Nitroalkanes, carboxylation

Although acyl imidazoles can be replaced by phenyl esters in some cases," acyl imidazoles are more effecdve for the acyladon of nitroalkanes A combinadon of diethyl phosphorcyani-dates and triethylamime allows the direct C-acyladon of nitromethane by aromadc carboxylic... 

Wade and coworkers have found that ct-nitro siilfones are useful reagents in organic synthesis because they are converted into nitroalkanes, nitnles, or carboxylic acids fsee Eq 5 52 ... 

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. "... 

The 1,4-addition of RMgX or RLi to nitroalkenes produces nitronate intermediates, which are converted into nitroalkanes, nitrile oxides (oxime chlorides), or carboxylic acids, depending on the conditions of hydrolysis (Scheme 4.14).94... 

The carboxylation of nitroalkanes with magnesium methyl carbonate followed by esterification gives a-nitro esters in 40-58% yield.14 Magnesium methyl carbonate is prepared by the saturation of a magnesium methoxide suspension in DMF with C02. More elegantly, sodium salt of nitroalkanes can he carboxylated by means of 1 -ethoxycarbonylbenzotriazole to give a-nitro esters in 55-80% yield (Eq. 5.7).15 Nitroacetic acids and its esters can serve as useful... 

The most characteristic reaction of butadiene catalyzed by palladium catalysts is the dimerization with incorporation of various nucleophiles [Eq. (11)]. The main product of this telomerization reaction is the 8-substituted 1,6-octadiene, 17. Also, 3-substituted 1,7-octadiene, 18, is formed as a minor product. So far, the following nucleophiles are known to react with butadiene to form corresponding telomers water, carboxylic acids, primary and secondary alcohols, phenols, ammonia, primary and secondary amines, enamines, active methylene compounds activated by two electron-attracting groups, and nitroalkanes. Some of these nucleophiles are known to react oxidatively with simple olefins in the presence of Pd2+ salts. Carbon monoxide and hydrosilanes also take part in the telomerization. The telomerization reactions are surveyed based on the classification by the nucleophiles. 

Feuer and co-workers also nitrated ring-substituted toluenes to the corresponding arylnitromethanes with potassium amide in liquid ammonia. Sulfonate esters and NJ -dialkylamides undergo similar nitration the latter isolated as their a-bromo derivatives. Alkaline nitration of ethyl and ferf-butyl carboxylic esters with potassium amide in liquid ammonia yields both the a-nitroester and the corresponding nitroalkane from decarboxylation. ... 

Treating the dianion of a carboxylic acid with an alkyl nitrate leads to an a-nitrocarboxylic acid which readily undergoes decarboxylation to the corresponding nitroalkane. This method is particularly useful for the synthesis of arylnitromethanes containing electron-donating groups. ... 

Electrophilic nitrations of aliphatic nitriles, carboxylic acids,carboxylic esters, ° and /3-diketones have been reported. The nitration of 2-alkyl-substituted indane-l,3-diones with nitric acid, followed by alkaline hydrolysis, is a standard laboratory route to primary nitroalkanes. ... 

The nitroaldol (Henry) reaction constitutes a powerful C-C bond-forming process in organic chemistry, providing efficient access to valuable functionalized organic compounds such as 1,2-amino-alcohols, a-hydroxy-carboxylic acids and 3-hydroxy-nitroalkanes [215, 216]. 

In a series of reports between 1991 and 1997 Yamaguchi showed that rubidium salts of L-proline (9) catalysed the conjugate addition of both nitroalkanes [29, 30] andmalonates [31-33] to prochiral a,p-unsaturated carbonyl compounds in up to 88% ee (Scheme 1). Rationalisation of the selectivities observed involved initial formation of an iminium ion between the secondary amine of the catalyst and the a,p-unsaturated carbonyl substrate. Subsequent deprotonation of the nucleophile by the carboxylate and selective delivery using ion pair... 

Another important part of Organic 11 is carbonyl chemistry. We look at the basics of the carbonyls in Chapter 9. It s like a family reunion where 1 (John, one of your authors) grew up in North Carolina — everybody is related. You meet aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, acyl chlorides, esters, cimides, and on and on. It s a quick peek, because later we go back and examine many of these in detail. For example, in Chapter 10 you study aldehydes and ketones, along with some of the amines, while in Chapter 11 we introduce you to other carbonyl compounds, enols and enolates, along with nitroalkanes and nitriles. 

This can be used for oxidations in aqneons base of primary alcohols, aldehydes, activated alkyl halides, ctT-diols and nitroalkanes to carboxylic acids, and of secondary alcohols and secondary halides to ketones. 

Nucleophilic addition to C=0 (contd.) ammonia derivs., 219 base catalysis, 204, 207, 212, 216, 226 benzoin condensation, 231 bisulphite anion, 207, 213 Cannizzaro reaction, 216 carbanions, 221-234 Claisen ester condensation, 229 Claisen-Schmidt reaction, 226 conjugate, 200, 213 cyanide ion, 212 Dieckmann reaction, 230 electronic effects in, 205, 208, 226 electrons, 217 Grignard reagents, 221, 235 halide ion, 214 hydration, 207 hydride ion, 214 hydrogen bonding in, 204, 209 in carboxylic derivs., 236-244 intermediates in, 50, 219 intramolecular, 217, 232 irreversible, 215, 222 Knoevenagel reaction, 228 Lewis acids in, 204, 222 Meerwein-Ponndorf reaction, 215 MejSiCN, 213 nitroalkanes, 226 Perkin reaction, 227 pH and, 204, 208, 219 protection, 211... 

The addition of Grignard reagents to nitroalkenes like 205 gives ad-salts 206, which can be further transformed into nitroalkanes, hydroxymoyl halides or carboxylic acids (equation 130) . Reaction of RMgX with nitroalkenes in the presence of CeCls, followed by treatment with 100% acetic acid, was developed as efficient synthesis of complex nitroalkanes . ... 

Kinetic template effects have been postulated in more typical organic aldol condensations, where metals such as lithium and zinc are likely to coordinate both the enolate or enamine nucleophile and the aldehyde in the transition state. The examples shown in Schemes 58184 and 59185 are illustrative of these reactions and the degree of selectivity obtained. The carboxylation of ketones and nitroalkanes by methyl magnesium carbonate to produce P-keto acids and a-nitro acids respectively provides early examples of similar reactions (Scheme 60).186 187 See also Section 61.1.4.4. 

An earlier series of experiments established useful synthetic transformations involving carboxylation of ketones and nitroalkanes to yield P-keto acids and a-nitro acids respectively (Scheme 94).362 363 The reagent is methylmagnesium carbonate and the intermediate (130) can be alkylated with concomitant decarboxylation to provide greater versatility. These reactions can also be extended to ketone functions in imidazoline- and oxazolidine-diones (Scheme 95).364,365... 

A kinetic study of the deprotonation-reprotonation behaviour of (4-nitrophenyl)-nitromcthane in 50% H2O-50% Me2SO mixtures promoted by bases (phenoxide and carboxylate ions, primary amines) has revealed a one-step equilibration at pH > 4.2 the equilibration in acidic media is complicated by protonation of the exocyclic nitro group.142 The results suggest that the substrate acts essentially as a nitroalkane rather than a /j-nitrotolucnc. A further study of kinetics of deprotonation of (4-nitrophenyl)nitromethane has provided evidence of a steric effect on proton tunnelling on reaction with /V -propyl-A./V-dipropylbcnziinidamidc.143... 

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