They react with metal amides (NaNH2) or NH3, 1° amines and 2° amines to give 1°, 2° or 3° amines, respectively. Alkyl halides react with metal acetylides (R C=CNa), metal azides (NaN3) and metal carboxylate (R C02Na) to produce internal alkynes, azides and esters, respectively. Most of these transformations are limited to primary alkyl halides (see Section 5.5.2). Higher alkyl halides tend to react via elimination. 

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