Naphthoxides

Reduction of the sodium salt of equilenin 17-ethylene ketal with lithium, sodium or potassium in ammonia at —70° occurs predominantly in the B-ring, affording, after acid hydrolysis, equilin (29) in up to 76% yield (55% isolated). The preferential reduction of the B-ring reflects the relative, but not absolute, resistance to reduction conferred on the A-ring by the naphthoxide ion. Some A-ring reduction does compete kinetically with B-ring reduction, since the epimeric 3-hydroxyestra-5,7,9-trien-17-ones are the major reaction by-products. Simple phenoxide ions usually reduce slowly... 

The alkylation of sodium 2-naphthoxide with benzyl bromide in tetrabutylam-monium and tetrabutylphosphonium halide salts was investigated by Brunet and Badri [50] (Scheme 5.1-21). The yields in this reaction were quantitative, and alkylation occurred predominantly on the oxygen atom of the naphthoxide ion (typically 93-97 %). The rate of the reaction was slower in the chloride salts, due to the benzyl bromide reacting with chloride ion to give the less reactive benzyl chloride. 

Scheme 5.1-21 The benzylation of sodium 2-naphthoxide with benzyl bromide in ammonium...

Quantitative studies based on kinetic measurements using strongly electrophilic diazonium ions and, as coupling components, 1-naphthol, 2-naphthol-6-sulfonic acid, and resorcinol in aqueous acid were made by Sterba and coworkers (Kropacova et al., 1970 Kavalek et al., 1970 Sterba and Valter, 1972 Machackova et al., 1972a). In a typical case (2,6-dichloro-4-nitrobenzenediazonium ion and 1-naphthol) the dependence of the logarithm of the measured rate constant (ks) on pH was linear with a slope of 1. At pH < 1, however, a practically constant value of ks was obtained. The measured rate constants therefore correspond to Scheme 12-62, in which the first term relates to the reaction of the naphthoxide ion and the second to that of the undissociated naphthol Ka is the acidity constant of 1-naphthol. 

Table 12-2 gives some of Sterba s results for 1-naphthol, resorcinol, 1-methoxy-naphthalene, 3-methoxyphenol and 1,3-dimethoxybenzene. The data in the table show that the 1-naphthoxide ion is 108 times more reactive than the undissociated naphthol, which is 102 times more reactive than 1-methoxynaphthalene. The rate ratios for the monoanion of resorcinol relative to resorcinol, 3-methoxyphenol, and 1,3-dimethoxybenzene are of similar magnitudes. The dissociation of both OH groups of resorcinol gives rise to a rate constant (2.83 X 109 m -1 s-1) which, in our opinion, is probably mixing- or diffusion-controlled (see Sec. 12.9). 

Fig. 12-6. Diagrammatic representation of the preferred conformation of a c-complex in substitutions of 8-substituted 2-naphthoxide ions by the electrophile E+.

Kishimoto et al. (1974, 1981) found a general acid catalysis by protonated pyridines in coupling reactions of the 1-naphthoxide ion if weakly electrophilic diazonium ions were used. In this case it is likely that the general acid protonates the carbonyl oxygen of the o-complex, with a concerted or stepwise deprotonation at the 4-position (transition stage 12.150). 

A true intramolecular proton transfer in the second step of an azo coupling reaction was found by Snyckers and Zollinger (1970a, 1970b) in the reaction of the 8-(2 -pyridyl)-2-naphthoxide ion (with the transition state 12.151). This compound shows neither a kinetic deuterium isotope effect nor general base catalysis, in contrast to the sterically similar 8-phenyl-2-naphthoxide ion. Obviously the heterocyclic nitrogen atom is the proton acceptor. 

Does this model give us a practical solution for the synthesis of monosubstitution products in high yields The model teaches us that reactions are not disguised by micromixing if the intrinsic rate constant (in Scheme 12-84 k2o and k2v>) is significantly less than 1 m-1s-1. As discussed in Section 12.7, the intrinsic rate constant refers to unit concentrations of the acid-base equilibrium species involved in the substitution proper, not to analytical concentrations. Therefore, if the azo coupling reaction mentioned above is not carried out within the range of maximal measured rates (i.e., with the equilibria not on the side of the 1-naphthoxide ion and... 

