Halogenation epoxide halohydrins

Dehydro- halogenation Halohydrin Epoxide Synthesis of epoxides resolution of halohydrins and epoxides Halohydrin dehalogenase... 

The activities of both haloalkanol dehalogenase (halohydrin hydrogen lyase) that catalyzes the formation of epoxides from alkanes with vicinal hydroxyl and halogen groups, and epoxide hydrolase that brings about hydrolysis of epoxyalkanes to diols are involved in a number of degradations that involve their sequential operation. 

Halohydrins are useful intermediates especially in the synthesis of epoxides. The main reaction is usually accompanied by the formation of a dihalide. When the reactions are performed in the presence of acetic acid, then acetates of the hydrins can be the predominant products. With several exceptions, alkenes with a nonfluorinated C = C bond have been subjected to halohydrinations. Halogen cations usually undergo addition to the substituted carbon of the C = C bond in (fluoroalkyl)ethenes. 

Ketones from halohydrins. Palladium acetate complexed with a triarylphos-phine, particularly tri-o-tolylphosphine, converts halohydrins into ketones in the presence of K2C03. Yields are about 70-85% for substrates in which the halogen is secondary or tertiary, but less than 50% when the halogen is primary because of epoxide formation. The reaction is useful for conversion of alkenes to ketones in those instances in which halohydrins are formed regioselectively. 

Of similar nature are chiral halogenations using auxiliary groups. Typical examples are the conversion of esters to enantiomerically pure halohydrins (precursors to chiral epoxides) using camphor-10-sulfonic acid derivatives583 and the chiral synthesis of a-amino acid synthons via diastereoselective bromination of TV-acyl oxazolidone derivatives584. 

A second synthesis of epoxides and other cyclic ethers involves a variation of the Williamson ether synthesis. If an alkoxide ion and a halogen atom are located in the same molecule, the alkoxide may displace a halide ion and form a ring. Treatment of a halohydrin with base leads to an epoxide through this internal SN2 attack. 

Halohydrins are easily generated by treating alkenes with aqueous solutions of halogens. Bromine water and chlorine water add across double bonds with Markovnikov orientation (Section 8-11). The following reaction shows cyclopentene reacting with chlorine water to give the chlorohydrin. Treatment of the chlorohydrin with aqueous sodium hydroxide gives the epoxide. 

CHAPTER 8 Ionic Addition of HX to an Alkene 332 Free-Radical Addition of HBr to Alkenes 334 Acid-Catalyzed Hydration of an Alkene 338 Oxymercuration of an Alkene 340 Hydroboration of an Alkene 345 Addition of Halogens to Alkenes 350 Formation of Halohydrins 352 Epoxidation of Alkenes 360 Acid-Catalyzed Opening of Epoxides 362 Olefin Metathesis 376... 

Fig. 40 Concept for the two-step synthesis of enantiomerically pure (S)-epoxides out of aliphatic 1-halogenated 2-ketones. The ketone was reduced by a recombinant whole-cell catalyst bearing alcohol dehydrogenase from Lactobacillus kefir (LKADH) and glucose dehydrogenase (GDH) for regeneration of NADPH. Base-induced cyclization of the enantiomerically pure (5)-(3-halohydrin intermediate gave the desired (S)-epoxides in high yield and enantiomeric purity (>99% ee)...

Halohydrins. The reaction of a slight excess of 1, Br, or Cl, and of P(C6H,)j in CH2CI2 with an epoxide results in a halohydrin in generally high yield. The orientation depends in part on the bulkiness of the halide ion, but the halogen ion generally attacks the less substituted carbon atom. 

Electrooxidation of halide salts is quite useful for the generation of reactive species of halogen atoms under mild conditions. Functionalization of alkenes involving the formation of halohydrins, 1,2-halides, a-halo ketones, epoxides, allylic halides and others has been achieved by electrochemical reactions and is well documented in the literature. On the other hand, electrogenerated carbenium ions can be captured by nucleophilic halide anions, providing a new route to halogenated compounds... 

Peracid epoxidation and indirect epoxidation via the halohydrin route normally display opposite diastereoselectivity. In the indirect epoxidation route, the steric course is normally controlled by the first step, the formation of the most stable halonium ion, and not by the second step, the (tranx-diaxial) attack by the (nucleophilic) oxygen species. However, the relative rates and equilibria of both steps depend on the source of positive halogen and the reaction conditions which strongly influence the obtained stereoselectivity (Tables 3 and 4, and Section 4.5.1.1.3,). 

Synthesis of Epoxides from Chiral Chlorohydrins. Asymmetric halogenation of CSA-derived esters allows for the formation of enantiomerically pure halohydrins and terminal epoxides (eq 23). ... 

When an organic compound contains both a hydroxy group and a halogen atom on adjacent carbon atoms, an intramolecular version of this reaction forms an epoxide. The starting material for this two-step sequence, a halohydrin, is prepared from an alkene, as we will leam in Chapter 10. 

NaBr/H20, LiBr on Amberlyst-15 resin, TiCU-LiCl, " SiCL, I2 with a Sml2 catalyst, and Lil on silica gel. Epoxides can be converted directly to 1,2-dichloro compounds by treatment with SOCI2 and pyridine, or with Ph3P and CCl4. These are two-step reactions a halohydrin is formed first and is then converted by the reagents to the dihalide (10-48). As expected, inversion is found at both carbons. Meso epoxides were cleaved enantioselectively with the chiral B-halodiisopinocampheylboranes (see 15-16), where the halogen was Cl, Br, or I. ° Diatomic iodine gives an iodohydrin with a 2,6-bis[2-(o-aminophenoxy) methyl]-4-bromo-l-methoxybenzene catalyst. ... 

The addition of halogens and hydroxyls across double bonds leads to halohydrins, which are useful intermediates, especially for the synthesis of epoxides. Such additions are achieved by treatment of alkenes with N-bromoacetamide [1104] or iV-brontosuccinintide [746] in aqueous media and give products of anti addition. On heating with alkalies, bromohydrins... 

Since halohydrins are nearly always prepared from alkencs by addition of halogen and water to the carbon-carbon double bond (Sec. 6.14), this method amounts to the conversion of an alkenc into an epoxide. 

The mechanistic outline of carbenoid/carbonyl reactivity follows the paradigm illustrated at the outset of this chapter (Scheme 1 X = halogen). The nucleophilic lithium species adds to the carbonyl compound and suffers elimination to provide the epoxide. Competition from molecular rearrangements emanating from the intermediate halohydrin or the product epoxides is sometimes a problem, particularly with cyclic ketones. Also, the initial adduct frequently fails to cyclize when the reaction is quenched at low temperature, but it is usually a simple matter to effect ring closure by treatment of the halohydrin with mild base in a separate step. 

Halohydrins Opening of 1,2-epoxide ring by halogen at room temperature to afford l-halo-2-alkanols is catalyzed by this heterocycle (14 examples, 80-99%). Thus, styrene oxide gives a-halomethyl benzyl alcohols. 

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