Of crown ethers

The effects of the counterion on the reactivity of the enolates can be important Reactivity Li+ < Na+ < K+ < ITiN+ addition of crown ethers... 

Aryl, heteroaryl, and alkenyl cyanides are prepared by the reaction of halides[656-658] or triflates[659,660] with KCN or LiCN in DMF, HMPA, and THF. Addition of crown ethers[661] and alumina[662] promotes efficient aryl and alkenyl cyanation. lodobenzene is converted into benzonitrile (794) by the reaction of trimethylsiiyl cyanide in EtiN as a solvent. No reaction takes place with aryl bromides and chlorides[663]. The reaction was employed in an estradiol synthesis. The 3-hydroxy group in 796 was derived from the iodide 795 by converting it into a cyano group[664]. 

The strength of this bonding depends on the kind of ether Simple ethers form relatively weak complexes with metal ions but Charles J Pedersen of Du Pont discovered that cer tain polyethers form much more stable complexes with metal ions than do simple ethers Pedersen prepared a series of macrocyclic polyethers cyclic compounds contain mg four or more oxygens m a ring of 12 or more atoms He called these compounds crown ethers, because their molecular models resemble crowns Systematic nomencla ture of crown ethers is somewhat cumbersome and so Pedersen devised a shorthand description whereby the word crown is preceded by the total number of atoms m the ring and is followed by the number of oxygen atoms... 

The metal-ion complexmg properties of crown ethers are clearly evident m their effects on the solubility and reactivity of ionic compounds m nonpolar media Potassium fluoride (KF) is ionic and practically insoluble m benzene alone but dissolves m it when 18 crown 6 is present This happens because of the electron distribution of 18 crown 6 as shown m Figure 16 2a The electrostatic potential surface consists of essentially two regions an electron rich interior associated with the oxygens and a hydrocarbon like exterior associated with the CH2 groups When KF is added to a solution of 18 crown 6 m benzene potassium ion (K ) interacts with the oxygens of the crown ether to form a Lewis acid Lewis base complex As can be seen m the space filling model of this... 

Phase transfer catalysis succeeds for two reasons First it provides a mechanism for introducing an anion into the medium that contains the reactive substrate More important the anion is introduced m a weakly solvated highly reactive state You ve already seen phase transfer catalysis m another form m Section 16 4 where the metal complexmg properties of crown ethers were described Crown ethers permit metal salts to dissolve m nonpolar solvents by surrounding the cation with a lipophilic cloak leav mg the anion free to react without the encumbrance of strong solvation forces... 

Podates AcycHc analogues of crown ethers /coronands and cryptands (podands, eg, (11) (30) are also capable of forming inclusion compounds (podates) with cations and uncharged organic molecules, the latter being endowed with a hydrogen bond fiinctionahty. Podates normally are less stable than coronates and cryptates but have favorable kinetics. 

The diffusion, location and interactions of guests in zeolite frameworks has been studied by in-situ Raman spectroscopy and Raman microscopy. For example, the location and orientation of crown ethers used as templates in the synthesis of faujasite polymorphs has been studied in the framework they helped to form [4.297]. Polarized Raman spectra of p-nitroaniline molecules adsorbed in the channels of AIPO4-5 molecular sieves revealed their physical state and orientation - molecules within the channels formed either a phase of head-to-tail chains similar to that in the solid crystalline substance, with a characteristic 0J3 band at 1282 cm , or a second phase, which is characterized by a similarly strong band around 1295 cm . This second phase consisted of weakly interacting molecules in a pseudo-quinonoid state similar to that of molten p-nitroaniline [4.298]. 

In the absence of die polyether, potassium fluoride is insoluble in benzene and unreactive toward alkyl halides. Similar enhancement of solubility and reactivity of other salts is observed in the presence of crown ethers The solubility and reactivity enhancement result because the ionic compound is dissociated to a tightly complexed cation and a naked anion. Figure 4.13 shows the tight coordination that can be achieved with a typical crown ether. The complexed cation, because it is surrounded by the nonpolar crown ether, has high solubility in the nonpolar media. To maintain electroneutrality, the anion is also transported into the solvent. The cation is shielded from interaction with the anion as a... 

Extensive and important as Pedersen s efforts were, they might have been even greater had he not prepared the first examples of crown ethers when he was beyond sixty years of age. After giving birth to a remarkable child, he was unable to nurture it because of his retirement in 1969. 

Numerous other methods exist for making the simple crowns. Many of these methods are compared in Sect. 3.1 which deals with variations in the synthesis of 18-crown-6. Further commentary on the influence of templating ions on the synthesis of crown ethers may be found in Chap. 2, which deals with various aspects of the template effect. 

Schroder and Witt ° have reported the synthesis of crown ethers having fluctuating ring sizes which they have termed breathing crown ethers . The structures are based on the bullvalene subunit and, as the tetracyclic subunit undergoes Cope rearrangement, the size of the macroring likewise varies. The synthetic steps follow the conventional routes used for the preparation of crown ethers and are illustrated in Eq. (3.44). 

Although cesium salts appear to be excellent reagents for the formation of crown ethers, it should be noted that such salts are used at least in equivalent amounts or in excess (4 eq.) . These salts are relatively expensive and will probably be reserved for use in the synthesis of less readily accessible crowns. 

Despite this considerable literature noted above, it was really Bradshaw and coworkers who pioneered the synthesis of macrocyclic ester analogs of crown ethers "... 

Okahara and his coworkers have made a number of contributions to the synthesis of crown ethers using a one-pot method (see Sect. 3.13). These methods have been applied largely to the preparation of simple aliphatic crown ether systems. In addition, this group has prepared macrocyclic ester compounds using a one-pot procedure. Although... 

With the discovery of the crowns and related species, it was inevitable that a search would begin for simpler and simpler relatives which might be useful in similar applications. Perhaps these compounds would be easier and more economical to prepare and ultimately, of course, better in one respect or another than the molecules which inspired the research. In particular, the collateral developments of crown ether chemistry and phase transfer catalysis fostered an interest in utilizing the readily available polyethylene glycol mono- or dimethyl ethers as catalysts for such reactions. Although there is considerable literature in this area, much of it relates to the use of simple polyethylene glycols in phase transfer processes. Since our main concern in this monograph is with novel structures, we will discuss these simple examples further only briefly, below. 

A second source of inspiration for studying the open-chained equivalents of crown ethers was the observation that a number of naturally occurring antibiotics enhance cation transport and bear a structural similarity to open-chained crown ethers. A number of groups have examined neutral synthetic ionophores and a variety of novel cation carriers is now available. This is discussed in Sect. 7.4, below. 

Isomerization of fluoroolefins by a shift of a double bond is catalyzed by halide 10ns [7] The presence of crown ether makes this reaction more efficient [74] Prolonged reaction time favors the rearranged product with an internal double bond (equations 3-5) Isomerization of perfluoro-l-pentene with cesium fluoride yields perfluoro-2-pentenes in a Z ratio of 1 6 [75] Antimony pentafluoride also causes isomenzation of olefins leading to more substituted products [76]... 

Design and synthesis of crown ethers and other macroheterocycles as highly selective ionophores for chemical ion sensors 98YGK291. 

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