Carboxylic acids hindered

Esterification of hindered carboxylic acids. Hindered carboxylic acids can be estcrified in high yield by alkylation of their potassium salts in ethanol-HMPT. In a typical procedure an acid such as (1) is dissolved in 50% cthanol-HMPT powdered potassium hydroxide is added and the mixture is heated at 50° until solution is complete. 

The less hindered f/ans-olefins may be obtained by reduction with lithium or sodium metal in liquid ammonia or amine solvents (Birch reduction). This reagent, however, attacks most polar functional groups (except for carboxylic acids R.E.A. Dear, 1963 J. Fried, 1968), and their protection is necessary (see section 2.6). 

Cyclopentene derivatives with carboxylic acid side-chains can be stereoselectively hydroxy-lated by the iodolactonization procedure (E.J. Corey, 1969, 1970). To the trisubstituted cyclopentene described on p. 210 a large iodine cation is added stereoselectively to the less hindered -side of the 9,10 double bond. Lactone formation occurs on the intermediate iod-onium ion specifically at C-9ot. Later the iodine is reductively removed with tri-n-butyltin hydride. The cyclopentane ring now bears all oxygen and carbon substituents in the right stereochemistry, and the carbon chains can be built starting from the C-8 and C-12 substit""" ... 

The reaction is not suitable for hindered carboxylic acids, since considerable symmetrical anhydride formation (52% with pivalic acid) results. Symmetrical anhydride formation can sometimes be suppressed by the use of stoichiometric quantities of DMAP. 

Carboxylic acids react with trifluoroacetic anhydride to give mixed anhydrides that are especially useful for the acylation of hindered alcohols and phenols ... 

The methyl ester (100, R = CH3), derived from this A-nor acid by treatment with diazomethane, is different from the ester (102) obtained either by Favorskii rearrangement of 2a-bromo-5a-cholestan-3-one (101) or by the action of cyanogen azide on 3-methoxy-5a-cholest-2-ene (103) followed by hydrolysis on alumina. The ketene intermediate involved in photolysis of (99) is expected to be hydrated from the less hindered a-side of the molecule to give the 2j -carboxylic acid. The reactions which afford (102) would be expected to afford the 2a-epimer. These configurational assignments are confirmed by deuteriochloroform-benzene solvent shifts in the NMR spectra of esters (100) and (102). ... 

PhCH20COCl, Na2C03, H20,0°, 30 min, 72% yield. Alpha-omega diamines can be protected somewhat selectively with this reagent at a pH between 3.5 and 4.5, but the selectivity decreases as the chain length increases [H2N(CH2) NH2, n = 2, 71% mono n = l, 29% mono]. Hindered amino acids are protected in DMSO (DMAP, TEA, heat, 47-82% yield). These conditions also convert a carboxylic acid to the benzyl ester. ... 

Sterically hindered derivatives of isoxazole carboxylic acids have yielded a goodly number of antibiotics. Chlorination of the oxime of the appropriately substituted benzaldehydes (15) leads to the intermediates, ( 16. Condensation of the chloro oximes with ethyl acetoacetate in base gives the esters (17) of the desired isoxazole carboxylic acids. Alternately, the esters... 

Subsequently it was found140 that ethyl 2-alkyl-1//-azepine-1-carboxylates can be isolated from a mixture of isomeric 1//-azepines by stirring the mixture with potassium hydroxide in ethanol at room temperature. Apparently, this method, which is limited to 2-alkylated azepines, depends on the slower rate of hydrolysis (and subsequent decomposition of the resulting 1H-azepine-l-carboxylic acid) of the sterically hindered 1-(ethoxycarbonyl) group. Although the yields of l//-azepines are poor (4-7%, vide supra), the method provides access to otherwise difficult to obtain, isomerically pure 2-alkyl-1//-azepines. Under the basic hydrolysis conditions aryl 2-alkyl-l//-azepine-1-carboxylates undergo transesterification to the l-(ethoxycarbonyl) derivatives. 

