Carboxylic acid reactivity

A number of 1,2-dithiolecarboxylic acid derivatives are known. These appear to have typical carboxylic acid reactivity and form acid halides, esters, amides, etc. (67ZC275,72BSF1840), and undergo internal Friedel-Crafts acylation with aromatic substituents (72BSF1840,73BSF721). 

A number of types of 1,2-dithiole carboxylic acids are known. These have typical carboxylic acid reactivity <67ZC275, 72BSF1840, 73BSF721). No significant newer work is reported. 

Figure 4.19 Carboxylic acid reactive probes. Stabilization of an unstable 0-acylisourea intermediate by use of A/-hydroxysulphosuccinimide during the carbodiimide-activated combination of a carboxylic acid with a primary amine. Reaction normally occurs by steps A and B. With N-hydroxysulphosuccinimide the reaction now takes place by steps A, C and D.

Nitroamlines. Acetyl derivatives (p. 388), Benzoyl derivatives (p. 388). Diamines. Diacet> l derivatives (p. 388), Dibenzoyl derivatives (p. 388). Halogeno-hydrocarbons, a-Naphthyl ethers (from reactive halogen compounds, p. 391, and their Picratcs, p. 394), Nitro-derivatives (p.39i). Carboxylic acid (if oxidisable side chain) (p. 393). 

Hydrides are available in many molecular sizes and possessing different reactivities. LiAIH reduces most unsaturated groups except alkenes and alkynes. NaBH is less reactive and reduces only aldehydes and ketones, but usually no carboxylic acids or esters (N.G. Gaylord, 1956 A. Haj6s, 1979). 

Another method for deallylation of ally esters is the transfer of the allyl group to reactive nucleophiles. Amines such as morpholine are used[415-417], Potassium salts of higher carboxylic acids are used as an accepter of the allyl group[418]. The method is applied to the protection and deprotection of the acid function in rather unstable /f-lactam 664[419,420]. 

Methyl-5-aminothia2ole-4-carboxylic acid is diazotized with isoamyl nitrite in the presence of furan in 1.2-dichloroethane to give a mixture of products 163 (53%), 164 (33%). 165 (11%), and 166 (3%) (Scheme 104) (334). This reactivity experiment was carried out to examine the possibility of the occurrence of 4,5-dehydrothiazole (hetaryne). Hetaryne intermediates seem not to be involved as an intermediate in the reaction. The formation of 163 through 166 can be rationalized in terms of the intermediacy of 166a. 

This method is widely used for the resolution of chiral amines and carboxylic acids Analogous methods based on the formation and separation of diastereomers have been developed for other functional groups the precise approach depends on the kind of chem ical reactivity associated with the functional groups present m the molecule... 

Neutral Lewis bases such as water alcohols and carboxylic acids are much weaker nucleophiles than their conjugate bases When comparing species that have the same nucleophilic atom a negatively charged nucleophile is more reactive than a neutral one... 

The chemistry of the carbonyl group is probably the single most important aspect of organic chemical reactivity Classes of compounds that contain the carbonyl group include many derived from carboxylic acids (acyl chlorides acid anhydrides esters and amides) as well as the two related classes discussed m this chapter aldehydes and ketones... 

What structural features are responsible for the reactivity order of carboxylic acid derivatives Like the other carbonyl containing compounds that we ve studied they all have a planar arrangement of bonds to the carbonyl group Thus all are about the same in offering relatively unhindered access to the approach of a nucleophile They differ m the degree to which the atom attached to the carbonyl group can stabilize the carbonyl group by electron donation... 

The order of reactivity of carboxylic acid derivatives toward nucleophilic acyl sub stitution can be explained on the basis of the electron donating properties of sub stituent X The greater the electron donating powers of X the slower the rate... 

Thioesters Like chlorine sulfur is a third row element with limited ability to donate a pair of 3p electrons into the carbonyl tt system With an electronegativ ity that IS much less than Cl or O however its destabilizing effect on the carbonyl group IS slight and thioesters he m the middle of the group of carboxylic acid derivatives m respect to reactivity... 

After acyl halides acid anhydrides are the most reactive carboxylic acid derivatives Three of them acetic anhydride phthahc anhydride and maleic anhydride are mdus trial chemicals and are encountered far more often than others Phthahc anhydride and maleic anhydride have their anhydride function incorporated into a nng and are referred to as cyclic anhydrides... 

Section 20 2 The structure and reactivity of carboxylic acid derivatives depend on how well the atom bonded to the carbonyl group donates electrons to it... 

Amines are convert ed to amides on reaction with acyl chlorides Other acylating agents such as carboxylic acid anhydrides and esters may also be used but are less reactive... 

