Carboxylic acids-alkenes => malonic

The alkylation of activated halogen compounds is one of several reactions of trialkylboranes developed by Brown (see also 15-16,15-25,18-31-18-40, etc.). These compounds are extremely versatile and can be used for the preparation of many types of compounds. In this reaction, for example, an alkene (through the BR3 prepared from it) can be coupled to a ketone, a nitrile, a carboxylic ester, or a sulfonyl derivative. Note that this is still another indirect way to alkylate a ketone (see 10-105) or a carboxylic acid (see 10-106), and provides an additional alternative to the malonic ester and acetoacetic ester syntheses (10-104). 

Allylic carboxylation. Diethyl oxomalonate (1) undergoes a thermal ene reaction with mono-, di-, and trisubstituted alkenes at 145 180°. The reaction is also subject to catalysis with Lewis acids, which can lead to a different ene product. The products are a-hydroxymalonic esters. The corresponding malonic acids are converted to carboxylic acids by bisdecarboxylation with NaI04 and a trace of pyridine- or with ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN). Diethyl oxomalonate then functions as an cnophilic equivalent of C02. 

There are also reactions in which electrophilic radicals react with relatively nucleophilic alkenes. These reactions are exemplified by a group of procedures in which a radical intermediate is formed by oxidation of readily enolizable compounds. This reaction was initially developed for /3-ketoacids,311 and the method has been extended to jS-diketones, malonic acids, and cyanoacetic acid.312 The radicals formed by the addition step are rapidly oxidized to cations, which give rise to the final product by intramolecular capture of a carboxylate group. 

Oxalic and malonic acids, as well as a-hydroxy acids, easily react with cerium(IV) salts (Sheldon and Kochi, 1968). Simple alkanoic acids are much more resistant to attack by cerium(IV) salts. However, silver(I) salts catalyze the thermal decarboxylation of alkanoic acids by ammonium hexanitratocerate(IV) (Nagori et al., 1981). Cerium(IV) carboxylates can be decomposed by either a thermal or a photochemical reaction (Sheldon and Kochi, 1968). Alkyl radicals are released by the decarboxylation reaction, which yields alkanes, alkenes, esters and carbon dioxide. The oxidation of substituted benzilic acids by cerium(IV) salts affords the corresponding benzilic acids in quantitative yield (scheme 19) (Hanna and Sarac, 1977). Trahanovsky and coworkers reported that phenylacetic acid is decarboxylated by reaction with ammonium hexanitratocerate(IV) in aqueous acetonitrile containing nitric acid (Trahanovsky et al., 1974). The reaction products are benzyl alcohol, benzaldehyde, benzyl nitrate and carbon dioxide. The reaction is also applicable to substituted phenylacetic acids. The decarboxylation is a one-electron process and radicals are formed as intermediates. The rate-determining step is the decomposition of the phenylacetic acid/cerium(IV) complex into a benzyl radical and carbon dioxide. 

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