In the proposed mechanism (Scheme 5-38), the lithium naphthoxide acts as a Br0nsted base to deprotonate the phosphite, and the aluminum is a Lewis acid [28]. 

The enantioselectivity was significantly influenced by the steric factor of the thiols employed. When p-MeC6H4SH and PhSH were used, the optical yields decreased to 69% and 3%, respectively. Shibasaki et al. have reported that gallium-lithium-bi-naphthoxide (GLB) 51 became a good catalyst for the enantioselective ring opening reaction of epoxide for the production of 52 (Eq. 7.39) [46]. 

Alkylations in dry media of the ambident 2-naphthoxide anion were performed under the action of focused microwave activation. Whereas the yields were identical to those obtained under the action of A for benzylation, they were significantly improved under microwave irradiation conditions for the more difficult n-octylation (a less reactive electrophilic reagent). No change in selectivity was observed, however, indicating the lack of influence of ionic polarization [94],... 

The absence or weakness of the microwave effect was assumed to be related to loose ion pairs involving the soft naphthoxide anion in the GS and a small change in polarity in an early TS. When the TS occurred later along the reaction coordinates (e.g. for n-octylation requiring a higher temperature), more polarity is developed and, consequently, the microwave effect could appear (Eq. (42) and Tab. 3.17 limited here to the lithiated base). 

Our preliminary attempts to obtain a basic chiral rare earth complex have led us to create several new chiral heterobimetallic complexes which catalyze various types of asymmetric reactions. The rare earth-alkali metal-tris(l,f-bi-2-naphthoxide) complexes (LnMB, where Ln = rare earth, M = alkali metal, and B = l,l -bi-2-naphthoxide) have been efficiently synthesized from the corresponding metal chloride and/or alkoxide,13,41 and the structures of the LnMB complexes have been unequivocally... 

Morken and co-worker (57) recently reported using a visual colorimetric assay to evaluate a variety of catalyst systems for allylic alkylation. This method uses the reaction of naphthol with Fast Red diazonium salt as a method for determination of catalyst activity. Reaction of the naphthyl allyl carbonate (222) with palladium gives the naphthoxide (223) after loss of C02. The naphthoxide then deprotonates... 

Kornblum et al. (1963) demonstrated that O- vs. C-alkylation (24) of yS-naphthoxide ion (an ambident ion) is markedly solvent dependent. For example, the reaction with benzyl bromide conducted in dimethylformamide gave 97% O-alkylated product, whereas in water 81% C-alkylated product resulted. The difference is attributed to changes in the solvation of ambident anions. The course of the reaction is also influenced by water concentration in... 

Alkoxide or aryloxide anions are also reputed to be inactive in Sr I reactions. There is, however, one example of such a reaction at an sp carbon the nitro-derivative of 4-nitrocumyl reacts with phenoxide and 1-methyl-2-naphthoxide ions yielding the corresponding ethers (Kornblum et al., 1967). A similar reaction has been reported for halobenzenes in t-butyl alcohol upon stimulation by sodium amalgam (Rajan and Sridaran, 1977). This reaction could not, however, be reproduced (Rossi and Pierini, 1980) and other attempts to make phenoxide ions react at sp carbons have been equally unsuccessful (Ciminale et al, 1978 Rossi and Bunnett, 1973 Semmelhack and Bargar, 1980). It has been found, more recently, that phenoxide ions react with a series of aryl halides under electrochemical induction, but that the coupling occurs at the p- or o-phenolic carbon rather than at the phenolic oxygen (Alam et al, 1988 Amatore et al, 1988). This is... 

Photolytic. Based on data for phenol, a structurally related compound, an aqueous solution containing 1-naphthoxide ion (3 x 10 M) in room light would be expected to photooxidize to give 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (Tomkiewicz et al., 1971). 1-Naphthol, methyl isocyanate, and other unidentified cholinesterase inhibitors were reported as products formed from the direct photolysis of carbaryl by sunlight (Wolfe et al., 1976). In an aqueous solution at 25 °C, the photolysis half-life of carbaryl by natural sunlight or UV light (X = 313 nm) is 6.6 d (Wolfe et al, 1978a). 

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