Nitrile oxime dehydration

Nitro compounds are versatile precursors for diverse functionalities. Their conversion into carbonyl compounds by the Nef reaction and into amines by reduction are the most widely used processes in organic synthesis using nitro compounds. In addition, dehydration of primary nitro compounds leads to nitrile oxides, a class of reactive 1,3-dipolar reagents. Nitro compounds are also good precursors for various nitrogen derivatives such as nitriles, oximes, hydroxylamines, and imines. These transformations of nitro compounds are well established and are used routinely in organic synthesis. 

Indirect conversion of nitro compounds into nitriles via dehydration of oximes (see Section 6.3.3) is also a useful method for this purpose. 

The indirect conversion of an aromatic aldehyde into the corresponding nitrile by dehydration of an oxime is illustrated by the synthesis of veratronitrile (Expt 6.170). The dehydrating agent is acetic anhydride which probably effects an initial acetylation of the oximino group followed by the elimination of acetic acid. 

The chief product of oxidation of 3 4 8-trimethoxy-5-vinylphenan-threne is a neutral substance that Pschorr called oxymethebenol [8] this is in reality the 5-aldehyde [xi]. It cannot be oxidized to the acid, but the oxime [xii] gives the nitrile on dehydration the nitrile, though stable in hot alkali, is converted to the lactone [x] by hot acids [11]. Oxyethebenol [9] is doubtless the 8-ethoxy-analogue of [xi]. 

The convenient formation of nitriles by dehydration of oximes using FVP over molecular sieves has been appHed to the synthesis of pyrrole-3-carbonitrile 43 and indole-3-carbonitrile 44 (Scheme 8 2015UP9). 

The efficient fonnation of nitriles by dehydration of oximes using FVP over molecular sieves has been applied to the synthesis of thiophene-3-carboni-trile 183 (Scheme 37 2015UP9). FVP of the acid chloride 184 at 850 °C results in a loss of HCl to produce the heterocycHc phenanthrol analog 185 in a moderate yield (2015UP10). The benzofuranthiones 186 undergo quantitative isomerization to the benzothiophenones 187 on pyrolysis at 850 °C (2006HCA991). 

The dehydration of oximes by such reagents as phosphorus pentoxide, thionyl chloride, acetic anhydride, acyl chlorides, and phosphorus pentachloride is well known [26]. In effect, this dehydration procedure permits the conversion of aldehydes to nitriles with the same number of carbon atoms. A modification applicable only to the aromatic series makes use of boiling acetic acid as a dehydrating agent [27]. With other dehydrating agents, aliphatic aldehydes also may be converted to nitriles. Oximes may be converted readily to nitriles by an acid-catalyzed reaction with ortho esters [28]. 

Citral readily forms acetals by acid-catalyzed addition of alcohols or by the use of trialkoxyorthoformates. Citral dimethyl acetal [7549-37-3] is stable under alkaline conditions, whereas citral is not. Neryl and geranyl nitriles can be made by oximation of citral and dehydration of the intermediate oxime. For instance, geranonitrile [31983-27-4] is made as follows ... 

The pharmacological versatility of this general substitution strategy is further illustrated by diazonium coupling of 14 with 2-nitrobenzenediazonium chloride to produce biarylal-dehyde 18. Formation of the oxime with hydroxylamine is followed by dehydration to the nitrile. Reaction with anhydrous methanolic hydrogen chloride leads to imino ether and addition-elimination of ammonia leads to the antidepressant amid-ine, nitrafudam (20). ... 

Conversion of the aldehyde into a nitrile is accomplished by treatment of an aldose with hydroxvlamine to give an oxime (Section 19.8), followed by dehydration of the oxJme with acetic anhydride. The Wohl degradation does not give particularly high yields of chain-shortened aldoses, but the reaction is general for all aldopentoses and aldohexoses. For example, D-galactose is converted by Wohl degradation into n-lyxose. 

Nitrile oxides are usually prepared via halogenation and dehydrohalogenation of aldoximes [11] or via dehydration of primary nitro alkanes (Scheme 1) [12]. However, it is important to note that nitrile oxides are relatively unstable and are prone to dimerization or polymerization, especially upon heating. 1,3-Dipolar cycioaddition of a nitrile oxide with a suitable olefin generates an isoxazoline ring which is a versatile synthetic intermediate in that it provides easy access to y-amino alcohols, )5-hydroxy ketones, -hydroxy nitriles, unsaturated oximes, and a host of other multifunctional molecules (Scheme 1) [5a]. Particularly for the formation of )5-hydroxy ketones, nitrile oxide-olefin cycioaddition serve as an alternative to the Aldol reaction. 

Dehydration of Amides, Oximes, and Ketene Imines into Nitriles... 

It is believed that SCR by hydrocarbons is an important way for elimination of nitrogen oxide emissions from diesel and lean-burn engines. Gerlach etal. [115] studied by infrared in batch condition the mechanism of the reaction between nitrogen dioxide and propene over acidic mordenites. The aim of their work was to elucidate the relevance of adsorbed N-containing species for the F>cNOx reaction to propose a mechanism. Infrared experiments showed that nitrosonium ions (NO+) are formed upon reaction between NO, NOz and the Brpnsted acid sites of H—MOR and that this species is highly reactive towards propene, forming propenal oxime at 120°C. At temperatures above 170°C, the propenal oxime is dehydrated to acrylonitrile. A mechanism is proposed to explain the acrylonitrile formation. The nitrile can further be hydrolysed to yield... 

