Hydrolytic protonation

Scheme 16.41 Asymmetric hydrolytic protonation of enol esters catalysed by PTC catalysts.

Yamamoto E, Nagai A, Hamasaki A, Tokunaga M. Catalytic asymmetric hydrolysis asyimnetric hydrolytic protonation of enol esters catalyzed by phase-transfer catalysts. Chem. Eur. 

J lie decarboxylation is frequently the most troublesome step in this sequence. Attempts at simple thermal decarboxylation frequently lead to recycliz-ation to the lactam. The original investigators carried out decarboxylation by acidic hydrolysis and noted that rings with ER substituents were most easily decarboxylated[2]. It appears that ring protonation is involved in the decarboxylation under hydrolytic conditions. Quinoline-copper decarboxylation has been used successfully after protecting the exocyclic nitrogen with a phthaloyl, acetyl or benzoyl group[3]. 

Chemical, or abiotic, transformations are an important fate of many pesticides. Such transformations are ubiquitous, occurring in either aqueous solution or sorbed to surfaces. Rates can vary dramatically depending on the reaction mechanism, chemical stmcture, and relative concentrations of such catalysts as protons, hydroxyl ions, transition metals, and clay particles. Chemical transformations can be genetically classified as hydrolytic, photolytic, or redox reactions (transfer of electrons). 

The usual order found with halogenonitrobenzenes is F > Cl Br I, the order of Cl and Br being variable, just as in heteroaromatic reactivity. The position of fluorine is of interest the available data indicate that it is usually the same as for nitrobenzene derivatives. Thus, in acid hydrolysis the order F > Cl for 2-halogeno-quinolines can be deduced beyond doubt since the fluoro derivative appears to react in the non-protonated form and the chloro derivative to resist hydrolytic attack even in the protonated form under appropriate conditions (Section II,D, l,d). Furthermore, in the benzo-thiazole ring, fluorine is displaced by the CHgO reagent at a rate 10 times that for chlorine. ... 

The mechanism for the conversion of the A -oxide (94) to the o-methylaminophenylquinoxaline (96) involves an initial protonation of the A -oxide function. This enhances the electrophilic reactivity of the a-carbon atom which then effects an intramolecular electrophilic substitution at an ortho position of the anilide ring to give the spiro-lactam (98). Hydrolytic ring cleavage of (98) gives the acid (99), which undergoes ready dehydration and decarboxylation to (96), the availability of the cyclic transition state facilitating these processes. ... 

Depending on the specific reaction conditions, complex 4 as well as acylium ion 5 have been identified as intermediates with a sterically demanding substituent R, and in polar solvents the acylium ion species 5 is formed preferentially. The electrophilic agent 5 reacts with the aromatic substrate, e.g. benzene 1, to give an intermediate cr-complex—the cyclohexadienyl cation 6. By loss of a proton from intermediate 6 the aromatic system is restored, and an arylketone is formed that is coordinated with the carbonyl oxygen to the Lewis acid. Since a Lewis-acid molecule that is coordinated to a product molecule is no longer available to catalyze the acylation reaction, the catalyst has to be employed in equimolar quantity. The product-Lewis acid complex 7 has to be cleaved by a hydrolytic workup in order to isolate the pure aryl ketone 3. 

The hydrogeh atom bound to the amide nitrogen in 15 is rather acidic and it can be easily removed as a proton in the presence of some competent base. Naturally, such an event would afford a delocalized anion, a nucleophilic species, which could attack the proximal epoxide at position 16 in an intramolecular fashion to give the desired azabicyclo[3.2.1]octanol framework. In the event, when a solution of 15 in benzene is treated with sodium hydride at 100 °C, the processes just outlined do in fact take place and intermediate 14 is obtained after hydrolytic cleavage of the trifluoroacetyl group with potassium hydroxide. The formation of azabi-cyclo[3.2.1]octanol 14 in an overall yield of 43% from enone 16 underscores the efficiency of Overman s route to this heavily functionalized bicycle. 

Details of the hydrolytic process are somewhat more complicated because the acid-catalyzed hydrolysis proceeds via the initial protonation of an alkoxy oxygen followed by bond cleavage. Because the protonation can involve the exocyclic or endocyclic alkoxy group, two different sets of initial products are possible. However, in both cases the ultimate degradation products remain the same. These two possible reaction paths are shown on page 130. 

The hydrolysis reaction is very slow at ambient temperatures and is accelerated by boiling chromium salt solutions (5). The hydrolysis reaction is characterized by the transformation of the deep blue colored CrtHgOJg to green colored hydrolyzed olates. Another indication is tnatan aged or boiled Cr(III) salt solution has a higher neutralization equivalent than a fresh one due to the hydrolytically produced protons. One way to establish hydrolytic equilibria quickly is to add appropriate equivalents of bases such as NaOH to Cr(III) salt solutions. 

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