Crown ethers preparation

The crown ethers described so far are able to bind simple metal cations and, in the case of 18-crown-6, the ammonium cation. The latter observation led one of Pedersen s fellow Nobel Laureates, Donald Cram, to consider if crown ethers could be used to resolve racemic mixmres of amino acids. None of the crown ethers prepared by Pedersen was chiral however, the Cram group was able to synthesize 18-crown-6 derivatives that incorporated one, two, or three binaphthyl groups. These crown ethers could be separated into their enantiomers and attached to a silica support. The modified silica was subsequently used to separate racemic mixtures of amino acids by chromatography. Early experiments gave separation factors for racemic mixtures of simple amino acid methyl esters in the region of 1.5-3.5. 

Introduction to Ethers Nomenclature of Ethers Structure and Properties of Ethers Crown Ethers Preparation of Ethers Reactions of Ethers Nomenclature of Epoxides Preparation of Epoxides Enantioselective Epoxidation Ring-Opening Reactions of Epoxides Thiols and Sulfides... 

Another study of polymer-supported crown ethers prepared by the reaction poly(ethylene or propylene glycols) with crosslinked chloromethylated polystyrene is presented by Warshawsky et al. [6]. In Fig. 5 the structure of these crown ether polymers is shown. 

Aryl, heteroaryl, and alkenyl cyanides are prepared by the reaction of halides[656-658] or triflates[659,660] with KCN or LiCN in DMF, HMPA, and THF. Addition of crown ethers[661] and alumina[662] promotes efficient aryl and alkenyl cyanation. lodobenzene is converted into benzonitrile (794) by the reaction of trimethylsiiyl cyanide in EtiN as a solvent. No reaction takes place with aryl bromides and chlorides[663]. The reaction was employed in an estradiol synthesis. The 3-hydroxy group in 796 was derived from the iodide 795 by converting it into a cyano group[664]. 

The strength of this bonding depends on the kind of ether Simple ethers form relatively weak complexes with metal ions but Charles J Pedersen of Du Pont discovered that cer tain polyethers form much more stable complexes with metal ions than do simple ethers Pedersen prepared a series of macrocyclic polyethers cyclic compounds contain mg four or more oxygens m a ring of 12 or more atoms He called these compounds crown ethers, because their molecular models resemble crowns Systematic nomencla ture of crown ethers is somewhat cumbersome and so Pedersen devised a shorthand description whereby the word crown is preceded by the total number of atoms m the ring and is followed by the number of oxygen atoms... 

In media such as water and alcohols fluoride ion is strongly solvated by hydro gen bonding and is neither very basic nor very nucleophilic On the other hand the poorly solvated or naked fluoride 10ns that are present when potassium fluoride dis solves m benzene m the presence of a crown ether are better able to express their anionic reactivity Thus alkyl halides react with potassium fluoride m benzene containing 18 crown 6 thereby providing a method for the preparation of otherwise difficultly acces sible alkyl fluorides... 

The unsaturation present at the end of the polyether chain acts as a chain terminator ia the polyurethane reaction and reduces some of the desired physical properties. Much work has been done ia iadustry to reduce unsaturation while continuing to use the same reactors and hoi ding down the cost. In a study (102) usiag 18-crown-6 ether with potassium hydroxide to polymerise PO, a rate enhancement of approximately 10 was found at 110°C and slightly higher at lower temperature. The activation energy for this process was found to be 65 kj/mol (mol ratio, r = 1.5 crown ether/KOH) compared to 78 kj/mol for the KOH-catalysed polymerisation of PO. It was also feasible to prepare a PPO with 10, 000 having narrow distribution at 40°C with added crown ether (r = 1.5) (103). The polymerisation rate under these conditions is about the same as that without crown ether at 80°C. 

Cesium isotopes can be recovered from fission products by digestion in nitric acid, and after filtration of waste the radioactive cesium phosphotungstate is precipitated using phosphotungstic acid. This technique can be used to prepare radioactive cesium metal or compounds. Various processes for removal of Cs isotopes from radioactive waste have been developed including solvent extraction using macrocycHc polyethers (62) or crown ethers (63) and coprecipitation with sodium tetraphenylboron (64). 

Chelation itself is sometimes useful in directing the course of synthesis. This is called the template effect (37). The presence of a suitable metal ion facihtates the preparation of the crown ethers, porphyrins, and similar heteroatom macrocycHc compounds. Coordination of the heteroatoms about the metal orients the end groups of the reactants for ring closure. The product is the chelate from which the metal may be removed by a suitable method. In other catalytic effects, reactive centers may be brought into close proximity, charge or bond strain effects may be created, or electron transfers may be made possible. 

