Carboxylic acids symmetrical coupling

Kolbe electrolysis is a powerful method of generating radicals for synthetic applications. These radicals can combine to symmetrical dimers (chap 4), to unsymmetrical coupling products (chap 5), or can be added to double bonds (chap 6) (Eq. 1, path a). The reaction is performed in the laboratory and in the technical scale. Depending on the reaction conditions (electrode material, pH of the electrolyte, current density, additives) and structural parameters of the carboxylates, the intermediate radical can be further oxidized to a carbocation (Eq. 1, path b). The cation can rearrange, undergo fragmentation and subsequently solvolyse or eliminate to products. This path is frequently called non-Kolbe electrolysis. In this way radical and carbenium-ion derived products can be obtained from a wide variety of carboxylic acids. 

Table 2. Symmetrical coupling of selected carboxylic acids...

A potential liability associated with such reductive hydroacylations resides in the fact that only one acyl residue of the symmetric anhydride is incorporated into the coupling product. For more precious carboxylic acids, selective acyl transfer from mixed anhydrides is possible. Mixed anhydrides derived from pivalic acid are especially convenient, as they may be isolated chromato-graphically in most cases. In practice, mixed anhydrides of this type enable completely branch-selective hydroacylation with selective delivery of the aromatic and a,()-unsalurated acyl donors (Scheme 19). 

In a more recent study using dedicated multimode microwave reactors for chemical synthesis, which enable temperature and power control, it was demonstrated that microwave irradiation could be effectively employed to couple aromatic carboxylic acids to polystyrene Wang resin [25], if the symmetrical anhydride procedure was used, and not the three-component O-acylisourea activation method [19]. Almost quantitative loading was achieved in l-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) at 200 °C within 10 min under... 

Perhaps the best-known and most widely appreciated electrochemical transformation is the Kolbe oxidation (see also Chapter 6) [1, 2, 31]. The process involves the one electron oxidation of the salt of a carboxylic acid, and the loss of carbon dioxide to afford a radical, R, that subsequently engages in coupling reactions. Both symmetrical (R + R ) and nonsym-metrical (R + R ) radical couplings are known and are illustrated in the following discussion. The nonsymmetrical variety (often referred to as a mixed or hetero coupling) is remarkable given that it requires the cogeneration and reaction of more than one reactive intermediate. 

For the solid-phase synthesis of amides, it makes a significant difference whether the amine or the acid is linked to the support. Resin-bound amines are readily acy-lated by adding first a carboxylic acid and then a carbodiimide (Table 13.3). The acid/ carbodiimide ratio is not critical, because both the O-acylisourea (ratio 1 1) and the symmetric anhydride (ratio 2 1) will lead to N-acylation. It should, however, be borne in mind that the half-lives of O-acylisoureas are shorter than those of anhydrides, and for difficult couplings it might be advantageous to acylate with a symmetric anhydride (two equivalents of acid and one of carbodiimide). 

Following the study of the simple coupling of radicals derived from the salt of a single carboxylic acid, it was found that the electrolysis of a mixture of carboxylate anions or of the salts of half esters of dicarboxylic acids increased the synthetic value of the method. This arises from the possibility of the formation of symmetrical and unsymmetrical coupled products of the derived radicals. These anodic syntheses are illustrated in the synthesis of hexacosane (Expt 5.11), sebacic acid (decanedioic acid), octadecanedioic acid and myristic acid (tetra-decanoic acid), in Expt 5.131. 

In order to install a benzophenone at the bicyclic scaffold we relied on the previously used oxazole linkage. To this end, the known amino-hydroxybenzophenone 37 (Aichaoui et al. 1990) was coupled to the free acid rac-38, which is available from Kemp s triacid in five synthetic steps. Remarkably, an 0-aeylation instead of the expected /V-acylalion was observed resulting in ester rac-39. As a consequence, oxazole formation was less straightforward but could eventually be achieved under more forceful conditions. The reaction sequence led to the racemic benzophenone rac-40, i.e. to a 1/1 mixture of the enantiomers (+)-40 and (-)-40, which was separated by chiral HPLC (Daicel Chiralpak AD). It is important to mention that a separation of enantiomers at an earlier stage is not sensible. While carboxylic acid 38 can be obtained in enantiomerically pure form, racemisation occurs upon activation, presumably due to a bridged symmetrical intermediate (Kirby et al. 1998) (Scheme 16). 

