Liquid ammonia base reactions

Certain octahedral complexes, particularly the acido—amine complexes of cobalt(III), undergo substitution in protonic solvents at rates that are proportional to the concentration of the conjugate base of the solvent (e.g. OH- in water) or inversely proportional to the concentration of the conjugate acid of the solvent (e.g. retardation by H30+ in water or NH4+ in liquid ammonia). Such reactions have received considerable attention since systematic studies of ligand substitution commenced, and figured amongst the earliest kinetic studies in the field.298 The subject has been... 

This method was worked out in the U.S.S.R. [1] and based on a reaction at relatively low temperature in liquid ammonia. Both reactions amidation and azidation can be carried out in the same reactor — autoclave of 200 1 capacity and pressure up to 100 kgy cm. ... 

By analogy, ammonium salts should behave as acids in liquid ammonia, since they produce the cation NH4 (the solvo-cation ), and soluble inorganic amides (for example KNHj, ionic) should act as bases. This idea is borne out by experiment ammonium salts in liquid ammonia react with certain metals and hydrogen is given off. The neutralisation of an ionic amide solution by a solution of an ammonium salt in liquid ammonia can be carried out and followed by an indicator or by the change in the potential of an electrode, just like the reaction of sodium hydroxide with hydrochloric acid in water. The only notable difference is that the salt formed in liquid ammonia is usually insoluble and therefore precipitates. 

Liquid ammonia, like water, is only a poor conductor of electricity. Ammonium salts dissolved in water behave as acids giving the ion NH4, whilst amides which give the ion NHj behave as bases. Thus the reaction ... 

The formation of the above anions ("enolate type) depend on equilibria between the carbon compounds, the base, and the solvent. To ensure a substantial concentration of the anionic synthons in solution the pA" of both the conjugated acid of the base and of the solvent must be higher than the pAT -value of the carbon compound. Alkali hydroxides in water (p/T, 16), alkoxides in the corresponding alcohols (pAT, 20), sodium amide in liquid ammonia (pATj 35), dimsyl sodium in dimethyl sulfoxide (pAT, = 35), sodium hydride, lithium amides, or lithium alkyls in ether or hydrocarbon solvents (pAT, > 40) are common combinations used in synthesis. Sometimes the bases (e.g. methoxides, amides, lithium alkyls) react as nucleophiles, in other words they do not abstract a proton, but their anion undergoes addition and substitution reactions with the carbon compound. If such is the case, sterically hindered bases are employed. A few examples are given below (H.O. House, 1972 I. Kuwajima, 1976). 

The benzyl group has been widely used for the protection of hydroxyl functions in carbohydrate and nucleotide chemistry (C.M. McCloskey, 1957 C.B. Reese, 1965 B.E. Griffin, 1966). A common benzylation procedure involves heating with neat benzyl chloride and strong bases. A milder procedure is the reaction in DMF solution at room temperatiue with the aid of silver oxide (E. Reinefeld, 1971). Benzyl ethers are not affected by hydroxides and are stable towards oxidants (e.g. periodate, lead tetraacetate), LiAIH, amd weak acids. They are, however, readily cleaved in neutral solution at room temperature by palladium-catalyzed bydrogenolysis (S. Tejima, 1963) or by sodium in liquid ammonia or alcohols (E.J. Rcist, 1964). 

A standard method for prepanng sodium cyclopentadienide (CsHsNa) is by the reaction of cyclopentadiene with a solution of NaNH2 in liquid ammonia Write a net ionic equation for this reaction identify the acid and the base and use curved arrows to track the flow of electrons... 

The methods of preparation of ferrocene have been reviewed by Pauson and by Fischer. Ferrocene has been made by the reaction of ferric chloride with cyclopentadienylmagnesium bromide, by the direct thermal reaction of cyclopentadiene with iron metal, by the direct interaction of cyclopentadiene with iron carbonyl, by the reaction of ferrous chloride with cyclopentadiene in the presence of organic bases such as diethyl-amine, by the reaction of ferrous chloride with sodium cyclo-[lentadienide in liquid ammonia, and from cyclopentadiene and... 

Then, as described in U.S. Patent 2,55416, the 2-acetylamido-5-mercapto-1,3,4-thiadiazole is converted to the sulfonyl chloride by passing chlorine gas into a cooled (5°-10°C) solution in 33% acetic acid (66 parts to 4 parts of mercapto compound) used as a reaction medium. Chlorine treatment is continued for two hours. The crude product can be dried and purified by recrystallization from ethylene chloride. The pure compound is a white crystalline solid, MP l94°C,with decomposition, when heated rapidly. The crude damp sulfonyl chloride is converted to the sulfonamide by addition to a large excess of liquid ammonia. The product is purified by recrystallization from water. The pure compound is a white, crystalline solid, MP 259°C, with decomposition. The yield of sulfonamide was 85% of theory based on mercapto compound. 

A three-step process developed hy Snamprogetti is based on the reaction of acetylene and acetone in liquid ammonia in the presence of an alkali metal hydroxide. The product, methylhutynol, is then hydrogenated to methylhutenol followed hy dehydration at 250-300°C over an acidic heterogeneous catalyst. 

Phenylcyclopropane has been prepared by the base catalyzed decomposition of 5-phenylpyrazoline (33 %),2 by the reaction of 1,3-dibromo-l phenylpropane with magnesium (68%),3 and by the reaction of 3-phenylpropyltrimethylammomum iodide with sodium amide in liquid ammonia (80%)4 However, the method frequently used at present is the reaction of styrene with the methylene iodide-zinc reagent (32%)5... 

There may, of course, be types of life with a wholly different chemical basis to our own, for example, a low temperature life on the outer planets which is based on reactions in liquid ammonia. 

Kinetic studies of base-catalysed hydrogen exchange have been carried out by Roberts, by Shatenshtein, and by Streitweiser and their coworkers. In earlier work, potassium amide was used as base in liquid ammonia as solvent, whereas later workers used lithium and caesium cyclohexylamides in cyclohexylamine. The reaction can be represented by equilibria (239) and (240)... 

The Bronsted definitions of acids and bases are more general than the Arrhenius definitions they also apply to species in nonaqueous solvents and even to gas-phase reactions. For example, when pure acetic acid is added to liquid ammonia, proton transfer takes place and the following equilibrium is reached ... 

Many of the reactions that take place in water have analogous reactions in liquid ammonia, (a) Write the chemical equation for the autoprotolysis of NH,. (b) What are the formulas of the acid and base species that result from the autoprotolysis of... 

Cas/liquid reaction 28 [CL 28] Acid-base reaction between ammonia and Bronsted inorganic acids... 

In solutions neither H+ nor e can exist in a free state they will be donated only if they are accepted within the solution, e.g., by another acceptor, which may be the solvent and thus cause solvation here the mere solvation of electrons is an exceptional case, but may occur, e.g., in liquid ammonia, where according to Kraus82 the strongly reducing alkali metals dissolve while dissociating into cations M+ and solvated electrons e, which, however, are soon converted into NH2" and H2 gas. Further, from the analogy with acid-base reactions and the definition of... 

The relative inertness of unactivated aromatic halides towards nucleophiles, under normal conditions, is in sharp contrast to their marked reactivity towards nucleophiles that are also very strong bases. Thus chlorobenzene is readily converted into aniline by reaction with eNH2 (NaNH2) in liquid ammonia at — 33° ... 

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