Nitro compounds carboxylation

Reduction. An early report2 stated that aldehydes and a-hydroxy ketones are reduced by this reagent but that ketones, nitro compounds, carboxylic acids, and esters are not reduced. Borch and Durst,3 however, found that some ketones are reduced, but more slowly than with sodium borohydride. One advantage over the latter reagent is that lithium cyanohydridoborate is stable in acid up to pH 3 and hence can be used for reduction of groups sensitive to high pH (e.g., thiamine). 

The latter is known as the elimination-addition mechanism of the nucleophilic aromatic substitution. The high reactivity of aryllithiums precludes the use of several types of functional groups such as aldehydes, ketones, esters, amides, amines, alcohols, phenols, nitro-compounds, carboxylic acids etc. However, properly protected alcohols, phenols or amines can effect the reaction. Various ether protecting groups, e.g. Tr, Me, /-Pr, Bn, 4-MeOBn, are employed in the former instances, whereas A, V-dibenzyl group is convenient for the amine protection. 

The considerable strengths, but also limitations, of the empirical fitting of model potentials has been established more recently, by considering a few hundred crystal structures and heats of sublimation for hydrocarbons, oxohydrocarbons, azahydrocarbons, chlorohydrocarbons, sulfohydrocarbons, sul-fones, sulfoxides, nitro compounds, carboxylic acids, amides. 

It should be noted that only representative substances are indicated in the above list. Substituted derivatives of the compounds in most classes may be encountered, e.g., nitrobenzoic acid in the aromatic carboxylic acids (p. 347). This acid will contain CH(0)N, but the salient properties are still those of a carboxylic acid, CH(0), Section 14, although the properties of an aromatic nitro-compound (e.g.y reduction to an amino-compound) will also be evident. 

There are complications in applying the Hinsberg test to certain amines containing hydroxyl, nitro and carboxyl groups, e.g., p-N-methylamiiiobenzoic acid CHjNHC.HjCOOH (I 4) may behave in this test as a primary amine (soluble in alkali) so that it is essential to consider the properties of the original compound in conjunction with the results of the test. 

Dilute sodium hydroxide solution. Carboxylic acids (RCOOH), sulphonic acids (RSO3H), phenols (ArOH), thiophenols (ArSH), mer-captans (RSH), imides (RCONHCOR), aryl sulphonamides (AxSOjNHj), arylsulphonyl derivatives of primary amines (AxSOjNHR), oximes (RCH=NOH), primary and secondary nitro compounds (RCH=NOOH and RjC=NOOH-oci forms), and some enols (e.g., of 1 3-diketones... 

The intermediacy of an aci-nitro compound has been proposed for the sulfuric acid cyclization of o-nitrophenylacetic acid to yield a mixture of 2,1-benzisoxazole and 2,1-benzisoxazole-3-carboxylic acid. The acid does not decarboxylate under the reaction conditions. The proposed aci-nitro intermediate cyclized to an A/ -hydroxy compound which decomposed to the products (Scheme 179) (70JCS(C)2660). 

Although the nitro group plays a crucial role in most of these SrnI reactions, reactions of this type have synthetic application beyond the area of nitro compounds. The nitromethyl groups can be converted to other functional groups, including aldehydes and carboxylic acids.Nitro groups at tertiary positions can be reductively removed by reaction with the methanethiol anion.This reaction also appears to be of the electron-transfer type, with the methanethiolate anion acting as the electron donor ... 

TheNef reaction of primary nitro compounds gives iildehydes or carboxylic acids, depending on the reaction conditions. Each transformation provides an important tool in organic synthesis. Primary nitro compotmds are converted into carboxylic acids vrith concentrated mineriil acids. Because such harsh conditions iilso lead to side reactions, a milder method is required inorganic synthesis. Basic phosphate-buffered KMnO rapidly converts primary nitroalkanes into carboxylic acids in 90-99% yield fEq. 6.13. "... 

Because primary alkyl bromides can be converted into the corresponding nitro compounds by the acdon of NaNO in DMSO, primary alkyl bromides are converted directly into the corresponding carboxylic acids by the reacdon v/ith an excess of sodium nitrite in acedc acid rEq. 6-16 / ... 

Notable examples of general synthetic procedures in Volume 47 include the synthesis of aromatic aldehydes (from dichloro-methyl methyl ether), aliphatic aldehydes (from alkyl halides and trimethylamine oxide and by oxidation of alcohols using dimethyl sulfoxide, dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, and pyridinum trifluoro-acetate the latter method is particularly useful since the conditions are so mild), carbethoxycycloalkanones (from sodium hydride, diethyl carbonate, and the cycloalkanone), m-dialkylbenzenes (from the />-isomer by isomerization with hydrogen fluoride and boron trifluoride), and the deamination of amines (by conversion to the nitrosoamide and thermolysis to the ester). Other general methods are represented by the synthesis of 1 J-difluoroolefins (from sodium chlorodifluoroacetate, triphenyl phosphine, and an aldehyde or ketone), the nitration of aromatic rings (with ni-tronium tetrafluoroborate), the reductive methylation of aromatic nitro compounds (with formaldehyde and hydrogen), the synthesis of dialkyl ketones (from carboxylic acids and iron powder), and the preparation of 1-substituted cyclopropanols (from the condensation of a 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol derivative and ethyl-... 

So do anhydrides and many compounds that enolize easily (e.g., malonic ester and aliphatic nitro compounds). The mechanism is usually regarded as proceeding through the enol as in 12-4. If chlorosulfuric acid (CISO2OH) is used as a catalyst, carboxylic acids can be ot-iodinated, as well as chlorinated or brominated. N-Bromosuccinimide in a mixture of sulfuric acid-trifluoroacetic acid can mono-brominate simple carboxylic acids. ... 

When aromatic nitro compounds are treated with cyanide ion, the nitro group is displaced and a carboxyl group enters with cine substitution (p. 854), always ortho to the displaced group, never meta or para. The scope of this reaction, called the von Richter rearrangement, is variable. As with other nucleophilic aromatic substitutions, the reaction gives best results when electron-withdrawing groups are in ortho and para positions, but yields are low, usually < 20% and never > 50%. 

When primary nitro compounds are treated with sulfuric acid without previous conversion to the conjugate bases, they give carboxylic acids. Hydroxamic acids are intermediates and can be isolated, so that this is also a method for preparing them. Both the Nef reaction and the hydroxamic acid process involve the aci form the difference in products arises from higher acidity, for example, a difference in sulfuric acid concentration from 2 to 15.5 M changes the product from the aldehyde to the hydroxamic acid. The mechanism of the hydroxamic acid reaction is not known with certainty, but if higher acidity is required, it may be that the protonated aci form of the nitro compound is further protonated. 

Compared with aldehydes and ketones, carboxylic acids and their derivatives are less reactive toward reduction. Nevertheless, it is still possible to reduce various acid derivatives in aqueous conditions. Aromatic carboxylic acids, esters, amides, nitriles, and chlorides (and ketones and nitro compounds) were rapidly reduced by the Sml2-H20 system to the corresponding products at room temperature in good yields... 

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