Carboxylic acids-alkene => anhydrides

Hydroxycarbonylation and alkoxycarbonylation of alkenes catalyzed by metal catalyst have been studied for the synthesis of acids, esters, and related derivatives. Palladium systems in particular have been popular and their use in hydroxycarbonylation and alkoxycarbonylation reactions has been reviewed.625,626 The catalysts were mainly designed for the carbonylation of alkenes in the presence of alcohols in order to prepare carboxylic esters, but they also work well for synthesizing carboxylic acids or anhydrides.137 627 They have also been used as catalysts in many other carbonyl-based processes that are of interest to industry. The hydroxycarbonylation of butadiene, the dicarboxylation of alkenes, the carbonylation of alkenes, the carbonylation of benzyl- and aryl-halide compounds, and oxidative carbonylations have been reviewed.6 8 The Pd-catalyzed hydroxycarbonylation of alkenes has attracted considerable interest in recent years as a way of obtaining carboxylic acids. In general, in acidic media, palladium salts in the presence of mono- or bidentate phosphines afford a mixture of linear and branched acids (see Scheme 9). 

Compared to ozonation of alkenes, much less is known about the ozonation of alkynes,710 which yields 1,2-dicarbonyl compounds, carboxylic acids, and anhydrides. 1,2,3-Trioxolene (91), analogous to 74 in alkene ozonation mechanism (Scheme 9.14), and zwitterionic intermediates (92) were formulated on the basis of IR studies and trapping experiments ... 

Rearrangements and other side-reactions are rare. The ester pyrolysis is therefore of some synthetic value, and is used instead of the dehydration of the corresponding alcohol. The experimental procedure is simple, and yields are generally high. Numerous alkenes have been prepared by this route for the first time. For the preparation of higher alkenes (> Cio), the pyrolysis of the corresponding alcohol in the presence of acetic anhydride may be the preferable method." The pyrolysis of lactones 9 leads to unsaturated carboxylic acids 10 ... 

Ion 21 can either lose a proton or combine with chloride ion. If it loses a proton, the product is an unsaturated ketone the mechanism is similar to the tetrahedral mechanism of Chapter 10, but with the charges reversed. If it combines with chloride, the product is a 3-halo ketone, which can be isolated, so that the result is addition to the double bond (see 15-45). On the other hand, the p-halo ketone may, under the conditions of the reaction, lose HCl to give the unsaturated ketone, this time by an addition-elimination mechanism. In the case of unsymmetrical alkenes, the attacking ion prefers the position at which there are more hydrogens, following Markovnikov s rule (p. 984). Anhydrides and carboxylic acids (the latter with a proton acid such as anhydrous HF, H2SO4, or polyphosphoric acid as a catalyst) are sometimes used instead of acyl halides. With some substrates and catalysts double-bond migrations are occasionally encountered so that, for example, when 1 -methylcyclohexene was acylated with acetic anhydride and zinc chloride, the major product was 6-acetyl-1-methylcyclohexene. ... 

Similar additions have been successfully carried out with carboxylic acids, anhydrides, acyl halides, carboxylic esters, nitriles, and other types of compounds. These reactions are not successful when the alkene contains electron-withdrawing groups such as halo or carbonyl groups. A free-radical initiator is required, usually peroxides or UV light. The mechanism is illustrated for aldehydes but is similar for the other compounds ... 

The addition of Grignard reagents to aldehydes, ketones, and esters is the basis for the synthesis of a wide variety of alcohols, and several examples are given in Scheme 7.3. Primary alcohols can be made from formaldehyde (Entry 1) or, with addition of two carbons, from ethylene oxide (Entry 2). Secondary alcohols are obtained from aldehydes (Entries 3 to 6) or formate esters (Entry 7). Tertiary alcohols can be made from esters (Entries 8 and 9) or ketones (Entry 10). Lactones give diols (Entry 11). Aldehydes can be prepared from trialkyl orthoformate esters (Entries 12 and 13). Ketones can be made from nitriles (Entries 14 and 15), pyridine-2-thiol esters (Entry 16), N-methoxy-A-methyl carboxamides (Entries 17 and 18), or anhydrides (Entry 19). Carboxylic acids are available by reaction with C02 (Entries 20 to 22). Amines can be prepared from imines (Entry 23). Two-step procedures that involve formation and dehydration of alcohols provide routes to certain alkenes (Entries 24 and 25). 

