Phenols ether formation

Ether formation Phenol reacts with ethyliodide (C2H5I), in the presence of aqueous NaOH, to produce ethylphenylether, also known as phenetole. 

This ether formation arises from conversion of the phenol to a cyclohexanone, and ketal formation catalyzed by Pd-Hj and hydrogenolysis. With Ru-on-C, the alcohol is formed solely (84). 

Crosslinking resoles in the presence of sodium carbonate or potassium carbonate lead to preferential formation of ortho-ortho methylene linkages.63 Resole networks crosslinked under basic conditions showed that crosslink density depends on the degree of hydroxymethyl substitution, which is affected by the formaldehyde-to-phenol ratio, the reaction time, and the type and concentration of catalyst (uncatalyzed, with 2% NaOH, with 5% NaOH).64 As expected, NaOH accelerated the rates of both hydroxymethyl substitution and methylene ether formation. Significant rate increases were observed for ortho substitutions as die amount of NaOH increased. The para substitution, which does not occur in the absence of the catalyst, formed only in small amounts in the presence of NaOH. 

Difficulties that arise using simple primary alcohols (ketal and enol-ether formation) may be avoided by using phenol or f-butyl alcohol.360... 

The Pd-catalyzed intermolecular C—O bond formation has also been achieved [105-108]. Novel electron-rich bulky phosphine ligands utilized by Buchwald et al. greatly facilitated the Pd-catalyzed diaryl ether formation [109], When 2-(di-tert-butylphosphino)biphenyl (95) was used as the ligand, the reaction of triflate 93 and phenol 94 elaborated diaryl ether 96 in the presence of Pd(OAc)2 and K3PO4. The methodology also worked for electron-poor, neutral and electron-rich aryl halides. 

Diazonium salts can also be used to form ethers and phenols. Reaction of diazonium salt with an alcohol generates an ether, while thermal hydrolysis of the diazonium salt yields a phenol. Figure 13-30 illustrates both formations. As seen in Figure 13-31, this process also works on substituted aromatic systems. 

Thioamide formation benzodiazepinone, 505 heteiodiazepinone, 621 phosphorus pentasulf ide, 323, 600 Thioazole formation, nitrile addition, 301 Thiocarbamate formation, 588 phenol, 95 rearrangement, 517 Thioenol ether formation, 185, 517 addition-elimination, 554 Thioester formation, mixed anhydride, 184 Thioether formation, 241, 300, 413, 416 alkylation, 586, 588 aromatic displacement, 416 Thiohydantoin formation, 293 Thiol interchange, benzothiazole formation, 422... 

The published research on the photochemical decomposition of di-azonium salts suggests that the two processes, a heterocyclic and a homolytic process, analogous to those of the thermal decomposition may occur. Various workers 36 187 have reported that phenols are formed when diazonium salts are photolyzed in water and aryl ethers result when an alcohol replaces water as the solvent. Homer and Stohr122 report that a process analogous to reductive deamination occurs in preference to ether formation results in alcohols. The importance of free radical intermediates in the photodecomposition, based on magnetic susceptibility measurements, has been stressed.25 Lee and his co-workers171 have recently suggested that in ethanol the photodecomposition of a diazonium salt occurs via a radical intermediate while in water an ionic process predominates. Thus, photodecomposition of a nitrobenzene diazonium chloride in water yielded both a nitrophenol and a chloronitrobenzene in ethanol, on the other hand, the major product of photolysis was the reduction product, nitrobenzene. 

Fhiorination of aromatics. The reagent reacts with toluene to form benzyl fluoride as the major product ( 65% yield). It is also useful for fluorination of phenols- and of alkyl ethers of phenols the or/Ao-isomcr is formed as the major product. Reactions with this reagent thus differ from those with xenon difluoride, which generally favors formation of paro-isomers. 

It is clear that O-alkylation is favoured over C-alkylation with the heterogeneous system. Homogeneous BF3 reactions generally favour C-alkylation due to the rearrangement of the ether. The selectivity of the heterogeneous system towards ether formation is further illustrated by the reaction of phenol with... 

The important methods for the protection of phenols are very similar to those used for the alcoholic hydroxyl group (Section 5.4.6, p. 550), namely (a) ether formation, and (b) ester formation. 

The coordination of Cr(CO)3 does not activate aryl chloride sufficiently for Williamson diaryl ether formation to occur. Smooth formation of aryl ether 222 proceeds by reacting the easily prepared arene-Ru complex 220 of the highly functionalized aryl chloride with phenol 219. Decomplexation of 221 by irradiation gives 222, and the product is used for the synthesis of the BCF rings of ristocetin A [57],... 

Interestingly, it is possible to etherify hydroxybenzoic acids without the need to protect the carboxyl group (Scheme 6.19). The high charge delocalization of the car-boxylate obviously leads to a sufficient decrease of nucleophilicity to enable clean ether formation under certain conditions. During the planning of such reactions it should, however, be kept in mind that carboxylates can be O-alkylated under conditions similar to those required for the O-alkylation of phenols (see Section 6.9). 

Scheme 1. Diaryl ether formation from para-carbonyl activated phenolates and arylfluorides or triflates.

Another phenoxide activating approach published by Buchwald et al. [18] is based on the reaction of cesium phenoxides with aryl bromides or iodides in the presence of catalytic amounts of copper(I) triflate and ethyl acetate in refluxing toluene (Scheme 3b). In certain cases equimolar amounts of 1-naphthoic acid have been added in order to increase the reactivity of the phenoxide. The authors assume the formation of a cuprate-like intermediate of the structure [(ArO)2Cu] Cs+ as the reactive species. In addition, diaryl ether formation between phenols and aryl halides has been achieved using a phosphazene base forming naked phenoxide in the presence of copper bromide in refluxing toluene or 1,4-dioxane [19]. 

Jain and Pillai (345) have shown that the ether formation from methanol, n-propanol, and isopropanol is inhibited when phenol and acetic acid were... 

Parera and his co-workers (359-362) have studied the poisoning effect of amines, pyridine, phenol, and acetic acid. A reduced rate of ether formation from methanol at the standard temperature of 230°C was observed when the poisons were present in the feed. In most cases the original activity was recovered, although rather slowly. Most probably the poisons were either displaced by alcohol and/or water or removed from the surface by chemical transformations. 

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