Hydrogenation electron-deficient

For the hydrogenation of pyrroles, palladium and rhodium catalysts can be used besides platinum, under 3 to 4 atm of hydrogen. Electron-deficient pyrroles can even be hydrogenated at atmospheric pressure. Multiply-substituted pyrroles are hydrogenated by use of platinum or rhodium catalysts to give the cis product only [34]. This method has, for example, been used in the synthesis of a pyrroli-dizine carboxylic acid derivative (Scheme 3), a possible agent of the angiotensinconverting enzyme [35], and in the synthesis of Anatoxin a [36]. 

This is known as a hydrogen-bridge structure. There are not enough electrons to make all the dotted-line bonds electron-pairs and hence it is an example of an electron-deficient compound. The structure of diborane may be alternatively shown as drawn in... 

The H C ratio in hydrocarbons is indicative of the hydrogen deficiency of the system. As mentioned, the highest theoretical H C ratio possible for hydrocarbon is 4 (in CH4), although in electron-deficient carbocationic compounds such as CH5 and even CH/, the ratio is further increased (to 5 and 6, respectively, see Chapter 10). On the other end of the scale in extreme cases, such as the dihydro- or methylene derivatives of recently discovered Cgo and C70 fullerenes, the H C ratio can be as low as 0.03. 

Electron-deficient alkenes add stereospecifically to 4-hydroxy-THISs with formation of endo-cycloadducts. Only with methylvinyl-ketone considerable amounts of the exo isomer are produced (Scheme 8) (16). The adducts (6) may extrude hydrogen sulfide on heating with methoxide producing 2-pyridones. The base is unnecessary with fumaronitrile adducts. The alternative elimination of isocyanate Or sulfur may be controlled using 7 as the dipolarenOphile. The cycloaddition produces two products, 8a (R = H, R = COOMe) and 8b (R = COOMe, R =H) (Scheme 9) (17). Pyrolysis of 8b leads to extrusion of furan and isocyanate to give a thiophene. The alternative S-elimi-nation can be effected by oxidation of the adduct and subsequent pyrolysis. 

Electrophile Addition Reactions. The addition of electrophilic (acidic) reagents HZ to propylene involves two steps. The first is the slow transfer of the hydrogen ion (proton) from one base to another, ie, from Z to the propylene double bond, to form a carbocation. The second is a rapid combination of the carbocation with the base, Z . The electrophile is not necessarily limited to a Lowry-Briiinsted acid, which has a proton to transfer, but can be any electron-deficient molecule (Lewis acid). 

Localized Bonds. Because boron hydrides have more valence orbitals than valence electrons, they have often been called electron-deficient molecules. This electron deficiency is partiy responsible for the great interest surrounding borane chemistry and molecular stmcture. The stmcture of even the simplest boron hydride, diborane(6) [19287-45-7] 2 6 sufficientiy challenging that it was debated for years before finally being resolved (57) in favor of the hydrogen bridged stmcture shown. 

Charge-Transfer Forces. An electron-rich atom, or orbital, can form a bond with an electron-deficient atom. Typical examples are lone pairs of electrons, eg, in nitrogen atoms regularly found in dyes and protein and polyamide fibers, or TT-orbitals as found in the complex planar dye molecules, forming a bond with an electron-deficient hydrogen or similar atom, eg, —0 . These forces play a significant role in dye attraction. 

An interesting method for the substitution of a hydrogen atom in rr-electron deficient heterocycles was reported some years ago, in the possibility of homolytic aromatic displacement (74AHC(16)123). The nucleophilic character of radicals and the important role of polar factors in this type of substitution are the essentials for a successful reaction with six-membered nitrogen heterocycles in general. No paper has yet been published describing homolytic substitution reactions of pteridines with nucleophilic radicals such as alkyl, carbamoyl, a-oxyalkyl and a-A-alkyl radicals or with amino radical cations. 

A mercurinium ion has both similarities and differences as compared with the intermediates that have been described for other electrophilic additions. The proton that initiates acid-catalyzed addition processes is a hard acid and has no imshared electrons. It can form either a carbocation or a hydrogen-bridged cation. Either species is electron-deficient and highly reactive. 

The acetoxy dienone (218) gives phenol (220). Here, an alternative primary photoreaction competes effectively with the dienone 1,5-bonding expulsion of the lOjS-acetoxy substituent and hydrogen uptake from the solvent (dioxane). In the case of the hydroxy analog (219) the two paths are balanced and products from both processes, phenol (220) and diketone (222), are isolated. In the formation of the spiro compound (222) rupture of the 1,10-bond in the dipolar intermediate (221) predominates over the normal electron transmission in aprotic solvents from the enolate moiety via the three-membered ring to the electron-deficient carbon. While in protic solvents and in 10-methyl compounds this process is inhibited by the protonation of the enolate system in the dipolar intermediate [cf. (202), (203)], proton elimination from the tertiary hydroxy group in (221) could reverse the efficiencies of the two oxygens as electron sources. 

Figure 3.11 Schematic representation of the energy levels in various types of 3-centre bond. The B-H-B ( electron deficient ) bond is non-linear, the ( electron excess ) F-Xe-F bond is linear, and the A-H B hydrogen bond can be either linear or non-linear depending on the compound.

Highly electron-deficient 1,3,6-trinitrobenzene (145) treated with phenyl acet-amidines 146 in ethanol provided low yields of a dinitroindole derivatives, probably 4,6-dinitroindoles 148 (77JOC435). Formation of indole derivatives 148 can be explained by nucleophilic substitution of the activated aromatic hydrogen leading to intermediates 147, which then cyclized to the final products 148 (Scheme 22). 

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