Nucleophilicity polar aprotic solvents

In contrast with protic solvents, which decrease the rates of SN2 reactions by lowering the ground-state energy of the nucleophile, polar aprotic solvents increase the rates of Sn2 reactions by raising the ground-state energy of the nucleophile. Acetonitrile (CH3CN), dimethylformamide ((Chy NCHO,... 

Sn2 Chapter 6 See Section 6.14 for a summary of nucleophiles mentioned in early chapters inversion 1°, 2°,benzylic(l°or2°), or allylic (1° or 2°) leaving group (e.g., halide, tosylate, mesylate) strong nucleophile polar aprotic solvent... 

Rate increases with increasing po larity of solvent as measured by its dielectric constant e (Section 8 12) Polar aprotic solvents give fastest rates of substitution solvation of Nu IS minimal and nucleophilicity IS greatest (Section 8 12)... 

The realization that die nucleophilicity of anions is strongly enhanced in polar aprotic solvents has led to important improvements of several types of synthetic processes that involve nucleophilic substitutions or additions. 

Neopentyl (2,2-dimethylpropyl) systems are resistant to nucleo diilic substitution reactions. They are primary and do not form caibocation intermediates, but the /-butyl substituent efiTectively hinders back-side attack. The rate of reaction of neopent>i bromide with iodide ion is 470 times slower than that of n-butyl bromide. Usually, tiie ner rentyl system reacts with rearrangement to the /-pentyl system, aldiough use of good nucleophiles in polar aprotic solvents permits direct displacement to occur. Entry 2 shows that such a reaction with azide ion as the nucleophile proceeds with complete inversion of configuration. The primary beiuyl system in entry 3 exhibits high, but not complete, inversiotL This is attributed to racemization of the reactant by ionization and internal return. 

The large rate enhancements observed for bimolecular- nucleophilic substitutions in polar- aprotic solvents are used to advantage in synthetic applications. An example can be seen in the preparation of alkyl cyanides (nitriles) by the reaction of sodium cyanide with alkyl halides ... 

We consider first the Sn2 type of process. (In some important Sn2 reactions the solvent may function as the nucleophile. We will treat solvent nucleophilicity as a separate topic in Chapter 8.) Basicity toward the proton, that is, the pKa of the conjugate acid of the nucleophile, has been found to be less successful as a model property for reactions at saturated carbon than for nucleophilic acyl transfers, although basicity must have some relationship to nucleophilicity. Bordwell et al. have demonstrated very satisfactory Brjinsted-type plots for nucleophilic displacements at saturated carbon when the basicities and reactivities are measured in polar aprotic solvents like dimethylsulfoxide. The problem of establishing such simple correlations in hydroxylic solvents lies in the varying solvation stabilization within a reaction series in H-bond donor solvents. 

Aromatic denitrocyclizations have been used for many years in some well-known synthetic reactions. Probably the best known example is the Turpin synthesis of phenoxazines and similar synthesis of phenothiazines. The classical setup used usually base-catalyzed reactions in polar protic solvents, very often alcohols. In many cases using polar aprotic solvents was found advantageous. Besides the mentioned influence of the H-bonding, better ionization and lower solvation of the nucleophile are also important. Sf Ar reactions proceed through strongly polarized complexes, which are well soluble and highly polarized in polar aprotic solvents. 

Interests in the phase transfer catalysis (PTC) have grown steadily for the past several years [68-70]. The use of PTC has recently received industrial importance in cases where the alternative use of polar aprotic solvents would be prohibitively expensive [71-74]. Thus, the potential application of the phase transfer catalyzed aromatic nucleophilic displacement reactions between phenoxide or thiophenoxide and activated systems has... 

Secondary alkyl halides Sjvj2 substitution occurs if a weakly basic nucleophile is used in a polar aprotic solvent, E2 elimination predominates if a strong base is used, and ElcB elimination takes place if the leaving group is two carbons away from a carbonyl group. Secondary allylic and benzyiic alkyl halides can also undergo S l and El reactions if a weakly basic nucleophile is used in a pro tic solvent. 

