Nucleophilic attack alkyl halides

In the presence of strong bases, carbonyl compounds form enolate ions, which may be employed as nucleophilic reagents to attack alkyl halides or other suitably electron-deficient substrates giving carbon-carbon bonds. (The aldol and Claisen condensations... 

Amides are very weak nucleophiles, far too weak to attack alkyl halides, so they must first be converted to their conjugate bases. By this method, unsubstituted amides can be converted to N-substituted, or N-substituted to N,N-disubstituted, amides. Esters of sulfuric or sulfonic acids can also be substrates. Tertiary substrates give elimination. O-Alkylation is at times a side reaction. Both amides and sulfonamides have been alkylated under phase-transfer conditions. Lactams can be alkylated using similar procedures. Ethyl pyroglutamate (5-carboethoxy 2-pyrrolidinone) and related lactams were converted to N-alkyl derivatives via treatment with NaH (short contact time) followed by addition of the halide. 2-Pyrrolidinone derivatives can be alkylated using a similar procedure. Lactams can be reductively alkylated using aldehydes under catalytic hydrogenation... 

These A -acyl phosphazenes also decompose further on heating to PhaMePO and RCN. The elimination of methyl iodide probably occurs by a course closely related to the elimination of alkyl halides in the Arbusov reaction, where the alkoxy-group undergoes nucleophilic attack by halide ion. 

Sulfides are nucleophiles even when not deprotonated—the sulfur atom will attack alkyl halides to form sulfonium salts. This may look strange in comparison with ethers, but it is, of course, a familiar pattern of reactivity for amines, and you have seen phosphonium salts formed in a similar way (Chapters 14 and 31). 

Reactions of organomagnesium compounds with dialkyl sulfates or alkyl sulfonates often give satisfactory yields of the products of displacement of sulfate or sulfonate. Side-reactions have been observed, but they can often be avoided for example, an excess of the sulfate or sulfonate should be used with Grignard reagents, as some is consumed by nucleophilic attack by halide ion [A]. The dialkyl sulfates are reactive, but hazardous. Toluenesulfonates (tosylates) are less reactive, but their reactions are catalysed by copper complexes the reactions of trifluoromethanesulfonates (triflates) are catalysed by nickel complexes. Reactions of Grignard reagents with secondary tosylates appear to follow an Sn2 mechanism, with inversion of configuration [43],... 

Reaction of an alkyl halide or tosylate with a nucleophile/base results either in substitution or in elimination. Nucleophilic substitutions are of two types Sn2 reactions and S l reactions. In the Sn2 reaction, the entering nucleophile attacks the halide from a direction 180° away from the leaving group, resulting in an umbrella-like Walden inversion of configuration at the carbon atom. The reaction shows second-order kinetics and is strongly inhibited by increasing steric bulk of the reactants. Thus, Sn2 reactions are favored for primary and secondary substrates. 

The alkylation of the sulfide 96, the formation of the ylid 99, and the reaction with the aldehyde are all carried out in one operation. The sulfide is a good nucleophile for alkyl halides and forms the sulfonium salt 98. This gives the ylid 99 with NaOH as a convenient base in aqueous tert-butanol. The ylid selectively attacks the aldehyde to give the betaine 100 that closes to the epoxide and releases the sulfide 96 for the next round. 

Hydroxyethyl esters can be prepared from the free acid by reaction with ethylene carbonate. During an attempt to protect the ketone group of a keto-acid by 1,3-dioxolane formation, it has been found that mixed carboxylate sulphonate esters [e.g. (121) from ethylene glycol and tosic acid] can easily be formed extensions of this reaction show it to have a general applicability. In the presence of fluoride ions, carboxylic acids become sufficiently nucleophilic to attack alkyl halides. Thus, reaction between an acid and 1,3-dibromopropane leads to diesters (122). Molecular sieves have been recommended as suitable absorbants... 

In the case of triphenylsilane and trityl chloride, this reaction is first order in both reactants in benzene (233). The reaction rate for modified substrates indicates that with respect to R3CX, rate is a function of proclivity to ionize, trityl halides being more rapid than benzhydryl or allyl or tcr/-butyl halides. Indeed the latter required the presence of BBr3 as a catalyst. Within a given series. Cl > Br > I, phenylsilanes react more rapidly than alkyl silanes. A mechanism involving simultaneous nucleophilic attack of halide on silicon, and electrophilic attack on hydrogen by the carbonium ion is reasonable,... 

The dimer [CpFe(CO)j2 (P- 95) is the starting material for these studies. The and CO ligands are spectators in the reactions to be described, so it is convenient to write ri -C H FeiCO) as Fp. The dimer is thus written Fp—Fp or Fp. Fp is reduced by sodium amalgam in THF to a nucleophilic anion Fp" which attacks alkyl halides ... 

