Heterocycles, acylation radical reaction with

A new process for the homolytic acylation of protonated heteroaromatic bases has been developed by Minisci et al. An A-oxyl radical generated from iV-hydroxyphthalimide by oxygen and Co(ll) abstracts a hydrogen atom from an aldehyde. The resulting nucleophilic acyl radical adds to the heterocycle which is then rearomatized via a chain process. Under these conditions, quinoline and benzaldehyde afford three products (Equation 108) <2003JHC325>. A similar reaction with 4-cyanopyridine gives 2-benzoyl-4-cyanopyridine in 96% yield. 

An alternative method for the substitution of a hydrogen atom in -electron deficient heterocycles is using the nucleophilic character of radicals in homolytic aromatic displacement reactions <74AHC(16)123>. Acylation with acyl radicals derived from aldehydes is an especially important approach since Friedel-Crafts-type reactions are not applicable to pteridines. 

In the first step, the carbon centered radical is generated. The second step involves the addition of this radical to the protonated ring. The third step consists of the rearomatization of the radical adduct by oxidation. The rates of addition of alkyl and acyl radicals to protonated heteroaromatic bases are much higher than those of possible competitive reactions, particularly those with solvents. Polar effects influence the rates of the radical additions to the heteroaromatic ring by decreasing the activation energy as the electron deficiency of the heterocyclic ring increases. 

Alkylation and Acylation by Free-radical Reactions. Heteroaromatic bases, being electron-deficient compounds, readily react with nucleophilic reagents, particularly when protonation enhances their electron-deficient nature. Because of the nucleophilic character of the wide range of available alkyl radicals, homolytic alkylation of heteroaromatics is of interest comparable to that of electrophilic alkylation in the homocyclic series. Homolytic acylation is of no less importance because of the wide applicability of this general reaction in the heterocyclic field. 

Alkylations. Treatment of 1 with various primary alkyl halides provides the corresponding substituted dithianes (eqs 3-5 ). Removal of the dithiane under the Lewis acid conditions, illustrated in eqs 3-5, unmasks the acyl silane for subsequent transformations such as photolysis, radical reactions, and heterocyclic synthesis. Other conditions for removing the dithiane moiety of 2-substituted-2-f-butyldimethylsilyl-l,3-dithianes include anodic oxidation, ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN)/NaHC03 in CH3CN/H2O, iodomethane/CaC03 in THF/H20, 8 and l2/CaC03 in THF/H2O. The formyl sUane of 2-t-butyl-dimethylsilyl-l,3-dithiane has also been reported." ... 

The homolytic acylation of protonated heteroaromatic bases is, as with alkylation, characterized by high selectivity. Only the positions a and y to the heterocyclic nitrogen are attacked. Attack in the position or in the benzene ring of polynuclear heteroaromatics has never been observed, even after careful GLC analysis of the reaction products. Quinoline is attacked only in positions 2 and 4 the ratio 4-acyl- to 2-acylquinoline was 1.3 with the acetyl radical from acetaldehyde, 1.7 with the acetyl radical from pyruvic acid, and 2.8 with the benzoyl radical from benzaldehyde. 

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