HALOGENATION OF ETHERS

See also page 1013, Section 7, for cleavage of ethers to alcohols plus organic halides. 

cat Mo(CO)6 CH3COCI, cat Rh2(C2H4 4Cl2 RCOC1, cat ZnCl2 

---

Difunctional compounds have been prepared by the nuclear halogenation of phenols, acids, amines, cyanides, and nitro compounds. Aromatic esters containing nuclear halogen atoms ate best prepared by halogenating the acid chloride followed by esterification. The direct halogenations of ethers (method 65), aldehydes and ketones (method 66), and acids and esters (method 67) are discussed later. 

This preparation illustrates the Reformatsky reaction, which consists in the interaction of a carbonyl compound, an a-halogen ester (e.g., ethyl bromo-acetate) and zinc In the presence of ether or benzene, followed by hydrolysis. 

Alkoxide ion (RO ) The oxygen atom of a metal alkoxide acts as a nucleophile to replace the halogen of an alkyl halide The product is an ether... 

Typical nonsieve, polar adsorbents are siUca gel and activated alumina. Kquilihrium data have been pubUshed on many systems (11—16,46,47). The order of affinity for various chemical species is saturated hydrocarbons < aromatic hydrocarbons = halogenated hydrocarbons < ethers = esters = ketones < amines = alcohols < carboxylic acids. In general, the selectivities are parallel to those obtained by the use of selective polar solvents in hydrocarbon systems, even the magnitudes are similar. Consequendy, the commercial use of these adsorbents must compete with solvent-extraction techniques. 

The high fluorine content contributes to resistance to attack by essentially all chemicals and oxidizing agents however, PCTFE does swell slightly ia halogenated compounds, ethers, esters, and selected aromatic solvents. Specific solvents should be tested. PCTFE has the lowest water-vapor transmission rate of any plastic (14,15), is impermeable to gases (see also Barrierpolymers), and does not carbonize or support combustion. 

After the complete removal of halogen and metallic ions, the solution is concentrated to a volume of about 100 cc., and 300 cc. of absolute alcohol is added. Then the amino acid is precipitated by slowly adding 500 cc. of ether with stirring and cooling. 

Materials of these types have T s of some 290-300°C and some grades are claimed to be stable to about 400°C. Whilst resistant to hydrocarbons, halogenated hydrocarbons, ethers and acids the polymers are soluble in such materials as dimethylformamide, N-methylpyrrolidone and pyridine. Bases can cause stress cracking. These non-crystalline polymers are tough at temperatures as low as -46°C whilst at 260°C they have the strength shown by PTFE at room temperature. The polymers also exhibit excellent electrical insulation properties. 

Generally, isolated olefinic bonds will not escape attack by these reagents. However, in certain cases where the rate of hydroxyl oxidation is relatively fast, as with allylic alcohols, an isolated double bond will survive. Thepresence of other nucleophilic centers in the molecule, such as primary and secondary amines, sulfides, enol ethers and activated aromatic systems, will generate undesirable side reactions, but aldehydes, esters, ethers, ketals and acetals are generally stable under neutral or basic conditions. Halogenation of the product ketone can become but is not always a problem when base is not included in the reaction mixture. The generated acid can promote formation of an enol which in turn may compete favorably with the alcohol for the oxidant. 

The formation of derivatives of this type by free-radical attack has been mentioned previously (see section E above). The most common route to vinylogous halo ketones is by halogenation of dienol acetates or ethers. Both free halogen and A -halo compounds may be employed, and this approach has frequently been used to obtain 6 (axial) halo compounds ... 

Tetrasubstituted phosphonium halides are just as effective as their ammonium counterparts. A combination of tetraphenylphosphonium bromide and either 18-crown-6 or polyethylene glycol dimethyl ether with spray-dried potassium fluoride converts 4-chlorobenzaldehyde to 4-fluorobenzaldehyde in 74% yield [67] In addition, the halogen of a primary alkyl chloride or bromide is easily displaced by fluorine in aqueous saturated potassium fluoride and a catalytic amount of hexadecyltributylphosphonium bromide [68] (Table 7 Procedure 4, p 194)... 

Instead of direct halogenation of ketones, reactions with more reactive derivatives such as silyl enol ethers and enamines have advantages in certain cases. 

The second series of data on protic solvent effects in bromination that are related to transition states comprises the m-values of solvent-reactivity correlations. First, it is important to underline that 7-parameters, the solvent ionizing powers, established from solvolytic displacements, work fairly well in this electrophilic addition. This is expected since bromination, like SN1 reactions, leads to a cation-anion pair by heterolytic dissociation of the bromine-olefin CTC, a process similar to the ionization of halogenated or ether derivatives (Scheme 14). 

As esters the alkyl halides are hydrolysed by alkalis to alcohols and salts of halogen acids. They are converted by nascent hydrogen into hydrocarbons, by ammonia into amines, by alkoxides into ethers, by alkali hydrogen sulphides into mercaptans, by potassium cyanide into nitriles, and by sodium acetate into acetic esters. (Formulate these reactions.) The alkyl halides are practically insoluble in water but are, on the other hand, miscible with organic solvents. As a consequence of the great affinity of iodine for silver, the alkyl iodides are almost instantaneously decomposed by aqueous-alcoholic silver nitrate solution, and so yield silver iodide and alcohol. The important method of Ziesel for the quantitative determination of alkyl groups combined in the form of ethers, depends on this property (cf. p. 80). 

---