Protic solvents reactions

For other nucleophiles in a polar protic solvent, reaction is through a combination of Sjjl/El pathways, the exact ratio of which is hard to predict. 

Reference was made above to involvement of the solvent in a reaction as catalyst. In a protic solvent, reaction may be catalyzed by the solvonium ion only (the hydronium ion in water). This is specific hydrogen-ion catalysis. On the other hand, the reaction may be catalyzed by any acidic species present in the solution (general acid catalysis). The solvent molecule itself may be a catalyst. Base catalysis, similarly, may be... 

In a Lewis-acid catalysed Diels-Alder reaction, the first step is coordination of the catalyst to a Lewis-basic site of the reactant. In a typical catalysed Diels-Alder reaction, the carbonyl oxygen of the dienophile coordinates to the Lewis acid. The most common solvents for these processes are inert apolar liquids such as dichloromethane or benzene. Protic solvents, and water in particular, are avoided because of their strong interactions wifti the catalyst and the reacting system. Interestingly, for other catalysed reactions such as hydroformylations the same solvents do not give problems. This paradox is a result of the difference in hardness of the reactants and the catalyst involved... 

An interesting case are the a,/i-unsaturated ketones, which form carbanions, in which the negative charge is delocalized in a 5-centre-6-electron system. Alkylation, however, only occurs at the central, most nucleophilic position. This regioselectivity has been utilized by Woodward (R.B. Woodward, 1957 B.F. Mundy, 1972) in the synthesis of 4-dialkylated steroids. This reaction has been carried out at high temperature in a protic solvent. Therefore it yields the product, which is formed from the most stable anion (thermodynamic control). In conjugated enones a proton adjacent to the carbonyl group, however, is removed much faster than a y-proton. If the same alkylation, therefore, is carried out in an aprotic solvent, which does not catalyze tautomerizations, and if the temperature is kept low, the steroid is mono- or dimethylated at C-2 in comparable yield (L. Nedelec, 1974). 

Solvent Effects on the Rate of Substitution by the S 2 Mechanism Polar solvents are required m typical bimolecular substitutions because ionic substances such as the sodium and potassium salts cited earlier m Table 8 1 are not sufficiently soluble m nonpolar solvents to give a high enough concentration of the nucleophile to allow the reaction to occur at a rapid rate Other than the requirement that the solvent be polar enough to dis solve ionic compounds however the effect of solvent polarity on the rate of 8 2 reactions IS small What is most important is whether or not the polar solvent is protic or aprotic Water (HOH) alcohols (ROH) and carboxylic acids (RCO2H) are classified as polar protic solvents they all have OH groups that allow them to form hydrogen bonds... 

The zwitterion (6) can react with protic solvents to produce a variety of products. Reaction with water yields a transient hydroperoxy alcohol (10) that can dehydrate to a carboxyUc acid or spHt out H2O2 to form a carbonyl compound (aldehyde or ketone, R2CO). In alcohoHc media, the product is an isolable hydroperoxy ether (11) that can be hydrolyzed or reduced (with (CH O) or (CH2)2S) to a carbonyl compound. Reductive amination of (11) over Raney nickel produces amides and amines (64). Reaction of the zwitterion with a carboxyUc acid to form a hydroperoxy ester (12) is commercially important because it can be oxidized to other acids, RCOOH and R COOH. Reaction of zwitterion with HCN produces a-hydroxy nitriles that can be hydrolyzed to a-hydroxy carboxyUc acids. Carboxylates are obtained with H2O2/OH (65). The zwitterion can be reduced during the course of the reaction by tetracyanoethylene to produce its epoxide (66). 

Most ozonolysis reaction products are postulated to form by the reaction of the 1,3-zwitterion with the extmded carbonyl compound in a 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction to produce stable 1,2,4-trioxanes (ozonides) (17) as shown with itself (dimerization) to form cycHc diperoxides (4) or with protic solvents, such as alcohols, carboxyUc acids, etc, to form a-substituted alkyl hydroperoxides. The latter can form other peroxidic products, depending on reactants, reaction conditions, and solvent. 

Aluminum chloride dissolves readily in chlorinated solvents such as chloroform, methylene chloride, and carbon tetrachloride. In polar aprotic solvents, such as acetonitrile, ethyl ether, anisole, nitromethane, and nitrobenzene, it dissolves forming a complex with the solvent. The catalytic activity of aluminum chloride is moderated by these complexes. Anhydrous aluminum chloride reacts vigorously with most protic solvents, such as water and alcohols. The ability to catalyze alkylation reactions is lost by complexing aluminum chloride with these protic solvents. However, small amounts of these "procatalysts" can promote the formation of catalyticaHy active aluminum chloride complexes. 

Alkali moderation of supported precious metal catalysts reduces secondary amine formation and generation of ammonia (18). Ammonia in the reaction medium inhibits Rh, but not Ru precious metal catalyst. More secondary amine results from use of more polar protic solvents, CH OH > C2H5OH > Lithium hydroxide is the most effective alkah promoter (19), reducing secondary amine formation and hydrogenolysis. The general order of catalyst procUvity toward secondary amine formation is Pt > Pd Ru > Rh (20). Rhodium s catalyst support contribution to secondary amine formation decreases ia the order carbon > alumina > barium carbonate > barium sulfate > calcium carbonate. 