The inconveniences of DCC, A-acylurea formation, dehydration of Asn and Gin residues, and racemization, can be reduced by performing the acylation step in the presence of a suitable nucleophile which reacts very quickly with the G-acylisourea before side reactions can occur. An acylating agent of lower potency but still sufficiently reactive toward aminolysis and more resistant towards side reactions and racemization is formed. The additive is usually applied in equimolar amount with the two components to be coupled. As a result, there are two moles of nucleophiles, the additive and the amino component, present in the reaction mixture for each mole of carboxylic acid component or carbodiimide. Therefore the lifetime of highly reactive intermediates, such as G-acylisoureas and symmetrical anhydrides is considerably reduced. The concentration of the additive that acts as a second nucleophile increases with respect to the carboxylic component during the coupling reaction, because it is continuously regenerated. The most commonly used additives used in combination with DCC are shown in Scheme 2. 

Photolysis at lower temperatures and in the solid state decreases the extent of the hydrogen atom abstraction due to its higher activation energy compared to radical dimerization. Additionally, the lower mobility of the radicals in the solid state increases the cage reaction of the pairwise generated radicals. This way unsymmetrical diacylperoxides form unsymmetrical dimers with less than 1% of the symmetrical product [29]. Peroxides from carboxylic acids, being optically active at the a-carbon, couple photochemically in the solid with only a minor loss of optical activity [30]. 

By anodic decarboxylation carboxylic acids can be converted simply and in large variety into radicals. The combination of these radicals to form symmetrical dimers or unsymmetrical coupling products is termed Kolbe electrolysis (Scheme 1, path a). The radicals can also be added to double bonds to afford additive monomers or dimers, and in an intramolecular version can lead to five-membered heterocycles and carbocycles (Scheme 1, path b). The intermediate radical can be further oxidized to a carbenium ion (Scheme 1, path c). This oxidation is favored by electron-donating substituents at the a-carbon of the carboxylic acid, a basic electrolyte, graphite as anode material and salt additives, e.g. sodium perchlorate. The carbocations lead to products that are formed by solvolysis, elimination, fragmentation or rearrangement. This pathway of anodic decarboxylation is frequently called nonKolbe electrolysis. 

The alkyl groups of two identical carboxylic acids can be coupled to symmetrical dimers in the presence of a fair number of functional groups (equation 1). Since free radicals are the reactive intermediates, polar substituents need not be protected. This saves the steps for protection and deprotection that are necessary in such cases when electrophilic or nucleophilic C—C bond-forming reactions are involved. Furthermore, carboxylic acids are available in a wide variety from natural or petrochemical sources, or can be readily prepared from a large variety of precursors. Compared to chemicd methods for the construction of symmetrical compounds, such as nucleophilic substitution or addition, decomposition of azo compounds or of diacyl peroxides, these advantages make the Kolbe electrolysis the method of choice for the synthesis of symmetrical target molecules. No other chemical method is available that allows the decarboxylative dimerization of carboxylic acids. 

Table 2 Symmetrical Coupling Reactions of Selected Carboxylic Acids...

Benzyl, allyl, vinyl, and aryl, but also some aliphatic, halides have been transformed into carboxylic acids (Eq. 10). Under other conditions, couplings with CO to give symmetrical or unsymmetrical ketones were possible. Epoxides yielded unsaturated hydroxy acids, and a-oxo-butyrolactones (Eq. 11), couplings of alkynes and alkyl halides gave hydroxybutenolides (Eq. 12) and other more complex conversions could also be realized. 

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