Carbanions aryl halides

In the unconventional synthesis of thioethers (Scheme 4.11), cyanide ion is displaced from thiocyanates by carbanions [52, 53], which have been generated under phase-transfer catalytic conditions (cf. 4.1.12). Thiocyanates are readily obtained by a standard catalysed nucleophilic substitution reaction [4, 54-58] (see Table 4.19). Aryl thiocyanates are obtained from activated aryl halides [4, 57] (see Chapter 2). 

As represented in Fig. 9, the irreversible reduction of aryl halides at low scan rate is a two electron per molecule process, at least in poor H-atom donor solvents such as liquid ammonia (Amatore et al., 919 Saveant and Thiebault, 1978). This is due to the fact that aryl radicals, produced upon cleavage of RX-, are very easy to reduce, around —0.3 V vs SCE (Jaun et al., 1980), much more than the starting aryl halides (from about — 1 to — 2.8V vs SCE). It follows that R-, as soon as produced in (47), is immediately reduced into the corresponding carbanion, R" (71 and/or 72), which is eventually protonated (73) by the strongest acid present in the... 

The palladium catalyzed intramolecular coupling of aryl halides and classical carbanions, sometimes considered a variant of the Buchwald-Hartwig coupling, might also be used for the formation of heterocyclic systems. 7V-(2 -bromophenyl)-propionamides were converted in the presence of the appropriate palladium catalyst and lithium hexamethyldisilazide to oxindoles (3.2.). Under the applied conditions a series of electron deficient and electron rich aniline derivatives, including 2-chloroanilines were transformed successfully.2... 

The carbanions derived from A,A-disubstituted amides and lactams react with certain aromatic halides in liquid ammonia under photostimulation [85,86] to form the expected a-arylated compounds in good yields. Unsymmetrical a, a-diaryl amides can be formed by reaction of aryl halides with the anion of the oc-aryl-A,7V-dimethyl acetamides [85]. 

Electrochemical reduction of aryl halides in the presence of olefins (94), (equation 54) leads to the formation of arylated products (95). Electroreduction of several aralkyl halides at potentials ranging from -1.24 V to -1.54 V (see) gives products which involve dimerization, cyclization, and reduction to the arylalkanes. Carbanions and/or free radicals were again postulated as intermediates79. Aryl radicals generated from the electrochemical reduction of aryl halides have been added to carbon-carbon double bonds80,81. Electrochemical reduction of aryl halides in the presence of olefins leads to the formation of arylated products78. Preparative scale electrolyses were carried out in solvents such as acetonitrile, DMF and DMSO at constant potential or in liquid ammonia at constant current. The reaction is proposed to involve an S l mechanism. 

By far one of the most important reactions through the S l mechanism is formation of a C—C bond by the reaction of aryl halides with carbanions derived from hydrocarbons, ketones, esters, amides, nitriles and even, with some limitations, from aldehydes. The reactions of cyanide ions and carbonyl complexes of Co and Fe also form a new C—C bond. 

Carbanions occasionally react with aryl halides spontaneously, mostly under irradiation, or by supplying electrons either from dissolved metals or from a cathode. However, certain Fe+2 salts catalyse the S l reactions with carbanions. That was the case for the reaction of PhBr or Phi with acetone or pinacolone enolate ions in liquid ammonia or DMS0172a, as well as for the reaction of the enolate ion of several carbanions with several aryl and hetaryl halides in DMS0172b. Since these reactions are inhibited byp-DNB andp-cymene, and the relative reactivity of nucleophiles is similar to that determined in photo-stimulated or spontaneous reactions, it seems that FeCl2 initiates the S l process. 

The coupling takes place as if a carbanion (R ) were present and the carbanion attacked the alkyl halide to displace the halide ion. This is probably not the actual mechanism, however, because dialkylcuprates also couple with vinyl halides and aryl halides, which are incapable of undergoing SN2 substitutions. 

Among common carbon-carbon bond formation reactions involving carbanionic species, the nucleophilic substitution of alkyl halides with active methylene compounds in the presence of a base, e. g., malonic and acetoacetic ester syntheses, is one of the most well documented important methods in organic synthesis. Ketone enolates and protected ones such as vinyl silyl ethers are also versatile nucleophiles for the reaction with various electrophiles including alkyl halides. On the other hand, for the reaction of aryl halides with such nucleophiles to proceed, photostimulation or addition of transition metal catalysts or promoters is usually required, unless the halides are activated by strong electron-withdrawing substituents [7]. Of the metal species, palladium has proved to be especially useful, while copper may also be used in some reactions [81. Thus, aryl halides can react with a variety of substrates having acidic C-H bonds under palladium catalysis. 

This topic is discussed in detail in Chapter 9 and only an outline is presented here. When simple aryl halides react with strong bases such as the amide ion, NH2 , a hydrogen atom adjacent to the C-halogen unit is abstracted by the base. The resulting carbanion acts as a nucleophile... 

Complexed aryl halides undergo ready displacement of the halide by nucleophiles such as alkoxides, amines and stabilized carbanions to form substituted benzenes (Scheme 10.29). 

An aryl halide such as chlorobenzene is relatively unreactive towards nucleophilic substitution. The S l and Sj. 2 pathways involve mechanisms that are not open to aryl halides. The greater s character of the sp bond makes it more difficult to cleave the bond to generate a carbo-cation. However, these restrictions do not apply to radical or carbanion chemistry. Hence, aryl halides undergo radical coupling reactions and metal insertion reactions, leading to organometallic compounds. 

Reduction of an aryl halide at a cadmium-modified nickel cathode in DMF containing TBABF4 leads to a formylation reaction between aryl carbanions and the solvent [186]. Two papers [187,188] have appeared in which reduction of aryl halides gives an aryl carbanion, which, by acting as a base to deprotonate a suitable nitrile, can cause coupling of the nitrile with esters, aldehydes, and ketones. Electrochemical trimethylsilylation of aryl halides can be effected at a stainless-steel or carbon-cloth cathode in THF-HMPA containing TEABF4 and trimethylchlorosilane [189]. 

The second is in situ, where generation of the EGB by reduction of the PB takes place in the presence of reactant(s). The advantage of this mode of operation is that the EGB can be short-lived, and the applied current can control the amount of base present at any time. The major disadvantage is that the PB must be more easily reduced than the reactant(s). This method is the one most commonly used. An early example of a radical anion EGB is shown in Scheme 3. The method has also frequently been used to generate carbanion EGBs from alkyl or aryl halides as illustrated schematically in Scheme 2. 

This reaction involves nucleophilic attack on the alkyl halide by the carbanion, CH(C00C2H5)2, and, as we might expect, gives highest yields with primary alkyl halides, lower yields with secondary alkyl halides, and is worthless for tertiary alkyl halides and for aryl halides. 

In the benzoin condensation, one molecule of aldehyde serves as an electrophile. If a carbanion is generated from protected cyanohydrins, a-aminonitriles or dithioacetals, it can react with electrophiles such as alkyl halides, strongly activated aryl halides or alkyl tosylates to form ketones. Amongst other electrophiles which are attacked by the above carbanions are heterocyclic A -oxides, carbonyl compounds, a,p-unsaturated carbonyl compounds, a,3-unsaturated nitriles, acyl halides, Mannich bases, epoxides and chlorotiimethyl derivatives of silicon, germanium and tin. 

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