Diketene reactions

Diketene, reaction with tert-butyl alcohol to give tert-butyl acetoace-tate, 42, 28... 

Six-Membered Heterocycle Ring Formation. Heterocycle formation involving diketene usually involves acetoacetylation of a substrate, followed by intramolecular condensation. Diketene itself readily dimerizes through self-condensation forming mainly dehydro acetic acid [771-03-9] (DHA) (13). Dehydroacetic acid and sodium dehydro acetate [4418-26-2] are used as preservatives for foods and cosmetics. DHA is found as an unwanted by-product in many diketene reactions, but can be obtained intentionally by dimerizing diketene in the presence of pyridine [110-86-1] in benzene, diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane [280-57-9] (DABCO), and other basic catalysts. 

Diketene (635) is converted into 3-phenyl-3-butenoic acid (636) by the reaction of phenylzinc, magnesium, and aluminum reagents via C—O bond clea-vage[495j. 

Boiling acetic acid converts 2-aminothiazole into the 2-acetamido derivative far more easily when catalytic amounts of diketene are added to the reaction mixture (277),... 

The manufacture of the highly pure ketene required for ketenization and acetylation reactions is based on the pyrolysis of diketene, a method which has been employed in industrial manufacture. Conversion of diketene to monomeric ketene is accompHshed on an industrial scale by passing diketene vapor through a tube heated to 350—600°C. Thus, a convenient and technically feasible process for producing ketene uncontaminated by methane, other hydrocarbons, and carbon oxides, is available. Based on the feasibiHty of this process, diketene can be considered a more stable form of the unstable ketene. 

Chemical Properties. Diketene is a reactive and versatile compound which can undergo reaction with a large variety of compounds. These reactions have been reviewed comprehensively (1,5,6,96). 

In most reactions diketene appears to react as acetylketene or one of its tautomeric forms. This is one of the reasons for the correct stmcture of diketene being firmly established only in 1952, 45 years after its discovery (97,98). 

Acetoiicetyliition Reactions. The best known and commercially most important reaction of diketene is the aceto acetylation of nucleophiles to give derivatives of acetoacetic acid (Fig. 2) (1,5,6). A wide variety of substances with acidic hydrogens can be acetoacetylated. This includes alcohols, amines, phenols, thiols, carboxyHc acids, amides, ureas, thioureas, urethanes, and sulfonamides. Where more than one functional group is present, ring closure often follows aceto acetylation, giving access to a variety of heterocycHc compounds. These reactions often require catalysts in the form of tertiary amines, acids, and mercury salts. Acetoacetate esters and acetoacetamides are the most important industrial intermediates prepared from diketene. 

Another important reaction of diketene derivatives is the Hant2sch pyridine synthesis (101). This synthesis is the preparation of 1,4-dihydropyridines (14) starting either from two acetoacetic esters, which react with an aldehyde and ammonia or a primary amine or from 3-aminocrotonates and 2-alkyhdene acetoacetic esters, both diketene derivatives. Several such dihydropyridines such as nifedipine [21829-25-4] (102), nimodipine [66085-59-4] and nicardipine [55985-32-5] exhibit interesting pharmaceutical activity as vasodilators (blood vessel dilation) and antihypertensives (see Cardiovascularagents). 

Six-membered heterocycles with two heteroatoms are prepared by reaction of diketene with a substrate containing a C—O or C—N multiple bond. With carbonyl compounds diketene reacts in the presence of acids to give l,3-dioxin-4-ones. The best known is 2,2,6-trimethyl-4H-l,3-dioxin-4-one [5394-63-8] (15), the so-called diketene—acetone adduct, often used as a diketene replacement that is safer to handle and to transport, albeit somewhat less reactive than diketene itself (103,104), forming acetylketene upon heating. 

Diketene reacts with imines to give l,3-oxa2inones (16) (105). This reaction has been used in the synthesis of the tranquili2er Keta2olam... 

Other six-membered rings with two heteroatoms are also obtained from reaction of diketene with imidates, cyanamides, carbodiimides, isocyanates, oxa2olines, or other multiftmctional compounds. 

Other Reactions of Diketene. Diketene reacts with elemental chlorine to give 4-chloroacetoacetyl chloride [41295-64-17, which can further react to the corresponding esters (111). 

Dimeric aldoketenes and ketoketenes of P-lactone stmcture show a chemical behavior which is not much different to that of diketene. Thus nucleophiles add ia similar fashion to give derivatives of 3-ketoacids which are mono- or dialkylated at C-2 (aldo- and ketoketene dimers, respectively), but the reaction can often be slower than with the parent compound and, ia case of long-chain or bulky substituents, may not proceed at all. Other reactions can proceed differendy than those with diketene. For an overview of important reactions of aldoketene and ketoketene dimers see Reference 122. 

A shippable but somewhat less reactive form of diketene is its acetone adduct, 2,2,6-trimethyl-4JT-l,3-dioxin-4-one (15) (103,104). Thermolysis of this safer to handle compound provides acetylketene, a reactive intermediate that can be used for acetoacetylation and cycloaddition reactions. The diketene—acetone adduct as weH as / fZ-butylaceto acetate [1694-31 -1] (also used for aceto acetylations by the trans aceto acetylation reaction) (130), are offered commercially. 

Manufacture and Uses. Acetoacetic esters are generally made from diketene and the corresponding alcohol as a solvent ia the presence of a catalyst. In the case of Hquid alcohols, manufacturiag is carried out by continuous reaction ia a tubular reactor with carefully adjusted feeds of diketene, alcohol, and catalyst, or alcohol—catalyst blend followed by continuous purification (Fig. 3). For soHd alcohols, an iaert solvent is used. Catalysts used iaclude strong acids, tertiary amines, salts such as sodium acetate [127-09-3], organophosphoms compounds, and organometaHic compounds (5). 

BenZimidaZolones. This class of pigments derives its name from 5-aminobenzimidazolone/Pj5 -2J-< 7 which upon reaction with diketene or 2-hydtoxy-3-naphthoyl chloride leads to compounds which can be coupled with a variety of diazotized amines. 

Pyrans and related compounds react with ammonia to give pyridines. A commercially useful example is the reaction of dehydroacetic acid (derived from diketene) with ammonia to give 2,6-dimethyl-4-pyridinone [7516-31 -6] via 2,6-dimethyl-4-pyridinone-3-carboxyhc acid [52403-25-5]. Chlorination of the pyridone gives clopidol [2971-90-6] (56), a coccidiostat (72,73). 

Coumarin can also be formed by the reaction of phenol with diketene (40). Similarly, diphenols can react with hydroxycarboxyUc acids or beta-ketoesters to give hydroxycoumaria derivatives. The reaction of resorciaol with malic acid produces umbeUiferone (7-hydroxycoumaria) and its reaction with ethyl acetoacetate gives beta-methylumbeUiferone (7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumaria). 

Azetidines under analogous reaction conditions to those above result in six-membered ring formation. However, diketene (472), an oxetan-2-one, offers considerable promise for five-membered heterocycle formation. With hydroxylamine the 3-methylisoxazolin-5-one (473) was formed. Phenylhydrazine gave the corresponding 3-methyl-l-phenylpyrazolin-5-one. 

IV-Substituted derivatives have been prepared by the reaction of IV-methylhydroxylamine with phenylpropiolic esters or acid chlorides (71CPB1389), the cyclization of A"-substituted /3-ketohydroxamic acids or the reaction of phenylhydroxylamine with diketene (Scheme 150) 63GEP1146494). 

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