Ortho regioselectivity

In addition, high ortho regioselectivity (32%) was observed for bibenzyl, whereas biphenyl, diphenylmethane and 1,3-diphenylpropane exhibited the usual high para regioselectivity (100%, 98%, and 95%, respectively).95... 

From a synthetic point of view, the process can be efficiently applied to the preparation of a large variety of ortho-hydroxyaryl ketones, as summarized in Table 5.1. Results from Table 5.1 are a proof of the powerful metal-template effect in promoting ortho-regioselective electrophilic acylation of phenol substrates. 

A further application of the metal-template effect in the ortho-regioselective acylation of phenols is represented by the direct synthesis of salicyloyl chloride and derivatives by the reaction of bromomagnesium phenolates 4 with phosgene. The reaction affords the unstable salicyloyl chloride-magnesium complexes 5 by a pathway similar to the mechanism depicted in Scheme 5.2. These intermediates can be in situ converted into the corresponding acids 6 (Scheme 5.3), esters, amides, or ketones by reaction with suitable reagents. 

Table 5.1 Ortho-regioselective acylation of phenoxymagnesium bromides with acyl chlorides...

An interesting mthenium-catalyzed ortho alkylation of benzonitriles with tri-ethoxyvinylsilanes has been described by Murai and coworkers [81] (Scheme 19.62). A side-on coordination of the jt-bonded nitrile group was proposed to account for the ortho regioselectivity. 

Dibenzyl formylation was carried out by Tanaka et a/. Various Lewis acids in HF were used to investigate the influence of acidity on regioselectivity. The order of acidity are SbF5>TaF5>BF3>NbFs and the results displayed in Table 1.10 indicate that both the ortho regioselectivity and aldehyde yield decreased with a decrease in Lewis acidity. 

Why IS there such a marked difference between methyl and trifluoromethyl substituents m their influence on electrophilic aromatic substitution s Methyl is activating and ortho para directing trifluoromethyl is deactivating and meta directing The first point to remember is that the regioselectivity of substitution is set once the cyclohexadienyl cation intermediate is formed If we can explain why... 

Sections How substituents control rate and regioselectivity m electrophilic aro 12 10-12 14 matic substitution results from their effect on carbocation stability An electron releasing substituent stabilizes the cyclohexadienyl cation inter mediates corresponding to ortho and para attack more than meta... 

Section 24 10 The Kolbe-Schmitt synthesis of salicylic acid is a vital step m the preparation of aspirin Phenols as their sodium salts undergo highly regioselective ortho carboxylation on treatment with carbon dioxide at elevated temperature and pressure... 

More complete interpretations of Diels-Alder regioselectivity have been developed. MO results can be analyzed from an electrostatic perspective by calculating potentials at the various atoms in the diene and dienophile. These results give a more quantitatively accurate estimate of the substituent effects. Diels-Alder regioselectivity can also be accounted for in terms of HSAB theory (see Section 1.2.3). The expectation would be that the most polarizable (softest) atoms would lead to bond formation and that regioselectivity would reflect the best mateh between the diene and dienophile termini. These ideas have been applied using 3-2IG computations. The results are in agreement with the ortho rule for normal-electron-demand Diels-Alder reactions. ... 

Since the Fries rearrangement is a equilibrium reaction, the reverse reaction may be used preparatively under appropriate experimental conditions. An instructive example, which shows how the regioselectivity depends on the reaction temperature, is the rearrangement of m-cresyl acetate 8. At high temperatures the ortho-product 9 is formed, while below 100°C the para-derivative 10 is formed ... 

The convergent approach comprises, among other reaction steps, a regio-specific intermolecular benzannulation reaction between the alkyne 88 and the chromium carbene complex 89 for AB ring construction (Scheme 43). It is noteworthy that the regioselectivity of this reaction is attributed to the bulky TBDMS ether in the alkyne a-substituent, that dictates the incorporation of the large substituent ortho to the phenol. Another curiosity is the fact that the reaction failed to provide 90 in the absence of acetic anhydride. 

The ortho-para rule is explained by FMO theory on the basis of the orbital coefficients of the atoms forming the cr-bonds. The regiochemistry is determined by the overlap of the orbitals that have larger coefficients (larger lobes in Scheme 1.15). The greater the difference between the orbital coefficients of the two end atoms of diene and two atoms of dienophile, which form the two cr-bonds, the more regioselective the cycloaddition. 

Lewis-acid-catalyzed cycloadditions of dienophiles, such as a,/l-unsaturated carbonyl compounds, with open-chain carbon-dienes, are generally highly ortho-para regioselective because the oxygen complexation increases the difference of LUMO coefficients of the alkene moiety. 

Cycloaddition reactions of (E)-l-acetoxybutadiene (18a) and (E)-l-methoxy-butadiene (18b) with the acrylic and crotonic dienophiles 19 were studied under high pressure conditions [9] (Table 5.1). Whereas the reactions of 18a with acrylic dienophiles regioselectively and stereoselectively afforded only ortho-enJo-adducts 20 in fair to good yields, those with crotonic dienophiles did not work. Similar results were obtained in the reactions with diene 18b. The loss of reactivity of the crotonic dienophiles has been ascribed to the combination of steric and electronic effects due to the methyl group at the )S-carbon of the olefinic double bond. 

It was of interest to see if the use of tm-butyl hypobromite would provide similar opportunities for regioselectivity to those found in the case of chlorination reactions with te/t-butyl hypochlorite. The initial indications were favourable use of H zeolite X as catalyst in dichloromethane solution gave an almost quantitative yield of bromotoluenes with a para ortho ratio of 81 19 (Fig. 5) (ref. 10). 

It has been shown that it is possible to compel regiospecific para substitution by enclosing the substrate molecules in a cavity from which only the para position projects. Anisole was chlorinated in solutions containing a cyclodextrin, a molecule in which the anisole is almost entirely enclosed (see Fig. 3.4). With a high enough concentration of cyclodextrin, it was possible to achieve a para/ortho ratio of 21.6 (in the absence of the cyclodextrin the ratio was only 1.48). This behavior is a model for the regioselectivity found in the action of enzymes. 

Two methods, both involving boron-containing reagents, have been devised for the regioselective ortho hydroxymethylation of phenols or aromatic amines. 

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