Nitriles with ketones

This Reaction should be carefully distinguished from the Claisen Conden-tation, which is the condensation of an ester, under the influence of sodium ethoxide, with (i) another ester, (ii) a ketone, or (iii) a nitrile, with the elimination of alcohol. For details of this condensation, see Ethyl Acetoacetate, p. 264. 

By the condensation of a nitrile with a phenol or phenol ether in the presence of zinc chloride and hydrogen chloride a hydroxyaryl- or alkoxyaryl-ketone is produced. The procedure is termed the Hoesch reaction and is clearly an extension of the Gattermann aldehyde reaction (Section IV,121). The reaction gives the best results with polyhydric phenols and their ethers with simple monohydric phenols the imino ester hydrochloride is frequently the sole product for example ... 

The most general synthetic route to ketones uses the reaction of carboxylic acids (or their derivatives) or nitriles with organometallic compounds (M.J. Jorgenson, 1970). Lithium car-boxylates react with organolithium compounds to give stable gem-diolates, which are decom-... 

Ketones can be converted to nitriles with an additional carbon atom with the aid of the TosMIC reagent (J.R. BuU, 1975 O.H. Oldenziel, 1973). 

The use of oximes as nucleophiles can be quite perplexing in view of the fact that nitrogen or oxygen may react. Alkylation of hydroxylamines can therefore be a very complex process which is largely dependent on the steric factors associated with the educts. Reproducible and predictable results are obtained in intramolecular reactions between oximes and electrophilic carbon atoms. Amides, halides, nitriles, and ketones have been used as electrophiles, and various heterocycles such as quinazoline N-oxide, benzodiayepines, and isoxazoles have been obtained in excellent yields under appropriate reaction conditions. 

Although acetonitrile is one of the more stable nitriles, it undergoes typical nitrile reactions and is used to produce many types of nitrogen-containing compounds, eg, amides (15), amines (16,17) higher molecular weight mono- and dinitriles (18,19) halogenated nitriles (20) ketones (21) isocyanates (22) heterocycles, eg, pyridines (23), and imidazolines (24). It can be trimerized to. f-trimethyltriazine (25) and has been telomerized with ethylene (26) and copolymerized with a-epoxides (27). 

Synthesis from Thiohydantoins. A modification (71) of the Bucherer-Bergs reaction consisting of treatment of an aldehyde or ketone with carbon disulfide, ammonium chloride, and sodium cyanide affords 2,4-dithiohydantoias (19). 4-Thiohydantoias (20) are available from reaction of amino nitriles with carbon disulfide (72). Compounds (19) and (20) can be transformed iato hydantoias. 

Reactions. The chemical properties of cyanoacetates ate quite similar to those of the malonates. The carbonyl activity of the ester function is increased by the cyano group s tendency to withdraw electrons. Therefore, amidation with ammonia [7664-41-7] to cyanoacetamide [107-91-5] (55) or with urea to cyanoacetylurea [448-98-2] (56) proceeds very easily. An interesting reaction of cyanoacetic acid is the Knoevenagel condensation with aldehydes followed by decarboxylation which leads to substituted acrylonitriles (57) such as (29), or with ketones followed by decarboxylation with a shift of the double bond to give P,y-unsaturated nitriles (58) such as (30) when cyclohexanone [108-94-1] is used. 

Nitrile rubbers, copolymers of butadiene and acrylonitrile, are used for resistance to swelling by mineral oils and fuels enhanced by formulations with a high acrylonitrile/butadiene ratio. They have poor resilience and low-temperature properties. However, these rubbers should not be used with ketones, phenols or aromatic hydrocarbons [66-69]. 

Spectroscopic investigation of enamines conjugated with ketone, ester and nitrile groups established the prevalence of enamine rather than imine-enol tautomers in examples of secondary amines (206-212). Similar studies have been made with enamines of acylpyridines and acetophenones (213,214). 

The first step in the Gewald reaction is a Knoevenagel condensation of an activated nitrile with a ketone or aldehyde to produce an acrylonitrile 8, which is then thiolated at the methylene position with elemental sulfur. The sulfurated compound 9 initially decays... 

The ketoxime derivatives, required as starting materials, can be prepared from the appropriate aromatic, aliphatic or heterocyclic ketone. Aldoximes (where R is H) do not undergo the rearrangement reaction, but rather an elimination of toluenesulfonic acid to yield a nitrile. With ketoxime tosylates a Beckmann rearrangement may be observed as a side-reaction. 

An a-amino acid 3 can be prepared by treating aldehyde 1 with ammonia and hydrogen cyanide and a subsequent hydrolysis of the intermediate a-amino nitrile 2. This so-called Strecker synthesis - is a special case of the Mannich reaction-, it has found application for the synthesis of a-amino acids on an industrial scale. The reaction also works with ketones to yield a, a -disubstituted a-amino acids. 

In order to establish the primary character of farnesol, farnesenic acid was prepared from farnesal oxime and the corresponding nitrile. Saponification of the farnesene-nitrile with caustic soda solution yields farnesenic acid and acetic acid, and also a ketone which was identified as a dihydropsewdoionone. The semi-carbazone melts between 95° and 96°. The dihydropmtdoionone from farnesene nitrile proved to be... 

