Epoxides, from

Preparation of an alcohol from an epoxide is shown below. The epoxide (ethylene oxide) ring opens when the nucleophile attacks the carbon-oxygen bond. Note the fact that the nucleophilic carbon is supplied by the Grignard reagent (methyl magnesium bromide). 

Alcohols can also be produced from aldehydes and ketones via Grignard reagents. Other methods to synthesize alcohols include the reduction of aldehydes and ketones. These reactions will be discussed in Chapter 22. 

Guanidines have been shown to act as nitrogen sources in the conversion of 

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Table 4. Solvents for Purification of Propylene Oxide From Epoxidation Using fe/t-Butyl Hydroperoxide...

General Reaction Chemistry of Sulfonic Acids. Sulfonic acids may be used to produce sulfonic acid esters, which are derived from epoxides, olefins, alkynes, aHenes, and ketenes, as shown in Figure 1 (10). Sulfonic acids may be converted to sulfonamides via reaction with an amine in the presence of phosphoms oxychloride [10025-87-3] POCl (H)- Because sulfonic acids are generally not converted directiy to sulfonamides, the reaction most likely involves a sulfonyl chloride intermediate. Phosphoms pentachlotide [10026-13-8] and phosphoms pentabromide [7789-69-7] can be used to convert sulfonic acids to the corresponding sulfonyl haUdes (12,13). The conversion may also be accompHshed by continuous electrolysis of thiols or disulfides in the presence of aqueous HCl [7647-01-0] (14) or by direct sulfonation with chlorosulfuric acid. Sulfonyl fluorides are typically prepared by direct sulfonation with fluorosulfutic acid [7789-21-17, or by reaction of the sulfonic acid or sulfonate with fluorosulfutic acid. Halogenation of sulfonic acids, which avoids production of a sulfonyl haUde, can be achieved under oxidative halogenation conditions (15). 

Chlorohydrins from Epoxides. Traditionally epoxides have been manufactured by the dehydrochlotination of chlorohydrins. However, the reverse reaction may be used as a source of chlorohydrins, especially ia the case of ethyleae chlorohydria from ethyleae oxide [75-21-8] which is aow produced by the direct oxidatioa of the olefia. A study of the reactioa of hydrogea chloride with propyleae oxide [75-56-9] showed that an anhydrous system at low temperatures (<0° C) gives the highest yield of chlorohydria with best isomeric selectivity (16). 

In 1957, it was discovered that organometaUic catalysts gave high mol wt polymers from epoxides (3). The commercially important, largely amorphous polyether elastomers developed as a result of this early work are polyepichlorohydrin (ECH) (4,5), ECH—ethylene oxide (EO) copolymer (6), ECH—aUyl glycidyl ether (AGE) copolymer (7,8), ECH—EO—AGE terpolymer (8), ECH—propylene oxide (PO)—AGE terpolymer (8,9), and PO—AGE copolymer (10,11). The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) has designated these polymers as follows ... 

In some instances it is desired to produce a more open network from epoxide resins that have been acid-cured. This may be achieved by the oligoesterdi-carboxylic acids of general structure... 

The ready reduction of iodohydrins is utilized in the Cornforth reaction for preparing olefins from epoxides. Here the opening and reduction are carried out in one step by treatment of the epoxide, in an acetic acid-sodium acetate buffer, with sodium iodide and zinc. A less common use of iodohy-drin reduction is illustrated in the synthesis of the diene (127) ... 

The configurations assigned to (8) and (9) were established by comparison with the products resulting from epoxidation of 3-methyl-5a-cholest-2-ene followed by reduction with lithium aluminum hydride to the alcohol (9). The usual /ra 5-diaxial epoxide opening requires that the hydroxyl group, formed by reduction, is axial as shown in (9). 

Reeently, new fluorinating agents, tetrabutylphosphonium fluoride and its mono- and dihydrofluoride, were used for preparation of fluorohydrins from epoxides [14] (equation 13). 

Cyclic carbonates are prepared directly from epoxides with LiBr, CO2, NMP (l-methyl-2-pyrrolidinone), 100°. ... 

The second important process for propylene oxide is epoxidation with peroxides. Many hydroperoxides have been used as oxygen carriers for this reaction. Examples are t-butylhydroperoxide, ethylbenzene hydroperoxide, and peracetic acid. An important advantage of the process is that the coproducts from epoxidation have appreciable economic values. 

N,O-acetal intermediate 172, y,<5-unsaturated amide 171. It is important to note that there is a correspondence between the stereochemistry at C-41 of the allylic alcohol substrate 173 and at C-37 of the amide product 171. Provided that the configuration of the hydroxyl-bearing carbon in 173 can be established as shown, then the subsequent suprafacial [3,3] sigmatropic rearrangement would ensure the stereospecific introduction of the C-37 side chain during the course of the Eschenmoser-Claisen rearrangement, stereochemistry is transferred from C-41 to C-37. Ketone 174, a potential intermediate for a synthesis of 173, could conceivably be fashioned in short order from epoxide 175. 

Scheme 12.24 Generation of aziridinium ions from epoxides.

The application of 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition processes to the synthesis of substituted tetrahydrofurans has been investigated, starting from epoxides and alkenes under microwave irradiation. The epoxide 85 was rapidly converted into carbonyl ylide 86 that behaved as a 1,3-dipole toward various alkenes, leading to quantitative yields of tetrahydrofuran derivatives 87 (Scheme 30). The reactions were performed in toluene within 40 min instead of 40 h under classical conditions, without significantly altering the selectivi-ties [64]. 

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