For less hindered carboxylic acids acylation of the imidate requires only 5 minutes. With this modification the /V-(a-methoxybenzyl)amides are prepared according to the above-mentioned procedure [R = CH3, CH(CH,)2. CH(CH, )OAc, CH(C H2)OAc yield 85-88%]. 

This procedure provides a convenient method for the esterification ol a wide variety of carboxylic acids. The reaction proceeds smoothly with sterically hindered acids6 and with acids which contain various functional groups. Esters are obtained in high purity using Kugelrohr distillation as the sole purification technique. In cases where traces of dichloromethane present no problems, the crude product is usually pure enough to be used directly in subsequent reactions. Methyl and ethyl ethers of phenols may also be prepared by this procedure (see Note 8). 

With 6-alkenoic acids the intermediate radical partially cyclizes to a cyclopentyl-methyl radical in a 5-exo-trig cycHzation [139] (Eq. 6) [138 a, 140] (see also chap. 6). To prevent double bond migration with enoic acids the electrolyte has to be hindered to become alkaline by using a mercury cathode. Z-4-Enoic acids partially isomerize to -configurated products. Results from methyl and deuterium labelled carboxylic acids support an isomerization by way of a reversible ring closure to cyclopropyl-carbinyl radicals. The double bonds of Z-N-enoic acids with N > 5 fully retain their configuration [140]. 

Triple bonds can be monohydroborated to give vinylic boranes, which can be reduced with carboxylic acids to cis alkenes or oxidized and hydrolyzed to aldehydes or ketones. Terminal alkynes give aldehydes by this method, in contrast to the mercuric or acid-catalyzed addition of water discussed at 15-4. However, terminal alkynes give vinylic boranes (and hence aldehydes) only when treated with a hindered borane such as 47, 48, or catecholborane (p. 798)," or with BHBr2—SMe2. The reaction between terminal alkynes and BH3 produces 1,1-... 

There are actually three reactions called by the name Schmidt reaction, involving the addition of hydrazoic acid to carboxylic acids, aldehydes and ketones, and alcohols and alkenes. The most common is the reaction with carboxylic acids, illustrated above.Sulfuric acid is the most common catalyst, but Lewis acids have also been used. Good results are obtained for aliphatic R, especially for long chains. When R is aryl, the yields are variable, being best for sterically hindered compounds like mesi-toic acid. This method has the advantage over 18-13 and 18-14 that it is just one laboratory step from the acid to the amine, but conditions are more drastic. Under the acid conditions employed, the isocyanate is virtually never isolated. 

Carbonyl compounds, such as aldehydes [103, 179], (thio)ketones [31, 94, 180-183], carboxylic acids, and esters [183, 184] with 1 are reduced to alcohols after hydrolysis [5], except in stericaUy hindered cases (see Section 8.5) [185, 186]. Under the same experimental conditions the regioselective reduction of the oxirane ring with 1 gives also the corresponding alcohol [183, 187]. 

Barium oxide and sodium hydride are more potent catalysts than silver oxide. With barium oxide catalysis, reactions occur more rapidly but O-acetyl migration is promoted. With sodiun hydride, even sterically hindered groups may be quantitatively alkylated but unwanted C-alkylation Instead of, or in addition to, 0-alkylatlon is a possibility. Sodium hydroxide is a suitable catalyst for the alkylation of carboxylic acids and alcohols [497J. 

Alkyl halides in the presence of silver oxide will convert any non-hindered carboxylic acid (or its salt) to the corresponding alkyl ester in minutes, and phenolic or thiol groups will also be alkylated rapidly [436]. Hydroxyl groups are alkylated slowly an ot always to completion. The alkyl halides most frequently uJQp are the lower molecular weight aliphatic... 

Additional acceleration of acylation can be obtained by inclusion of cupric salts, which coordinate at the pyridine nitrogen. This modification is useful for the preparation of highly hindered esters.122 Pyridine-2-thiol esters can be prepared by reaction of the carboxylic acid with 2,2 -dipyridyl disulfide and triphenylphosphine123 or directly from the acid and 2-pyridyl thiochloroformate.124... 

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