The conductometric results of Meerwein et al. (1957 b) mentioned above demonstrate that, in contrast to other products of the coupling of nucleophiles to arenediazonium ions, the diazosulfones are characterized by a relatively weak and polarized covalent bond between the p-nitrogen and the nucleophilic atom of the nucleophile. This also becomes evident in the ambidentate solvent effects found in the thermal decomposition of methyl benzenediazosulfone by Kice and Gabrielson (1970). In apolar solvents such as benzene or diphenylmethane, they were able to isolate decomposition products arising via a mechanism involving homolytic dissociation of the N — S bond. In a polar, aprotic solvent (acetonitrile), however, the primary product was acetanilide. The latter is thought to arise via an initial hetero-lytic dissociation and reaction of the diazonium ion with the solvent (Scheme 6-11). 

El. In Chapter 10, it was pointed out that some species are strong nucleophiles though weak bases (p. 439). The use of these obviously favors substitution, except that, as we have seen, elimination can predominate if polar aprotic solvents are used. It has been shown for the base CN that in polar aprotic solvents, the less the base is encumbered by its counterion in an ion pair (i.e., the freer the base), the more substitution is favored at the expense of elimination." ... 

The second step introduces the side chain group by nucleophilic displacement of the bromide (as a resin-bound a-bromoacetamide) with an excess of primary amine. Because there is such diversity in reactivity among candidate amine submonomers, high concentrations of the amine are typically used ( l-2 M) in a polar aprotic solvent (e.g. DMSO, NMP or DMF). This 8 2 reaction is really a mono-alkylation of a primary amine, a reaction that is typically complicated by over-alkylation when amines are alkylated with halides in solution. However, since the reactive bromoacetamide is immobilized to the solid support, any over-alkyla-tion side-products would be the result of a cross-reaction with another immobilized oligomer (slow) in preference to reaction with an amine in solution at high concentration (fast). Thus, in the sub-monomer method, the solid phase serves not only to enable a rapid reaction work-up, but also to isolate reactive sites from... 

This solvent shell is in the way, holding back the nucleophile from doing what it is supposed to do (go attack something). For the nucleophile to do its job, the nucleophile must first shed this solvent shell. This is always the case when you dissolve a nucleophile in a polar solvent, except when you use a polar aprotic solvent. 

Now that we have seen all four factors individually, we need to see how to put them all together. When analyzing a reaction, we need to look at all four factors and make a determination of which mechanism, SnI or Sn2, is predominating. It may not be just one mechanism in every case. Sometimes both mechanisms occur and it is difficult to predict which one predominates. Nevertheless, it is a lot more common to see situations that are obviously leaning toward one mechanism over the other. For example, it is clear that a reaction will be Sn2 if we have a primary substrate with a strong nucleophile in a polar aprotic solvent. On the flipside, a reaction will clearly be SnI if we have a tertiary substrate with a weak nucleophile and an excellent leaving group. 

When the reageht fuhotiohs exclusively as a nucleophile (ahd hot as a base), ohiy substitutioh reactions occur (not elimination). The substrate determines which mechahism operates. 3 2 predominates for primary substrates, and 3 1 predominates for tertiary substrates. For secondary substrates, both 3 2 ahd 3 1 cah occur, although 3 2 is generally favored (especially when a polar aprotic solvent is used). 

Especially for large-scale work, esters may be more safely and efficiently prepared by reaction of carboxylate salts with alkyl halides or tosylates. Carboxylate anions are not very reactive nucleophiles so the best results are obtained in polar aprotic solvents45 or with crown ether catalysts.46 The reactivity order for carboxylate salts is Na+ < K+ < Rb+ < Cs+. Cesium carboxylates are especially useful in polar aprotic solvents. The enhanced reactivity of the cesium salts is due to both high solubility and minimal ion pairing with the anion 47 Acetone is a good solvent for reaction of carboxylate anions with alkyl iodides48 Cesium fluoride in DMF is another useful... 

The reactivity of triflate-substituted pyridopyrrolizines has been investigated. In the presence of a polar aprotic solvent and a nucleophile, these compounds undergo Sn reactions, leading to the a-substituted 3//-3-pyrrolones. This process is thought to involve loss of the trifluoromethanesulfinate ion, formation of an acyliminium ion intermediate, and nucleophilic attack on the latter <1995JOC5382> (Scheme 44). 

Secondary halide Can occur under solvolysis conditions in polar solvents Favored by good nucleophiles in polar aprotic solvents Can occur under solvolysis conditions in polar solvents Favored when strong bases are used... 

In polar aprotic solvents the nucleophile is only very slightly solvated and is, consequently, highly reactive. 

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