As we have seen the nucleophile attacks the substrate m the rate determining step of the Sn2 mechanism it therefore follows that the rate of substitution may vary from nucleophile to nucleophile Just as some alkyl halides are more reactive than others some nucleophiles are more reactive than others Nucleophilic strength or nucleophilicity, is a measure of how fast a Lewis base displaces a leaving group from a suitable substrate By measuring the rate at which various Lewis bases react with methyl iodide m methanol a list of then nucleophihcities relative to methanol as the standard nucleophile has been compiled It is presented m Table 8 4... 

Partial but not complete loss of optical activity m S l reactions probably results from the carbocation not being completely free when it is attacked by the nucleophile Ionization of the alkyl halide gives a carbocation-hahde ion pair as depicted m Figure 8 8 The halide ion shields one side of the carbocation and the nucleophile captures the carbocation faster from the opposite side More product of inverted configuration is formed than product of retained configuration In spite of the observation that the products of S l reactions are only partially racemic the fact that these reactions are not stereospecific is more consistent with a carbocation intermediate than a concerted bimolecular mechanism... 

As crowding at the carbon that bears the leaving group decreases the rate of nude ophilic attack by the Lewis base increases A low level of steric hindrance to approach of the nucleophile is one of the special circumstances that permit substitution to pre dominate and primary alkyl halides react with alkoxide bases by an 8 2 mechanism m preference to E2... 

Tertiary alkyl halides are so sterically hindered to nucleophilic attack that the pres ence of any anionic Lewis base favors elimination Usually substitution predominates over elimination m tertiary alkyl halides only when anionic Lewis bases are absent In the solvolysis of the tertiary bromide 2 bromo 2 methylbutane for example the ratio of substitution to elimination is 64 36 m pure ethanol but falls to 1 99 m the presence of 2 M sodium ethoxide... 

A key step in the reaction mechanism appears to be nucleophilic attack on the alkyl halide by the negatively charged copper atom but the details of the mechanism are not well understood Indeed there is probably more than one mechanism by which cuprates react with organic halogen compounds Vinyl halides and aryl halides are known to be very unreactive toward nucleophilic attack yet react with lithium dialkylcuprates... 

Step 2 Nucleophilic attack of the halide anion on carbon of the dialkyloxonmm ion This step gives one molecule of an alkyl halide and one molecule of an alcohol... 

Section 16 15 Sulfides are prepared by nucleophilic substitution (8 2) m which an alkanethiolate ion attacks an alkyl halide... 

Electrophilic attack on the sulfur atom of thiiranes by alkyl halides does not give thiiranium salts but rather products derived from attack of the halide ion on the intermediate cyclic salt (B-81MI50602). Treatment of a s-2,3-dimethylthiirane with methyl iodide yields cis-2-butene by two possible mechanisms (Scheme 31). A stereoselective isomerization of alkenes is accomplished by conversion to a thiirane of opposite stereochemistry followed by desulfurization by methyl iodide (75TL2709). Treatment of thiiranes with alkyl chlorides and bromides gives 2-chloro- or 2-bromo-ethyl sulfides (Scheme 32). Intramolecular alkylation of the sulfur atom of a thiirane may occur if the geometry is favorable the intermediate sulfonium ions are unstable to nucleophilic attack and rearrangement may occur (Scheme 33). 

The reactivities of the substrate and the nucleophilic reagent change vyhen fluorine atoms are introduced into their structures This perturbation becomes more impor tant when the number of atoms of this element increases A striking example is the reactivity of alkyl halides S l and mechanisms operate when few fluorine atoms are incorporated in the aliphatic chain, but perfluoroalkyl halides are usually resistant to these classical processes However, formal substitution at carbon can arise from other mecharasms For example nucleophilic attack at chlorine, bromine, or iodine (halogenophilic reaction, occurring either by a direct electron-pair transfer or by two successive one-electron transfers) gives carbanions These intermediates can then decompose to carbenes or olefins, which react further (see equations 15 and 47) Single-electron transfer (SET) from the nucleophile to the halide can produce intermediate radicals that react by an SrnI process (see equation 57) When these chain mechanisms can occur, they allow reactions that were previously unknown Perfluoroalkylation, which used to be very rare, can now be accomplished by new methods (see for example equations 48-56, 65-70, 79, 107-108, 110, 113-135, 138-141, and 145-146)... 

FIGURE 8.11 When a Lewis base reacts with an alkyl halide, either substitution or elimination can occur. Substitution (Sn2) occurs when the Lewis base acts as a nucleophile and attacks carbon to displace bromide. Elimination (E2) occurs when the Lewis base abstracts a proton from the p carbon. The alkyl halide shown is isopropyl bromide, and elimination (E2) predominates over substitution with alkox-ide bases. 

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