One of the most sensitive tests of the dependence of chemical reactivity on the size of the reacting molecules is the comparison of the rates of reaction for compounds which are members of a homologous series with different chain lengths. Studies by Flory and others on the rates of esterification and saponification of esters were the first investigations conducted to clarify the dependence of reactivity on molecular size. The rate constants for these reactions are observed to converge quite rapidly to a constant value which is independent of molecular size, after an initial dependence on molecular size for small molecules. The effect is reminiscent of the discussion on the uniqueness of end groups in connection with Example 1.1. In the esterification of carboxylic acids, for example, the rate constants are different for acetic, propionic, and butyric acids, but constant for carboxyUc acids with 4-18 carbon atoms. This observation on nonpolymeric compounds has been generalized to apply to polymerization reactions as well. The latter are subject to several complications which are not involved in the study of simple model compounds, but when these complications are properly considered, the independence of reactivity on molecular size has been repeatedly verified. 

As with polyesters, the amidation reaction of acid chlorides may be carried out in solution because of the enhanced reactivity of acid chlorides compared with carboxylic acids. A technique known as interfacial polymerization has been employed for the formation of polyamides and other step-growth polymers, including polyesters, polyurethanes, and polycarbonates. In this method the polymerization is carried out at the interface between two immiscible solutions, one of which contains one of the dissolved reactants, while the second monomer is dissolved in the other. Figure 5.7 shows a polyamide film forming at the interface between an aqueous solution of a diamine layered on a solution of a diacid chloride in an organic solvent. In this form interfacial polymerization is part of the standard repertoire of chemical demonstrations. It is sometimes called the nylon rope trick because of the filament of nylon produced by withdrawing the collapsed film. 

Carboxylic acid hydiazides are prepared from aqueous hydrazine and tfie carboxylic acid, ester, amide, anhydride, or halide. The reaction usually goes poody with the free acid. Esters are generally satisfactory. Acyl halides are particularly reactive, even at room temperature, and form the diacyl derivatives (22), which easily undergo thermal dehydration to 1,3,4-oxadiazoles (23). Diesters give dihydtazides (24) and polyesters such as polyacrylates yield a polyhydrazide (25). The chemistry of carboxyhc hydrazides has been reviewed (83,84). 

Equation 20 is the rate-controlling step. The reaction rate of the hydrophobes decreases in the order primary alcohols > phenols > carboxylic acids (84). With alkylphenols and carboxylates, buildup of polyadducts begins after the starting material has been completely converted to the monoadduct, reflecting the increased acid strengths of these hydrophobes over the alcohols. Polymerization continues until all ethylene oxide has reacted. Beyond formation of the monoadduct, reactivity is essentially independent of chain length. The effectiveness of ethoxylation catalysts increases with base strength. In practice, ratios of 0.005—0.05 1 mol of NaOH, KOH, or NaOCH to alcohol are frequendy used. 

The main feature of the reactivity of pyrrole-2-carboxylic acids is the ease with which the carboxyl group is removed. Thermal decarboxylation is a preparatively useful reaction. 

Rates of debromination of bromonitro-thiophenes and -selenophenes with sodium thio-phenoxide and sodium selenophenoxide have been studied. Selenophene compounds were about four times more reactive than the corresponding thiophene derivatives. The rate ratio was not significantly different whether attack was occurring at the a- or /3-position. As in benzenoid chemistry, numerous nucleophilic displacement reactions are found to be copper catalyzed. Illustrative of these reactions is the displacement of bromide from 3-bromothiophene-2-carboxylic acid and 3-bromothiophene-4-carboxylic acid by active methylene compounds (e.g. AcCH2C02Et) in the presence of copper and sodium ethoxide (Scheme 77) (75JCS(P1)1390). 

In the photolysis of difiuorodiazirine (218) a singlet carbene was also observed (65JA758). Reactions of the difiuorocarbene were especially studied with partners which are too reactive to be used in the presence of conventional carbene precursors, such as molecular chlorine and iodine, dinitrogen tetroxide, nitryl chloride, carboxylic acids and sulfonic acids. Thus chlorine, trifiuoroacetic acid and trifiuoromethanesulfonic acid reacted with difiuorodiazirine under the conditions of its photolysis to form compounds (237)-(239) (64JHC233). 

By virtue of their fused /3-lactam-thiazolidine ring structure, the penicillins behave as acylating agents of a reactivity comparable to carboxylic acid anhydrides (see Section 5.11.2.1). This reactivity is responsible for many of the properties of the penicillins, e.g. difficult isolation due to hydrolytic instability (B-49MI51102), antibacterial activity due to irreversible transpeptidase inhibition (Section 5.11.5.1), and antigen formation via reaction with protein molecules. 

Grignard reagent from, acylation, 4, 237 nitration, 4, 211 reactivity, 4, 71-72 synthesis, 4, 149, 237, 341, 360 Pyrrole-3-carboxylic acids acidity, 4, 71 decarboxylation, 4, 286 esterification, 4, 287 esters... 

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