Nitriles nucleophilic substitution

Primary and secondary alkyl halides may be converted to the next higher carboxylic acid by a two step synthetic sequence involving the preparation and hydrolysis of nitriles Nitnles also known as alkyl cyanides are prepared by nucleophilic substitution... 

Nitriles contain the —C=N functional group We have already discussed the two mam procedures by which they are prepared namely the nucleophilic substitution of alkyl halides by cyanide and the conversion of aldehydes and ketones to cyanohydrins Table 20 6 reviews aspects of these reactions Neither of the reactions m Table 20 6 is suitable for aryl nitriles (ArC=N) these compounds are readily prepared by a reaction to be dis cussed m Chapter 22... 

Because nitriles can be prepared from alkyl halides by nucleophilic substitution with cyanide ion the overall process RX RC=N RCH2NH2 leads to primary amines that have one more carbon atom than the starting alkyl halide... 

The large rate enhancements observed for bimolecular- nucleophilic substitutions in polar- aprotic solvents are used to advantage in synthetic applications. An example can be seen in the preparation of alkyl cyanides (nitriles) by the reaction of sodium cyanide with alkyl halides ... 

Nucleophilic substitution by cyanide ion (Sections 8.1, 8.13) Cyanide ion is a good nucleophile and reacts with alkyl halides to give nitriles. The reaction is of the S m2 type and is limited to primary and secondary alkyl halides. Tertiary alkyl halides undergo elimination aryl and vinyl halides do not react. 

Section 20.18 Nitriles are prepared by nucleophilic substitution (Sn2) of alkyl halides with cyanide ion, by converting aldehydes or ketones to cyanohydrins (Table 20.6), or by dehydration of fflnides. 

Comprehensive work in this field has been done by Slovak authors (98MI1, 95M1359, 96CCC269, 96CCC371, 97CCC99). They prepared 2-substituted (H, Me, Ph) 4-, 5-, 6-, and 7-nitrobenzoxazoles, which were then reduced to amines (not isolated) and subjected to subsequent nucleophilic substitution with activated enol ethers such as alkoxymethylene derivatives of malonic acid esters and nitrile, 3-oxobutanoic acid esters, pentanedione, or cyanoacetic acid esters to yield aminoethylenes 8. 

As noted in Section 11.2.2, nucleophilic substitution of aromatic halides lacking activating substituents is generally difficult. It has been known for a long time that the nucleophilic substitution of aromatic halides can be catalyzed by the presence of copper metal or copper salts.137 Synthetic procedures based on this observation are used to prepare aryl nitriles by reaction of aryl bromides with Cu(I)CN. The reactions are usually carried out at elevated temperature in DMF or a similar solvent. 

In Section 8.2.3.2, we discussed arylation of enolates and enolate equivalents using palladium catalysts. Related palladium-phosphine combinations are very effective catalysts for aromatic nucleophilic substitution reactions. For example, conversion of aryl iodides to nitriles can be done under mild conditions with Pd(PPh3)4 as a catalyst. 

Additions to quinoline derivatives also continued to be reported last year. Chiral dihydroquinoline-2-nitriles 55 were prepared in up to 91% ee via a catalytic, asymmetric Reissert-type reaction promoted by a Lewis acid-Lewis base bifunctional catalyst. The dihydroquinoline-2-nitrile derivatives can be converted to tetrahydroquinoline-2-carboxylates without any loss of enantiomeric purity <00JA6327>. In addition the cyanomethyl group was introduced selectively at the C2-position of quinoline derivatives by reaction of trimethylsilylacetonitrile with quinolinium methiodides in the presence of CsF <00JOC907>. The reaction of quinolylmethyl and l-(quinolyl)ethylacetates with dimethylmalonate anion in the presence of Pd(0) was reported. Products of nucleophilic substitution and elimination and reduction products were obtained . Pyridoquinolines were prepared in one step from quinolines and 6-substituted quinolines under Friedel-Crafts conditions <00JCS(P1)2898>. 

Probably the most important group of phase transfer reactions, and certainly the commonest, are those in which an anion is transferred from the aqueous phase into the organic solvent, where nucleophilic substitution occurs. These would once have been performed in a dipolar aprotic solvent such as DMF. A good example is the reaction between an alkyl halide (such as 1-chlorooctane), and aqueous sodium cyanide, shown in Scheme 5.5. Without PTC, the biphasic mixture can be stirred and heated together for 2 weeks and the only observable reaction will be hydrolysis of the cyanide group. Addition of a catalytic amount of a quaternary onium salt, or a crown ether, however, will lead to the quantitative conversion to the nitrile within 2 h. 

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. 

The basic hydrolysis (reaction with water) of a nitrile (R-CN) followed by acidification yields a carboxylic acid. In general, an reaction (nucleophilic substitution) of an alkyl halide is used to generate the nitrile before hydrolysis. Figure 12-12 illustrates the formation of a carboxylic acid beginning with an alkyl halide. 

Iodo-7-methylbenzo[l,2-/ 4,3- ]dithiophene 65 undergoes nucleophilic substitution on reaction with copper cyanide in DMF to produce the nitrile derivative 66 (Equation 10) <1997TL457>. 

Compounds with a low HOMO and LUMO (Figure 5.5b) tend to be stable to selfreaction but are chemically reactive as Lewis acids and electrophiles. The lower the LUMO, the more reactive. Carbocations, with LUMO near a, are the most powerful acids and electrophiles, followed by boranes and some metal cations. Where the LUMO is the a of an H—X bond, the compound will be a Lowry-Bronsted acid (proton donor). A Lowry-Bronsted acid is a special case of a Lewis acid. Where the LUMO is the cr of a C—X bond, the compound will tend to be subject to nucleophilic substitution. Alkyl halides and other carbon compounds with good leaving groups are examples of this group. Where the LUMO is the n of a C=X bond, the compound will tend to be subject to nucleophilic addition. Carbonyls, imines, and nitriles exemplify this group. 

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