Halide ions may attack 5-substituted thiiranium ions at three sites the sulfur atom (Section 5.06.3.4.5), a ring carbon atom or an 5-alkyl carbon atom. In the highly sterically hindered salt (46) attack occurs only on sulfur (Scheme 62) or the S-methyl group (Scheme 89). The demethylation of (46) by bromide and chloride ion is the only example of attack on the carbon atom of the sulfur substituent in any thiiranium salt (78CC630). Iodide and fluoride ion (the latter in the presence of a crown ether) prefer to attack the sulfur atom of (46). cis-l-Methyl-2,3-di-t-butylthiiranium fluorosulfonate, despite being somewhat hindered, nevertheless is attacked at a ring carbon atom by chloride and bromide ions. The trans isomer could not be prepared its behavior to nucleophiles is therefore unknown (74JA3146). 

Rate differences observed between the same bromophenylcarbene (241) when prepared by two different routes, diazirine photolysis and the reaction of benzylidene dibromide with potassium r-butoxide, vanish when a crown ether is added to the basic solution in the latter experiment. In this case the complexing potassium bromide is taken over by the crown ether, and selectivity towards alkenes reaches the values of the photolytic runs (74JA5632). 

Caution Crown ethers may be toxic. Due care should be exercised in the preparation and handling of l8-croum-6. An explosion has been reported... 

Extensive and important as Pedersen s efforts were, they might have been even greater had he not prepared the first examples of crown ethers when he was beyond sixty years of age. After giving birth to a remarkable child, he was unable to nurture it because of his retirement in 1969. 

Both of these structures are open-chained compounds corresponding to crown ethers in function if not exactly in structure (see Chap. 7). They have repeating ethyleneoxy side-chains generally terminated in a methyl group. Montanari and co-workers introduced the polypodes 22 as phase transfer catalysts . These compounds were based on the triazine nucleus as illustrated below. The first octopus molecule (23) was prepared by Vogtle and Weber and is shown below. The implication of the name is that the compound is multiarmed and not specifically that it has eight such side-chains. Related molecules have recently been prepared by Hyatt and the name octopus adopted. For further information on this group of compounds and for examples of structures, refer to the discussion and tables in Chap. 7. 

The template effect has long been accepted prima facie by workers in the crown field because of the obvious relationship between ring size and complexation constant. In fact, Cram stated in 1975 that the templating properties of for preparing crown ethers is well established.. . In fact, the template effect was widely acknowledged and has always received overwhelming support. Nevertheless, few direct comparisons are available in the literature and we have restricted ourselves m this discussion only to direct rather than the large body of presumptive evidence which is currently available. 

Two of the most widely used crown ethers have been dibenzo-18-crown-6 and dicyclo-hexano-18-crown-6.(In older literature, the latter is often referred to as dicyclohexyl-18-crown-6 .) A major reason for this is that Pedersen reported complete details of the preparation of both compounds in Organic Syntheses in 1972. As a result, both compounds were readily prepared and available. 

Timko and Cram were the first to prepare true crown ethers containing the furanyl subcyclic unit ° . Destructive distillation of sucrose yielded 2-hydroxymethyl-5-formyl-furan 7 in 41% yield. This could be reduced to the corresponding diol in 91% yield by treatment with sodium borohydride. Reaction of the diol with tetraethylene glycol dito-sylate, and potassium t-butoxide in THE solution afforded the crown in 36% yield. The approach is illustrated below as Eq. (3.26). 

Not long thereafter, Tarnowski and Cram reported the first example of a hinged bis-crown ether. The compound was prepared in the usual Williamson reaction by heating a mixture of 2,2, 3,3 -tetrahydroxy-l, r-binaphthyl with pentaethylene glycol ditosylate and KOH in aqueous THF solution. The product (mp 159.5—161°) shown in Eq. (3.30) was obtained in 30% yield. This compound was shown to complex bis-ammonium cations of several varieties . 

Frensch and Vdgtle have recently appended three crown ether units to the cyclo-triveratrylene unit . Note that Hyatt had previously prepared the open-chained relatives of this structure (see Sect. 7.3 and Eq. 7.6). Whereas Hyatt prepared the cyclo-triveratrylene skeleton and then appended polyethyleneoxy arms to it, Frensch and Vogtle conducted the condensation reaction (formaldehyde/HCl) on the preformed benzocrown. Thus benzo-15-crown-5 was converted into the corresponding tris-crown (IS) (mp 203.5—205.5°) in 4% yield. The yield was somewhat higher for the condensation of benzo-18-crown-6, but in both cases, yield ranges were observed. These species formed 1 3 (ligand/salt) complexes with sodium and potassium ions. 

