Carboxylic acid derivatives with sulfur nucleophiles

Section 6.1.2) second, RS is a better leaving group than RO (see Section 6.1.4), again because of size and the less localized electrons. Simple nucleophilic reactions with H2S parallel those with H2O, and those with RSH parallel those with ROH. This gives rise to carboxylic acid derivatives containing sulfur, such as thioacids and thioesters. 

With Sulfur Nucleophiles N-Carboxy-protected aziridine-2-carboxylates react with thiols to give P-mercapto-ot-amino acid derivatives. The reaction is usually catalyzed by BF3 and the yields range from fair to excellent [15, 16, 108-111]. With N-unprotected 3-substituted aziridine-2-carboxylates, the ring-opening with thiols usually takes place with anti stereoselectivity, especially in the case of the C-3 aliphatic substituted substrates. In cases in which C-3 is aromatic, however, the stereoselectivity has been found to be a function of the substitution pattern on the aromatic ring 3-p-methoxy ph eri yl-su bs li In led aziridines 143a (Scheme 3.51) and... 

Thiols undergo the same types of nucleophilic reaction with carboxylic acid derivatives as do alcohols. However, reactivity tends to be increased for two reasons. First, sulfur, because of its larger size, is a better nucleophile than oxygen (see... 

Thianthrene-di-, tri-, and tetracarboxylic acids, and a variety of their derivatives, were prepared and polymerized with co-monomers to obtain thianthiene-containing polyimides, aramids and polybenzoxazoles. The multiply substituted thianthrene derivatives were prepared starting with dichloro-substituted benzamide or phthalimide via chlorine displacement by sulfur nucleophiles. The protected carboxyl groups enhanced the displacement reaction to give thianthrene bisamides and imides in good yields. Deprotection with base gave carboxylic acid derivatives. 

The dianions derived from furan- and thiophene-carboxylic acids by deprotonation with LDA have been reacted with various electrophiles (Scheme 64). The oxygen dianions reacted efficiently with aldehydes and ketones but not so efficiently with alkyl halides or epoxides. The sulfur dianions reacted with allyl bromide, a reaction which failed in the case of the dianions derived from furancarboxylic acids, and are therefore judged to be the softer nucleophiles (81JCS(Pl)1125,80TL505l). 

Quantitative Scales of Solvent Nucleophilicity. Solvolytic studies in solvents of low nucleophilicity led to renewed interest in quantitative measures of solvent nucleophilicity. Peterson and Waller (44) derived a scale of solvent nucleophilicity (Npw) from the rates of displacement by solvent of tetramethylenehalonium ions (VI) in liquid sulfur dioxide. The reaction is approximately half-order in carboxylic acid, possibly because dimer-monomer preequilibrium occurs (44). More recently, hydrolysis of the iodonium salt (VIII) in competition with anionic or solvent nucleophiles was studied. A scale of nucleophilicity relative to water was obtained by quan-... 

When acid derivative 2 reacts with sulfuric acid, the oxygen atom is the base and the conjugate acid product of this acid-base reaction is oxocarbenium ion 3, which is resonance stabilized. When 2 is an acid chloride, anhydride, ester, or amide, a heteroatom is attached to the positive carbon in 3. As in Chapter 18 (Section 18.1), the acid-base reaction of the carbonyl unit in 2 to give 3 facilitates reactions with nucleophiles. The reaction of intermediate 3 with a nucleophile ( Y) gives tetrahedral intermediate 4 contrary to acyl addition, reaction 4 contains an X group that can function as a leaving group. Loss of X leads to the final product of this reaction 5. If the nucleophile ( Y) is hydroxide, compormd 5 is the carboxylic acid (X = OH). If the nucleophile Y is an alcohol, the product 5 is an ester, and if Y is an amine, the product 5 is an amide. This first reaction is therefore the acid-catalyzed acyl substitution reaction of acid derivatives. 

Reactivities of carboxyl derivatives toward nucleophilic acyl substitution. A more reactive derivative may be converted to a less reactive derivative by treatment with an appropriate reagent. Treatment of a carboxylic acid with thionyl chloride (the acid chloride of sulfurous acid) converts it to the more reactive acid chloride. Carboxylic acids are about as reactive as esters under acidic conditions, but they are converted to unreactive carboxylates under basic conditions. 

Conversion to a more facile, sulfur-derived, leaving group can be achieved by treatment with sodium thiosulfate or salts of thio and dithio acids (75,87). Under anhydrous conditions, boron tribromide converts the 3 -acetoxy group to a bromide whereas trimethyl silyl iodide gives good yields of the 3 -iodide (87,171,172). These 3 -halides are much more reactive, even when the carboxyl group is esterified, and can be displaced readily by cyano and by oxygen nucleophiles (127). 

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