As with carboxylic acids obtained by palladium hydroxycarbonylation, their derivatives esters, amides, anhydrides and acyl halides are synthesized from alkenes, CO and HX (X = OR, NR2 etc.). The Pd-catalyzed methoxycarbonylation is one of the most studied reactions among this type of catalyzed carbonylations and has been reviewed and included in reports of homogeneous catalysis.625, 26 The methoxycarbonylation has been applied to many different substrates to obtain intermediates in organic syntheses as well as specific products. For instance, the reaction has been applied for methoxycarbonylation of alkynes666 Highly efficient homogeneous Pd cationic catalysts have been reported and the methoxycarbonylation of alkynes has been used to develop economically attractive and environmentally benign process for the production of methyl... 

Like unsaturated ketones, a,0-unsaturated carboxylic acid derivatives, e.g. lactones and anhydrides, undergo cycloadditions to alkenes. As for the preparative conditions (direct irradiation or sensitized experiments) these compounds are situated somewhere in between enones on the one side and olefins on the other. 

Oxidation is the first step for producing molecules with a very wide range of functional groups because oxygenated compounds are precursors to many other products. For example, alcohols may be converted to ethers, esters, alkenes, and, via nucleophilic substitution, to halogenated or amine products. Ketones and aldehydes may be used in condensation reactions to form new C-C double bonds, epoxides may be ring opened to form diols and polymers, and, finally, carboxylic acids are routinely converted to esters, amides, acid chlorides and acid anhydrides. Oxidation reactions are some of the largest scale industrial processes in synthetic chemistry, and the production of alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, epoxides and carboxylic acids is performed on a mammoth scale. For example, world production of ethylene oxide is estimated at 58 million tonnes, 2 million tonnes of adipic acid are made, mainly as a precursor in the synthesis of nylons, and 8 million tonnes of terephthalic acid are produced each year, mainly for the production of polyethylene terephthalate) [1]. 

J. Goossen of the Max-Planck-Institut, Muhlheim, has found Chem. Commun. 2004,724) that in situ activation of the acid with phthalic anhydride and inclusion of the bis phosphine DPE-Phos substantially slow alkene isomerization, which can be essentially eliminated by running the reaction to only 80% conversion. Both linear and branched carboxylic acids work well. 

Allylic Hydroxylation and Acyloxylation. Selenium dioxide is a standard, commonly used stoichiometric oxidant to convert alkenes to allylic alcohols.668-671 In aqueous solution it reacts as seleniuos acid (84), whereas in other hydroxylated solvents (alcohols, carboxylic acids) the alkyl selenite (85) and the mixed anhydride (86), respectively, are the actual reagents ... 

Arene(tricarbonyl)chromium complexes, 19 Nickel boride, 197 to trans-alkenes Chromium(II) sulfate, 84 of anhydrides to lactones Tetrachlorotris[bis(l,4-diphenyl-phosphine)butane]diruthenium, 288 of aromatic rings Palladium catalysts, 230 Raney nickel, 265 Sodium borohydride-1,3-Dicyano-benzene, 279 of aryl halides to arenes Palladium on carbon, 230 of benzyl ethers to alcohols Palladium catalysts, 230 of carboxylic acids to aldehydes Vilsmeier reagent, 341 of epoxides to alcohols Samarium(II) iodide, 270 Sodium hydride-Sodium /-amyloxide-Nickel(II) chloride, 281 Sodium hydride-Sodium /-amyloxide-Zinc chloride, 281 of esters to alcohols Sodium borohydride, 278 of imines and related compounds Arene(tricarbonyl)chromium complexes, 19... 

Under appropriate conditions, Mn(0 Ac)3 can be used as a free-radical initiator for the homolytic iddition of acetic anhydride to terminal alkenes. Linear or a-branched carboxylic acids can be jroduced in 70-80% yields based on a-alkenes.507... 

Miscellaneous fluorinated precursors, such as amines, anhydrides, oxiranes, alkenes, and carboxylic acids, which are used for special properties. 

Functional groups containing n-bonds are more reactive because ir-bond is weaker and can be easily broken, e.g. aromatic rings, alkenes, alkynes, aldehydes and ketones, carboxylic acids, esters, amides, acid chlorides, acid anhydrides, nitriles, etc. 

The direct conversion of alkenes to carboxylic acids using dirhenium heptoxide in a solution of acetic anhydride and dioxane is illustrated below for the oxidative cleavage of 1-octene to form n-heptanoic acid (2) ... 

Under acidic conditions CrOs will cleave double bonds to give the corresponding carboxylic acids. When the alkene also contains a hydroxy group lactones are readily formed, especially when acetic anhydride is used as a cosolvent (equation 34). ... 

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