Ion, nitrilium

Friedel-Crafts acylation using nittiles (other than HCN) and HCI is an extension of the Gattermann reaction, and is called the Houben-Hoesch reaction (120—122). These reactions give ketones and are usually appHcable to only activated aromatics, such as phenols and phenoHc ethers. The protonated nittile, ie, the nitrilium ion, acts as the electrophilic species in these reactions. Nonactivated ben2ene can also be acylated with the nittiles under superacidic conditions 95% trifluoromethanesulfonic acid containing 5% SbF (Hg > —18) (119). A dicationic diprotonated nittile intermediate was suggested for these reactions, based on the fact that the reactions do not proceed under less acidic conditions. The significance of dicationic superelectrophiles in Friedel-Crafts reactions has been discussed (123,124). 

Ring closures based upon electrophilic processes are uncommon. The cationic cyclization in Scheme 29a proceeds via transformation of the commencing oxime into a nitrilium ion (81CC568). Schemes 29b (82CB706) and 29c (82CB714) exemplify the application of intramolecular acylation. 

The protonated azirine system has also been utilized for the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds (67JA44S6). Thus, treatment of (199) with anhydrous perchloric acid and acetone or acetonitrile gave the oxazolinium perchlorate (207) and the imidazolinium perchlorate (209), respectively. The mechanism of these reactions involves 1,3-bond cleavage of the protonated azirine and reaction with the carbonyl group (or nitrile) to produce a resonance-stabilized carbonium-oxonium ion (or carbonium-nitrilium ion), followed by attack of the nitrogen unshared pair jf electrons to complete the cyclization. 

A more practical solution to this problem was reported by Larson, in which the amide substrate 20 was treated with oxalyl chloride to afford a 2-chlorooxazolidine-4,5-dione 23. Reaction of this substrate with FeCL affords a reactive A-acyl iminium ion intermediate 24, which undergoes an intramolecular electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction to provide 25. Deprotection of 25 with acidic methanol affords the desired dihydroisoquinoline products 22. This strategy avoids the problematic nitrilium ion intermediate, and provides generally good yields of 3-aryl dihydroisoquinolines. 

Lastly, Livinghouse s approach to the tricyclic core of 4 is highlighted by an acylnitrilium spirocyclization [19d], Exposure of isonitrile 48 to thiophenyl acetyl chloride provides an intermediate chloramine (49) that, in the presence of a silver salt, eliminates the chloride to form a nitrilium ion (R-N = C+-R). The nitrilium is attacked by the nucleophilic aromatic ring to furnish spirocyclic imine 50 in high... 

The tetrachloroferrate or tetralluoroborate salts of alkylated alkyl- or aryl-nitriles (nitrilium ions) are reduced to imines with triethylsilane. Subsequent hydrolysis of the intermediate imines leads to aldehydes in good yields, thus providing an excellent overall route to aldehydes from nitriles (Eq. 338).28,562... 

Acetonitrile is another participating solvent, which in many cases leads to the formation of an equatorially linked glycoside [125-131], It has been proposed that these reactions proceed via an a-nitrilium ion intermediate. It is not well understood why the nitrilium ion adopts an axial orientation however, spectroscopic studies support the proposed anomeric configuration [130,131], It is known that nucleophilic substitution of the a-nitrilium ion by an alcohol leads to P-glycosidic bonds and the best P-selectivities are obtained when reactive alcohols at low reaction temperatures are employed. Unfortunately, mannosides give poor anomeric selec-tivities under these conditions. 

Silylium ions, which are not protected sterically or are not stabilized either electronically or by intramolecular interaction with a remote substituent do interact strongly with the solvent and/or the counteranion. The reaction of the transient silylium ion with solvents like ethers, nitriles and even aromatic hydrocarbons lead to oxonium, nitrilium and arenium ions with a tetrahedral environment for the silicon atom. These new cationic species can be clearly identified by their characteristic Si NMR chemical shifts. That is, the oxonium salt [Me3SiOEt2] TFPB is characterized by S Si = 66.9 in CD2CI2 solution at —70°C. " Similar chemical shifts are found for related silylated oxonium ions. Nitrilium ions formed by the reaction of intermediate trialkyl silylium ions with nitriles are identified by Si NMR chemical shifts S Si = 30—40 (see also Table VI for some examples). Trialkyl-substituted silylium ions generated in benzene solution yield silylated benzenium ions, which can be easily detected by a silicon NMR resonance at 8 Si = 90—100 (see Table VI). ... 

With one exception, naphthalen-l,4-imines with a double bond between C-2 and C-3 are not known to dissociate thermally by either possible retro-Diels-Alder pathway (the reverse of reactions described in Section III, A, 1 and 2), and the enthalpy requirements for the formation of a benzyne or an acylic acetylene are doubtless unfavorable. However, the mass spectra of compounds 93-99 reveal one important fragmentation of the molecular ions to be loss of dimethyl acetylene-dicarboxylate, and another fragmentation pathway involves the formation of nitrilium ions MeC=NR and PhC=NR from 93-95 and 96-99, respectively. ... 

The same general method was used by Schmidt (see 74) to generate nitrilium ions for addition to phenylacetylene. Normal addition of the nitrilium ion (76) occurred, affording the hydrobromide (77) of 2,4-diphenylquinoline, presumably via the carbonium ion (78). Interestingly, the analogous N-arylacylimido chloride in which the R group was... 

The main intermediate of the rearrangement may be a nitrilium ion (225) in some cases or an imidate (226) in others. The resulting intermediate reacts with water to produce the amide (218) after tautomerization. If other nucleophiles (Nu ) are present, they can intercept the reactive intermediates (both inter- or intra-molecularly) and several different imino-substituted derivatives (227) can be formed. These rearrangement-addition reactions will be analysed later in this chapter as they can effectively broaden the scope of the Beckmann rearrangement reaction (Sections VI.D.2 and VI.E.2). 

Several pathways may be possible for the Beckmann fragmentation reaction (equations 68 and 69). Stepwise processes may occur (equation 68), but stereospecific concerted fragmentations are also common (equation 69). Stepwise processes may follow different routes, but in most cases the fragmentation may have the same intermediate as the Beckmann rearrangement the nitrilium ion. 

In the Beckmann reaction alternative ionic intermediates, two nitrilium ions (225, via route a or b and 237, via route c) or one iminium ion (235, via route b or c), may be formed from the activated oximes (Scheme 7). 

The formation of a very electrophilic intermediate 258 from 256 and 257 is proposed (equation 78). The hydroxyl group of the oxime adds to 259, giving a reactive cationic species 260 that rearranges and affords the nitrile 261 (in the case of aldoxime, equation 79), or the amide 262 upon hydrolytic workup (equation 80). The conversion of 260 to the nitrilium ion should occur through a concerted [1,2]-intramolecular shift. This procedure can be applied in the conversion of aldoximes to nitriles. It was observed that the stereochemistry of the ketoximes has little effect on the reaction, this fact being explained by the E-Z isomerization of the oxime isomers under the reaction conditions. 

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