Highly branched carboxylic acids

Explain why highly branched carboxylic acids such as... 

Versatic acids are highly branched carboxylic acids made by Shell. Versatic is a trade name, not a chemical name. 

One of the most common early uses of the Favorskii rearrangement was for the preparation of highly branched carboxylic acids and esters. For instance, when 3-bromo-3-methyl-2-butanone is treated with sodium isopropoxide at room temperature, isopropyl trimethylacetate is generated in 64% yield. ... 

These are effective high-octane gasoline additive oxygenates. The conversion of isobutane into isopropyl, methyl ketone, or isopentane into isobutyl, methyl ketone is illustrative. In this reaction, no branched carboxylic acids (Koch products) are formed. 

These reactions are notable because a-branched carboxylic acids usually do not undergo efficient Kolbe coupling. Similarly, Kubota et al. have achieved highly efficient homo and crossed coupling reactions using trifluoromethylated carboxylic acids as shown in Scheme 7.7 [77,78]. Notably, the protection of the hydroxy group of the acids 12 is not necessary. 

Highly selective transformation of terminal acetylenes to either linear or branched carboxylic acids or esters may be achieved by appropriately selected catalyst systems. Branched esters are formed with high selectivity when the acetylenes are reacted with 1-butanol by the catalyst system Pd(dba)2/PPh3/TsOH (dba = dibenzylideneacetone) or palladium complexes containing PPh3. Pd(acac)2 in combination with various N- and O-containing phosphines and methanesulfonic acid is also an efficient catalyst for the alkoxycarbonylation of 1-alkynes to yield the branched product with almost complete selectivity.307,308... 

Three highly useful synthetic transformations are presented in this section the synthesis of isoflavones from chalcones, the synthesis of a-arylalkanones fmm arylalkenes, and the synthesis of a-arylalkanoic acids from aryl ketones. Two others are potentially useful methods, but are not as yet widely used the preparation of a-branched carboxylic acids from a ynes, and the ring expansion and ring contraction of cyclic alkenes and ketones. 

Lactones are normally stable compounds, which have found ample application as synthetic intermediates, and, quite recently, have been detected as the central structural unit in physiologically active natural products like obaflorin (123) and lipstatin (124). Characteristic applications of 3-lactones in synthesis are the stereospecific CO2 elimination to form di- and tri-substituted alkenes (e.g. from 125 equation 40) or Grignard addition to the carbonyl group e.g. equation 41). Particularly useful is the formation of 3-lactone enolates (126), which react with a variety of electrophiles (EX) wiA high stereocontrol (equation 42). Organocuprates may be used in chain elongations to form 3-branched carboxylic acids (equation 43). ... 

Oxidative Carbonylation ofAlkenes. The hydrocarboxylation of st)Tene with PdBt2-PPh3-acid under a CO atmosphere affords the branched carboxylic acid with high regioselectivity (eq 1). ... 

Highly Branched Acids. These acids, called neoacids, are produced from highly branched olefins, carbon monoxide, and an acid catalyst such as sulfuric acid, hydrogen fluoride, or boron trifluoride. 2,2,2-Trimethylacetic acid (pivaUc acid) is made from isobutylene and neodecanoic acid is produced from propylene trimer (see Carboxylic Acids, trialkylacetic acids). 

Suitable starting materials for the Kolbe electrolytic synthesis are aliphatic carboxylic acids that are not branched in a-position. With aryl carboxylic acids the reaction is not successful. Many functional groups are tolerated. The generation of the desired radical species is favored by a high concentration of the carboxylate salt as well as a high current density. Product distribution is further dependend on the anodic material, platinum is often used, as well as the solvent, the temperature and the pH of the solution." ... 

The presence of a large number of chain-ends in the fully synthesized dendrimer molecules makes them highly soluble and also readily miscible, for example with other dendrimer solutions. The solubility is controlled by the nature of the end-groups, so that dendrimers with hydrophilic groups, such as hydroxyl or carboxylic acid, at the ends of the branches are soluble in polar solvents, whereas dendrimers with hydrophobic end-groups are soluble in non-polar solvents. The density of the end-groups at the surface of the dendrimer molecule means that they have proportionately more influence on the solubility than in linear polymers. Hence a dendritic polyester has been shown to be more soluble in tetrahydrofuran than an equivalent linear polyester. 

Another highly effect chain extender is trimellitic anhydride (TMA) which gives rise to branching of the PET structure. Note that the multifunctional epoxies (see Table 14.2) react quickly with the terminal carboxylic acid groups of PET but can also react with the film former and the silane coupling agent on glass fibre reinforcements. 

One of the first hyperbranched polymers described in the literature was polyphenylenes, which were presented by Kim et al. [30-32] who also coined the term hyperbranched . The polyphenylenes were prepared via Pd(0) or Ni(II) catalyzed coupling reactions of various dihalophenyl derivatives such as di-bromophenylboronic acid. The polymers were highly branched polyphenylenes with terminal bromine groups which could be further transformed into a variety of structures such as methylol, lithiate, or carboxylate (Fig. 5). 

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