Hydrogen peroxide, electrophilic

The superacid-catalyzed electrophile oxygenation of saturated hydrocarbons, including methane with hydrogen peroxide (via H302 ) or ozone (via HOs ), allowed the efficient preparation of oxygenated derivatives. 

The electrophilic character of boron is again evident when we consider the oxida tion of organoboranes In the oxidation phase of the hydroboration-oxidation sequence as presented m Figure 6 11 the conjugate base of hydrogen peroxide attacks boron Hydroperoxide ion is formed m an acid-base reaction m step 1 and attacks boron m step 2 The empty 2p orbital of boron makes it electrophilic and permits nucleophilic reagents such as HOO to add to it... 

The aromatic ring of a phenoxy anion is the site of electrophilic addition, eg, in methylolation with formaldehyde (qv). The phenoxy anion is highly reactive to many oxidants such as oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, ozone, and peroxyacetic acid. Many of the chemical modification reactions of lignin utilizing its aromatic and phenoHc nature have been reviewed elsewhere (53). 

Double bonds in a,/3-unsaturated keto steroids can be selectively oxidized with alkaline hydrogen peroxide to yield epoxy ketones. In contrast to the electrophilic addition mechanism of peracids, the mechanism of alkaline epoxidation involves nucleophilic attack of hydroperoxide ion on the con-... 

Nitrated fluoro compounds are synthesized by electrophilic (NOz+), radical (NO2 ), or nucleophilic (NO2-) methods Indirect nitration routes can suppress the side reactions associated with severe reaction conditions and some nitration reagents Novel fluoronitro compounds, unobtainable by direct nitration, can also be pre pared For example, the nitration of (2-fluoro-2,2-dinitroethoxy)acetaldoxime followed by oxidation of the nitroso intermediate with hydrogen peroxide yields 2-fluoro-2,2-dinitioethyl 2,2-dinitroethyl ether [f] (equation 1)... 

Hydroboration-oxidation (Sections 6.11-6.13) This two-step sequence achieves hydration of alkenes in a stereospecific syn manner, with a regiose-lectivity opposite to Markovnikov s rule. An organoborane is formed by electrophilic addition of diborane to an alkene. Oxidation of the organoborane intermediate with hydrogen peroxide completes the process. Rearrangements do not occur. 

In an attempt to protect thiophenols during electrophilic substitution reactions on the aromatic ring, the three substituted thioethers were prepared. After acetylation of the aromatic ring (with moderate yields), the protective group was converted to the disulfide in moderate yields, 50-60%, by oxidation with hydrogen peroxide/boiling mineral acid, nitric acid, or acidic potassium permanganate. ... 

Nitrosoarenes are readily formed by the oxidation of primary N-hydroxy arylamines and several mechanisms appear to be involved. These include 1) the metal-catalyzed oxidation/reduction to nitrosoarenes, azoxyarenes and arylamines (144) 2) the 02-dependent, metal-catalyzed oxidation to nitrosoarenes (145) 3) the 02-dependent, hemoglobin-mediated co-oxidation to nitrosoarenes and methe-moglobin (146) and 4) the 0 2-dependent conversion of N-hydroxy arylamines to nitrosoarenes, nitrosophenols and nitroarenes (147,148). Each of these processes can involve intermediate nitroxide radicals, superoxide anion radicals, hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals, all of which have been observed in model systems (149,151). Although these radicals are electrophilic and have been suggested to result in DNA damage (151,152), a causal relationship has not yet been established. Nitrosoarenes, on the other hand, are readily formed in in vitro metabolic incubations (2,153) and have been shown to react covalently with lipids (154), proteins (28,155) and GSH (17,156-159). Nitrosoarenes are also readily reduced to N-hydroxy arylamines by ascorbic acid (17,160) and by reduced pyridine nucleotides (9,161). 

Recently, acylsilanes have been utilized as useful intermediates in organic synthesis [57], For example, treatment of acylsilanes with the fluoride ion generates the corresponding acyl anions which react with electrophiles. On the other hand, by using the electrochemical method, acylsilanes serve as acyl cation equivalents because nucleophiles are introduced at the carbonyl carbon. Chemical oxidation of acylsilanes with hydrogen peroxide which affords the corresponding carboxylic acids has been reported [58], However, the anodic oxidation provides a versatile method for the introduction of various nucleophiles... 

For benzo[Z ]thiophene the heterocycle is rather more resistant to ring opening and oxidation with hydrogen peroxide in acetic acid at 95 C, for example, gives the 1,1-dioxide (Scheme 7.22) reduction with either sodium and ethanol or triethylsilane in trifluoroacetic acid affords 2,3-dihydrobenzo[Z)]thiophene. Electrophiles give mainly 3-substituted benzo[Z ]thiophenes, although these products are often accompanied by smaller amounts of the 2-isomers. 

It may be reasonable to argue that this further activation is achieved in several ways. The acid-catalysis required for Gal and de Bruin complex [Rh(/c -bpa)(cod)](PF6) to react with dioxygen can be used to protonate the peroxo compoimd (Scheme 10) to a hydroperoxo species. This is a way to achieve further activation of dioxygen, since it decreases the nucleophilic character of the peroxo hgand and makes interaction with the coordinated olefin easier. Recent works by Moro-oka [88,89] and Braun [90] (Scheme 15) have shown that peroxorhodium complexes can be protonated to hydroperoxo compounds. However, the addition of a second mole of acid leads to hydrogen peroxide ehmination rather than to the highly electrophilic oxo species (M = O) that could result from the heterolytic cleavage of the O - O bond with removal of water. 

Cyclic silicon-containing compounds such as 61 undergo electrophilic attack at carbon with hydrogen peroxide to furnish the stereodefined diol 62 (Equation 12) <2003OL3875>. 

Treatment of the silyl compound, 61, above with hydrogen peroxide leads to the diol 62 which formally constitutes an oxidation as well as an electrophilic attack on the carbon atom. Classically, oxidation of nonconjugated rings to furnish their conjugated (usually aromatic) analogues is achieved by treatment with nickel(ii) peroxide however, these reactions are common and have been extensively explored for a number of different heterocyclic systems in both GHEC(1984) and CHEC-II(1996) so are not discussed further here. 

It is possible to obtain anti-Markovnikov products when HBr is added to alkenes in the presence of free radical initiators, e.g. hydrogen peroxide (HOOH) or alkyl peroxide (ROOR). The free radical initiators change the mechanism of addition from an electrophilic addition to a free radical addition. This change of mechanism gives rise to the anh-Markovnikov regiochemistry. For example, 2-methyl propene reacts with HBr in the presence of peroxide (ROOR) to form 1-bromo-2-methyl propane, which is an anh-Markovnikov product. Radical additions do not proceed with HCl or HI. 

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