Made by dehydration of nitroacetaldehyde oxime, this is an explosion hazard. It is improbable that the nitrile is not, itself, detonable. 

A large batch exploded violently (without flame) during vacuum distillation at 90-100°C/20-25 mbar. Since the distilled product contained up to 12% butyroni-trile, it was assumed that the the oxime had undergone the Beckman rearrangement to butyramide and then dehydrated to the nitrile. The release of water into a system at 120°C would generate excessive steam pressure which the process vessel could not withstand. The rearrangement may have been catalysed by metallic impurities [1]. This hypothesis was confirmed in a detailed study, which identified lead oxide and rust as active catalysts for the rearrangement and dehydration reactions [2],... 

Aminoisoxazoles 22 have been synthesized by nucleophilic addition of lithiated alkyl nitriles to a-chloroximes <06OL3679>. The cyclization of oxime dianions with diethyl oxalate afforded isoxazole-5-carboxylates 23 by acid-mediated dehydration of intermediate hydroxyisoxazolines <06S2515>. 

A simple montmorillonite K 10 clay surface is one among numerous acidic supports that have been explored for the Beckmann rearrangement of oximes (Scheme 6.27) [54]. However, the conditions are not adaptable for the aldoximes that are readily dehydrated to the corresponding nitriles under solventless conditions. Zinc chloride has been used in the above rearrangement for benzaldehyde and 2-hydroxyacetophe-none, the later being adapted for the synthesis of benzoxazoles. 

Dehydration (cf., 6, 648). A reagent (1), prepared in situ from (C6H5),PO and Tf20 in the molar ratio 2 1, effects dehydration, usually at 25°, of amides or oximes to nitriles in >90% yield. It also effects condensation of acids and amines to form amides. The reaction of an aryl carboxylic acid with an o-phenylenediamine promoted by 1 provides 2-arylbenzimidazoles in >80% yield (equation I). If the... 

During these reactions, nitriles are also formed as by-products and it is probable that they result from dehydration of the oxime by the carbon disulphide under the phase-transfer catalytic conditions [9] (see Chapter 9). Under modified conditions, it is possible to carry out a one-pot high-yielding conversion of the nitro compounds into the nitriles [10]. 

This chapter, therefore, ends the monograph with a potpourri of reactions all of which occur without a change in oxidation state. In many cases, the reaction is one of nucleophilic attack at an electrophilic C-atom. The result is often hydrolytic bond cleavage (e.g., in carbohydrate conjugates, disubstitut-ed methylene and methine groups, imines, oximes, isocyanates, and nitriles, and various ring systems) or a nucleophilic substitution (e.g., hydrolytic de-halogenation of halocarbons and chloroplatin derivatives, and cyclization reactions). The formation of multiple bonds by dehydration is a special case to be discussed separately. 

Dehydration to transform certain oximes into nitriles. 

Dehydration of oximes to form nitriles is, again, a rare but intriguing reaction. It has, indeed, been demonstrated that cytochrome P450 (see Chapt. 3 in [50]) is able to transform butanal oxime (11.103, R = H, R = Pr, Fig. 11.14, also 11.72) to butanenitrile by a Beckmann-type dehydration [105] [133]. The reaction is inhibited by the presence of 02, and is catalyzed by cytochrome P450 in its reduced (ferrous) state. 

Many different reagents and conditions have been reported to produce nitriles from aldoximes. This conversion is very much expected under the presence of dehydrating agents, proton or Lewis acid and is independent of the oxime geometry. 

Nitrile oxides, which are formed by dehydration of nitroalkanes or by oxidation of oximes with hypochlorite,87 88 are also useful 1,3-dipoles. They are highly reactive and must be generated in situ.ss They react with both alkenes and alkynes. Entry 5 in Scheme 6.5 is an example in which the cycloaddition product (an isoxazole) was eventually converted to a prostaglandin derivative. 

The ready accessibility of 1,2-dioximes (glyoximes) and the ease with which they are dehydrated has ensured that this is the most common route to furazans. The starting materials are usually prepared by oximation of the appropriately substituted 1,2-diketone or, more often, by a-nitrosation of an alkyl ketone followed by oximation of the resulting 1,2-dione monooxime (Scheme 16). 1,2-Dioximes can also be prepared by reduction of furoxans (Section 4.05.5.2.4) and, in cases where the furoxan is more readily available than the furazan, for example, by nitrile oxide dimerization, this furoxan-> glyoxime-> furazan sequence represents a viable synthetic strategy for symmetrically substituted derivatives. 

The product (15-2) from aldol condensation of meto-nitrobenzaldehyde with the dimethyl acetal from ethyl 4-formylacetoacetate (15-1) provides the starting material for a dihydropyridine in which one of the methyl groups is replaced by a nitrile. Reaction of (15-2) with the eneamine from isopropyl acetoacetate gives the corresponding dihydropyridine hydrolysis of the acetal function with aqueous acid affords the aldehyde (15-3). That function is then converted to its oxime (15-4) by reaction with hydroxylamine. Treatment of that intermediate with hot acetic acid leads the oxime to dehydrate to a nitrile. There is this obtained nilvadipine (15-5) [16]. 

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