Lewis acid alkyl halide reactions

Methylarsine, trifluoromethylarsine, and bis(trifluoromethyl)arsine [371-74-4], C2HAsF6, are gases at room temperature all other primary and secondary arsines are liquids or solids. These compounds are extremely sensitive to oxygen, and in some cases are spontaneously inflammable in air (45). They readily undergo addition reactions with alkenes (51), alkynes (52), aldehydes (qv) (53), ketones (qv) (54), isocyanates (55), and azo compounds (56). They also react with diborane (43) and a variety of other Lewis acids. Alkyl halides react with primary and secondary arsines to yield quaternary arsenic compounds (57). 

Sulfonylation of aromatic hydrocarbons in the presence of a Lewis acid and the reaction of sodium benzenesulfinate with alkyl halides proved to be particularly easy and useful to prepare starting materials for the Julia olefination procedure (see Section 4.3.2). 

Many synthetic reactions, that proceed via carbocations, produce these intermediates from mixtures of alkyl halides and Lewis acidic metal halides. The concentration of carbocations produced under these conditions depends on the tendency of the alkyl halides to ionize ( carbocation stability ) and the strengths of the Lewis acids in a certain solvent. Because the ionizing abilities of alkyl halides can be derived from the schemes and correlations given in Sections B through F, we shall now concentrate on the relative halide affinities of the Lewis acidic metal halides. For this purpose, we consider Eq. (13) which describes the exchange of a chloride ion between the Lewis acids R+ and MCI,. 

Radical reactions can often be rationalized on the basis of frontier orbital considerations for intermediate radical species, the reactivity and stereochemistry of which can certainly be regulated with Lewis acid additives [21-23]. The first appearance of Lewis acids in radical reactions was in polymerization reactions resulting in alternation of copolymers different from that obtained without Lewis acids [24-26]. This concept, Lewis acid-directed radical reactions, has been applied to reductions and alkylations of organic halides or olefins, and has resulted in highly stereospecific processes. 

In the presence of a Lewis acid, alkyl zinc halides react with aromatic aldehydes to give secondary alcohols. However, alkyl zinc reagents are less reactive than their allyl derivatives and reaction with aliphatic aldehydes is very sluggish. A solution to this is the use (in the presence of aLewis acid) of either the dialkyl zinc reagent or the mixed copper-zinc species RCu(CN)ZnX, formed by transmetaUation of the alkyl... 

In Friedel-Crafts reactions, benzene is reacted with acyl or alkyl chlorides, in the presence of metal halides as catalysts. The metal halides act as Lewis acids in these reactions. The two types of Friedel-Crafts reactions are alkylation and acylation. 

The Friedel-Crafts reaction is a very important method for introducing alkyl substituents on an aromatic ring. It involves generation of a carbocation or related electrophilic species. The most common method of generating these electrophiles involves reaction between an alkyl halide and a Lewis acid. The usual Friedel-Crafts catalyst for preparative work is AICI3, but other Lewis acids such as SbFj, TiC, SnCl4, and BF3 can also promote reaction. Alternative routes to alkylating ecies include protonation of alcohols and alkenes. 

Secondary or tertiary alkyl halides are much less reactive. For example an alkyl dichloride with a primary and a secondary chloride substituent reacts selectively by exchange of the primary chloride. The reactivity with respect to the Finkelstein reaction is thus opposite to the reactivity for the hydrolysis of alkyl chlorides. For the Finkelstein reaction on secondary and tertiary substrates Lewis acids may be used," e.g. ZnCla, FeCls or MesAl. 

The synthesis of an alkylated aromatic compound 3 by reaction of an aromatic substrate 1 with an alkyl halide 2, catalyzed by a Lewis acid, is called the Friedel-Crafts alkylation This method is closely related to the Friedel-Crafts acylation. Instead of the alkyl halide, an alcohol or alkene can be used as reactant for the aromatic substrate under Friedel-Crafts conditions. The general principle is the intermediate formation of a carbenium ion species, which is capable of reacting as the electrophile in an electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction. 

Acidic chloroaluminate ionic liquids have already been described as both solvents and catalysts for reactions conventionally catalyzed by AICI3, such as catalytic Friedel-Crafts alkylation [35] or stoichiometric Friedel-Crafts acylation [36], in Section 5.1. In a very similar manner, Lewis-acidic transition metal complexes can form complex anions by reaction with organic halide salts. Seddon and co-workers, for example, patented a Friedel-Crafts acylation process based on an acidic chloro-ferrate ionic liquid catalyst [37]. 

Carboncations also form from an alkyl halide when a Lewis acid catalyst is used. Aluminum chloride is the commonly used Friedel-Crafts alkylation catalyst. Friedel-Crafts alkylation reactions have been reviewed by Roberts and Khalaf ... 

To optimize the alkylation conditions, ferrocene was reacted with allyldimethyl-chlorosilane (2) in the presence of various Lewis acids such as aluminum halides and Group lO metal chlorides. Saturated hydrocarbons and polychloromethanes such as hexane and methylene chloride or chloroform were used as solvents because of the stability of the compounds in the Lewis acid catalyzed Friedel-Crafts reactions. The results obtained from various reaction conditions are summarized in Table IV. 

As shown in Table IV, the highest catalytic activity of metal halides used as Lewis acid for the alkylation reaction of ferrocene with 2 was observed in methylene chloride solvent. Among Lewis acids such as aluminum chloride, aluminum bromide, and Group 4 transition metal chlorides (TiCl4, ZrCU, HfCU), catalytic efficiency for the alkylation decrea.ses in the following order hafnium chloride > zirconium chloride > aluminum chloride > aluminum bromide. Titanium chloride... 

Group 14 metal halides also undergo metathesis reactions. For instance, organotin compounds are prepared on an industrial scale using organoaluminum reagents. These reactions take place because tin is a softer Lewis acid than aluminum, and carbon (in an alkyl group, represented by R) is a softer Lewis base than chlorine ... 

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