The idea of kinetic versus thermodynamic control can be illustrated by discussing briefly the case of formation of enolate anions from unsymmetrical ketones. This is a very important matter for synthesis and will be discussed more fully in Chapter 1 of Part B. Most ketones, highly symmetric ones being the exception, can give rise to more than one enolate. Many studies have shown tiiat the ratio among the possible enolates that are formed depends on the reaction conditions. This can be illustrated for the case of 3-methyl-2-butanone. If the base chosen is a strong, sterically hindered one and the solvent is aptotic, the major enolate formed is 3. If a protic solvent is used or if a weaker base (one comparable in basicity to the ketone enolate) is used, the dominant enolate is 2. Enolate 3 is the kinetic enolate whereas 2 is the thermodynamically favored enolate. 

Most organic reactions are done in solution, and it is therefore important to recognize some of the ways in which solvent can affect the course and rates of reactions. Some of the more common solvents can be roughly classified as in Table 4.10 on the basis of their structure and dielectric constant. There are important differences between protic solvents—solvents fliat contain relatively mobile protons such as those bonded to oxygen, nitrogen, or sulfur—and aprotic solvents, in which all hydrogens are bound to carbon. Similarly, polar solvents, those fliat have high dielectric constants, have effects on reaction rates that are different from those of nonpolar solvent media. 

For the other broad category of reaction conditions, the reaction proceeds under conditions of thermodynamic control. This can result from several factors. Aldol condensations can be effected for many compounds using less than a stoichiometric amount of base. Under these conditions, the aldol reaction is reversible, and the product ratio will be determined by the relative stability of the various possible products. Conditions of thermodynamic control also permit equilibration among all the enolates of the nucleophile. The conditions that permit equilibration include higher reaction temperatures, protic solvents, and the use of less tightly coordinating cations. 

Reductive cleavages of carbon-chlorine bonds by active metals and with photochemical activation figure in recent studies aimed at HFCs and HCFCs Sodium amalgam [3J] (equation 25), zinc powder [34] (equation 26), and alumi-mun/tin chloride [35] (equation 26) are all used in conjunction with protic solvents in reactions giving high yields and conversions... 

The van Leusen reaction forms 5-substituted oxazoles through the reaction of p-tolylsulfonylmethyl isocyanide (1, TosMIC) with aldehydes in protic solvents at refluxing temperatures. Thus 5-phenyloxazole (2) is prepared in 91% yield by reacting equimolar quantities of TosMIC and benzaldehyde with potassium carbonate in refluxing methanol for 2 hrs. ... 

The reaction is generally performed between 0 and 100 °C with the majority of the reactions being mn at reflux. Polar protic solvents such as methanol, ethanol, isopropanol, and water are commonly used as solvents. Addition of acid or use of acetic acid as solvent generally helps push sluggish reactions. The use of P-ketoesters as the dicarbonyl partner occasionally requires added base for cyclization to occur to form the pyrazolone. When using alkyl hydrazine salts, base may be required to deprotonate the hydrazine for the reaction to take place. 

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. 

In a protic solvent—glycols are often used, with the base being the corresponding sodium glycolate—the reaction proceeds via formation of a carbenium ion 5. The diazo compound 3 can be converted into the diazonium ion 4 through transfer of a proton from the solvent (S-H). Subsequent loss of nitrogen then leads to the carbenium ion 5 ... 

The rates of SN2 reactions are strongly affected by the solvent. Protic solvents— those that contain an —OH or -NH group—are generally the worst for S j2 reactions, while polar aptotic solvents, which are polar but don t have an -OH or -NH group, are the best. 

Protic solvents, such as methanol and ethanol, slow down SN2 reactions by solvation of the reactant nucleophile. The solvent molecules hydrogen bond to the nucleophile and form a "cage" around it, thereby lowering its energy and reactivity. 

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,... 

It should be emphasized again that both the SN1 and the 5 2 reaction show solvent effects but that they do so for different reasons. SN2 reactions are disfavored in protic solvents because the ground-state energy oi the nucleophile is lowered by solvation. S l reactions are favored in protic solvents because the transition-state energy leading to carbocation intermediate is lowered by solvation. 

El eliminations begin with the same uni molecular dissociation we saw in the Sfsjl reaction, but the dissociation is followed by loss of H+ from the adjacent carbon rather than by substitution. In fact, the El and SN1 reactions normally occur together whenever an alkyl halide is treated in a protic solvent with a non-basic nucleophile. Thus, the best El substrates are also the best SN1 substrates, and mixtures of substitution and elimination products are usually obtained. For example, when 2-chloro-2-methylpropane is warmed to 65 °C in 80% aqueous ethanol, a 64 36 mixture of 2-methyl-2-propanol (Sjql) and 2-methylpropene (El) results. 

Aldehydes and ketones with an a hydrogen atom undergo a base-catalyzed carbonyl condensation reaction called the aldol reaction. For example, treatment of acetaldehyde with a base such as sodium ethoxide or sodium hydroxide in a protic solvent leads to rapid and reversible formation of 3-hydroxybutanal, known commonly as aldol (aidehyde + alcohol), hence the general name of the reaction. 

---