Reaction of Nitriles with Organometallic Reagents Grignard reagents add to a nitrile to give an intermediate imine anion that is hydrolyzed by addition of water to yield a ketone. 

A ketone results from the reaction between a Grignard reagent and a nitrile, with the C=N carbon of the nitrile becoming the carbonyl carbon. Identify the two groups attached to the carbonyl carbon atom in the product. One will come from the Grignard reagent, and the other will come from the nitrile. 

With alkyl aryl ketones, it is the aryl group that generally migrates to the nitrogen, except when the alkyl group is bulky. The reaction has been applied to a few aldehydes, but rarely. With aldehydes the product is usually the nitrile (16-21). Even with ketones, conversion to the nitrile is often a side reaction, especially with the type of ketone that gives 17-31. A useful variation of the Schmidt reaction treats a cyclic ketone with an alkyl azide (RN3) in the presence of TiCU, generating a... 

Primary aliphatic nitro compounds can be reduced to nitriles with sodium dihydro(trithio)borate " or with f-BuN=C/BuN=C=0. Secondary compounds give mostly ketones (e.g., nitrocyclohexane gave 45% cyclohexanone, 30% cyclohexanone oxime, and 19% A-cyclohexylhydroxylamine). Tertiary aliphatic nitro compounds do not react with this reagent. See also 19-41. 

Alkyne-nitrile cyclotrimerization is a powerful synthetic methodology for the synthesis of complex heterocyclic aromatic molecules.118 Recently, Fatland et al. developed an aqueous alkyne-nitrile cyclotrimerization of one nitrile with two alkynes for the synthesis of highly functionalized pyridines by a water-soluble cobalt catalyst (Eq. 4.62). The reaction was chemospecific and several different functional groups such as unprotected alcohols, ketones, and amines were compatible with the reaction.119 In addition, photocatalyzed [2+2+2] alkyne or alkyne-nitrile cyclotrimerization in water120 and cyclotrimerization in supercritical H2O110121 have been reported in recent years. 

Thiolates, generated in situ by the action of ammonium tetra-thiomolybdate on alkyl halides, thiocyanates, and disulfides, undergo conjugate addition to a, (1-unsaturatcd esters, nitriles, and ketones in water under neutral conditions (Eq. 10. II).29 Conjugate addition of thiols was also carried out in a hydrophobic ionic liquid [bmim]PF6/water-solvent system (2 1) in the absence of any acid catalyst to afford the corresponding Michael adducts in high to quantitative yields with excellent 1,4-selectivity under mild and neutral conditions (Eq. 10.12). The use of ionic liquids helps to avoid the use of either acid or base catalysts... 

Thiomorpholides have been obtained by the reaction of nitriles or ketones and elemental sulfur with morpholine under microwave irradiation (Scheme 5).21,22... 

The same electrochemical process was also used for the coupling between aldehydes or ketones and activated alkyl halides such as a-chloroesters, -nitriles, and -ketones as well as aya-dichloroesters.334 Electroanalytical studies have shown initial electroreduction of Fe(n) to Fe(i) and subsequent formation of an iron organometallic intermediate (e.g., a 7t-allyliron complex in Equation (27)) before reaction with the corresponding carbonyl compounds.335... 

Larock et al. reported the palladium-catalyzed reactions of alkynes and nitriles with 2-iodophenyl group (Equations (116)-(118)).473,473a 473c Ketones and naphthylamines are obtained presumably through the formation of vinylpalladium species followed by their addition to nitriles to afford palladium imine intermediates. 

Simple aliphatic nitriles, aldehydes, ketones and esters are not readily alkylated under liquiddiquid phase-transfer conditions. Direct alkylation of aldehydes under even mildly basic phase-transfer conditions has to compete with aldol and Cannizzaro reactions and yields are low and variable [e.g. 6], a,a-Disubstituted aldehydes are C-alkylated, e.g. formylcyclohexane has been alkylated (>70%) with a range of reagents using benzyltrimethylammonium isopropoxide as the basic catalyst [7], whereas a-unsubstituted alkanals tend to undergo aldol condensation under basic liquid liquid two-phase conditions [8]. 

Autoxidation of secondary acetonitriles under phase-transfer catalytic conditions [2] avoids the use of hazardous and/or expensive materials required for the classical conversion of the nitriles into ketones. In the course of C-alkylation of secondary acetonitriles (see Chapter 6), it had been noted that oxidative cleavage of the nitrile group frequently occurred (Scheme 10.7) [3]. In both cases, oxidation of the anionic intermediate presumably proceeds via the peroxy derivative with the extrusion of the cyanate ion [2], Advantage of the direct oxidation reaction has been made in the synthesis of aryl ketones [3], particularly of benzoylheteroarenes. The cyanomethylheteroarenes, obtained by a photochemically induced reaction of halo-heteroarenes with phenylacetonitrile, are oxidized by air under the basic conditions. Oxidative coupling of bromoacetonitriles under basic catalytic conditions has been also observed (see Chapter 6). 

Treating a nitrile with Grignard reagent followed by hydrolysis yields a ketone. 

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