Clays ester formation

As an alternative to lithium enolates. silyl enolates or ketene acetals may be used in a complementary route to pentanedioates. The reaction requires Lewis acid catalysis, for example aluminum trifluoromethanesulfonate (modest diastereoselectivity with unsaturated esters)72 74 antimony(V) chloride/tin(II) trifluoromethanesulfonate (predominant formation of anti-adducts with the more reactive a,/5-unsaturated thioesters)75 montmorillonite clay (modest to good yields but poor diastereoselectivity with unsaturated esters)76 or high pressure77. 

For instance, 2-methylpropene reacted with acetic acid at 18°C in the presence of Al-bentonite to form the ester product (75). Ion-exchanged bentonites are also efficient catalysts for formation of ketals from aldehydes or ketones. Cyclohexanone reacted with methanol in the presence of Al-bentonite at room temperature to give 33% yield of dimethyl ketal after 30 min of reaction time. On addition of the same clay to the mixture of cyclohexanone and trimethyl orthoformate at room-temperature, the exothermic reaction caused the liquid to boil and resulted in an almost quantitative yield of the dimethyl ketal in 5 min. When Na- instead of Al-bentonite is used, the same reaction did not take place (75). Solomon and Hawthorne (37) suggest that elimination reactions may have been involved in the geochemical transformation of lipid and other organic sediments into petroleum deposits. 

Among activated forms of amino acids, mixed anhydrides with inorganic phosphate or phosphate esters require a special discussion because they are universally involved in peptide biosynthesis through the ribosomal and non-ribosomal pathways. These mixed anhydrides have stimulated studies in prebiotic chemistry very early in the history of this field. Amino acyl adenylates 18c have been shown to polymerize in solution [159,160] and in the presence of clays [139]. However, their participation as major activated amino acid species to the prebiotic formation of peptides from amino acids is unlikely for at least two reasons. Firstly, amino acid adenylates that have a significant lifetime in aqueous solution become very unstable as soon as either CO2 or bicarbonate is present at millimolar concentration [137]. Lacey and coworkers [161] were therefore conduced to consider that CO2 was absent in the primitive atmosphere for aminoacyl adenylate to have a sufficient lifetime and then to allow for the emergence of the modern process of amino acid activation and of the translation apparatus. But this proposition is unlikely, as shown by the analysis of geological records in favor of CO2 contents in the atmosphere higher than present levels [128]. It is also in contradiction with most studies of the evolution of the atmosphere of telluric planets [30,32], Secondly, there is no prebiotic pathway available for adenylate formation and ATP proved to be inefficient in this reaction [162]. 

Dihydrooxazoles 275 can be made by the condensation of aryl nitriles with amino alcohols catalyzed by Bi(iii) salts <2005SL2747> or acidic clay <1998TL459> in good yields (Bi salts - 70-92% kaolinitic clay -56-96%) (Equation 16). The use of Bi salts is only applicable to the formation of 2-aryloxazolines while the latter method works well for both aromatic as well as aliphatic substrates. The conversion of carboxylic esters to 2-oxazolines 276 in good (44-82%) yields with lanthanide chloride as catalyst <1997TL7019> has also been described (Equation 17). 

Dialkyl acetals and ketals can easily be formed from carbonyl compounds with alcohols under acidic conditions. Some representative examples for the great variety of methods available for this transformation are given in Scheme 77. As is demonstrated, both simple alcohols themselves or formic acid ortho esters can be used for acetal formation in the presence of hydrochloric acid, toluenesulfonic acid °° or activated alumina (Montmorrilonite clay K-10). ° Owing to different carbonyl reactivities, regio- and chemo-selective differentiation is often realizable, as has been shown, for example, on androstane-3,17-dione (78). Acid-catalyzed acetalization selectively delivers the 3-ketal, whereas the sterically hindered 17-carbonyl function remains unaffected. Under neutral conditions the reactions are promoted by cata-... 

Fig. 4. 18 Typical changes in oxygen-containing functional group content with increasing maturity (represented by burial depth) of type II kerogen from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation in the UK sector of the North Sea (after Patience et al. 1992). Data obtained from 13C NMR analysis, so the functional groups are represented by the signal of the C atom(s) directly bonded to each O atom (n.b. two O atoms are associated with each carboxyl C, but two C atoms with each ester O).

In the presence of Japanese acid clay ethanol decomposes mainly into ether at 200° C. with formation of only traces of aldehyde and ester. At 300° to 400° C. ethylene is the main product, alcohol and ether being almost absent in the liquid product which comprises 92-96 per cent water.470 With a clay catalyst, Hisamura47b has obtained a yield of ethylene of 83 per cent in a product that was 98 per cent pure ethylene at 400° C. 

Figure 3.6 Formation of 2,4-D esters using clay catalysis...

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