So many different crown ether systems have been prepared over the recent decade that it sometimes seems that any of them could be placed in a miscellaneous category. On the other hand, each has its interesting features and probably merits a separate section for adequate discussion. Because both of these criteria cannot be met simultaneously, we have placed a number of compounds in this section which are fully deserving of detailed discussion, but not enough examples are yet available to group them separately. 

Schroder and Witt ° have reported the synthesis of crown ethers having fluctuating ring sizes which they have termed breathing crown ethers . The structures are based on the bullvalene subunit and, as the tetracyclic subunit undergoes Cope rearrangement, the size of the macroring likewise varies. The synthetic steps follow the conventional routes used for the preparation of crown ethers and are illustrated in Eq. (3.44). 

Almost as soon as Pedersen announced his discovery of the crown ethers (see Chaps. 2 and 3) it was recognized by many that these species were similar to those prepared by Busch and coworkers for binding coinage and transition metals (see Sect. 2.1). The latter compounds contained all or a predominance of nitrogen and sulfur (see also Chap. 6) in accordance with their intended use. The crown ethers and the polyazamacrocycles represented two extremes in cation binding ability and preparation of the intermediate compounds quickly ensued. In the conceptual sense, monoazacrowns are the simplest variants of the macrocyclic polyethers and these will be discussed first. 

A number of bridged crown ethers have been prepared. Although the Simmons-Park in-out bicyclic amines (see Sect. 1.3.3) are the prototype, Lehn s cryptands (see Chap. 8) are probably better known. Intermediates between the cryptands (which Pedersen referred to as lanterns ) and the simple monoazacrowns are monoazacrowns bridged by a single hydrocarbon strand. Pedersen reports the synthesis of such a structure (see 7, below) which he referred to as a clam compound for the obvious reason . Although Pedersen appears not to have explored the binding properties of his clam in any detail, he did attempt to complex Na and Cs ions. A 0.0001 molar solution of the clam compound is prepared in ethanol. The metal ions Na and Cs are added to the clam-ethanol solutions as salts. Ultraviolet spectra of these solutions indicate that a small amount of the Na is complexed by the clam compound but none of the Cs . 

Okahara and his coworkers have made a number of contributions to the synthesis of crown ethers using a one-pot method (see Sect. 3.13). These methods have been applied largely to the preparation of simple aliphatic crown ether systems. In addition, this group has prepared macrocyclic ester compounds using a one-pot procedure. Although... 

Although most of the macrocycles that contain phosphorus or arsenic which have thus far been prepared, are primarily transition metals binders, two compounds have been prepared which are essentially crown ethers containing phosphorus. Kudrya, Shtepanek and Kirsanovhave prepared two compounds which are essentially polyoxygen macrocycles but which contain one or two methylphosphonic acid esters as part of the ring. These two macrocycles are shown below as 7d and 17 and are both prepared by the reaction of 2,2 [oxybis(ethyleneoxy)] bisphenolate with methylphosphonic dichloride in a mixture of acetonitrile and benzene. The crystalline monomer 16) and dimer 17) were isolated in 17% and 11% yields respectively as indicated in Eq. (6.13). 

Most of the compounds in this class have been prepared from preexisting crown ether units. By far, the most common approach is to use a benzo-substituted crown and an electrophilic condensation polymerization. A patent issued to Takekoshi, Scotia and Webb (General Electric) in 1974 which covered the formation of glyoxal and chloral type copolymers with dibenzo-18-crown-6. The latter were prepared by stirring the crown with an equivalent of chloral in chloroform solution. Boron trifluoride was catalyst in this reaction. The polymer which resulted was obtained in about 95% yield. The reaction is illustrated in Eq. (6.22). 

With the discovery of the crowns and related species, it was inevitable that a search would begin for simpler and simpler relatives which might be useful in similar applications. Perhaps these compounds would be easier and more economical to prepare and ultimately, of course, better in one respect or another than the molecules which inspired the research. In particular, the collateral developments of crown ether chemistry and phase transfer catalysis fostered an interest in utilizing the readily available polyethylene glycol mono- or dimethyl ethers as catalysts for such reactions. Although there is considerable literature in this area, much of it relates to the use of simple polyethylene glycols in phase transfer processes. Since our main concern in this monograph is with novel structures, we will discuss these simple examples further only briefly, below. 

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