Protonated ammonium salts

Table 7.8 Asymmetric epoxidation of 1-phenylcyclohexene utilizing protonated ammonium salts.

One synthesis approach towards y-hydroxylated ionic liquids is a Michael-type addition of a protonated ammonium salt to a a, /l-an sal uni led carbonyl compound such as methylvinyl ketone yielding an oxobutyl functionalized cation. Intrinsically unstable due to retro-Michael reaction, this OS could however be transformed by a heterogeneous catalyzed hydrogenation reaction yielding a hydroxyl functionalized TSIL [24] (Fig. 7). 

Recently, considerable efforts have been made to discover new organocatalytic systems for asymmehic epoxidation. In 2003, A arwal and coworkers reported that the asymmetric epoxidation of olefins proceeded in good yields and with moderate enantioselectivities using Oxone (Wako Chemicals, Osaka, Japan) as an oxidant in the presence of a 48-type catalyst (Scheme 1.22) [261]. According to their proposal, the protonated ammonium salt species can act not only as a phase-transfer catalyst to carry the real oxidant species to the organic phase but also as a promoter to activate the chiral oxidant via hydrogen-bonding stabilization, as depicted in 63. 

Figure C2.12.2. Fonnation of Br0nsted acid sites in zeolites. Aqueous exchange of cation M witli an ammonium salt yields tlie ammonium fonn of tlie zeolite. Upon tliennal decomposition ammonia is released and tire proton remains as charge-balancing species. Direct ion-exchange of M witli acidic solutions is feasible for high-silica zeolites.

Towards a simple Lewis base, for example the proton, phosphine is a poorer electron donor than ammonia, the larger phosphorus atom being less able to form a stable covalent bond with the acceptor atom or molecule. Phosphine is, therefore, a much weaker base than ammonia and there is no series of phosphonium salts corresponding to the ammonium salts but phosphonium halides. PH4X (X = Cl, Br, I) can be prepared by the direct combination of phosphine with the appropriate hydrogen halide. These compounds are much more easily dissociated than ammonium halides, the most stable being the iodide, but even this dissociates at 333 K PH4I = PH3 -t- HI... 

Protonic initiation is also the end result of a large number of other initiating systems. Strong acids are generated in situ by a variety of different chemistries (6). These include initiation by carbenium ions, eg, trityl or diazonium salts (151) by an electric current in the presence of a quartenary ammonium salt (152) by halonium, triaryl sulfonium, and triaryl selenonium salts with uv irradiation (153—155) by mercuric perchlorate, nitrosyl hexafluorophosphate, or nitryl hexafluorophosphate (156) and by interaction of free radicals with certain metal salts (157). Reports of "new" initiating systems are often the result of such secondary reactions. Other reports suggest standard polymerization processes with perhaps novel anions. These latter include (Tf)4Al (158) heteropoly acids, eg, tungstophosphate anion (159,160) transition-metal-based systems, eg, Pt (161) or rare earths (162) and numerous systems based on tri flic acid (158,163—166). Coordination polymerization of THF may be in a different class (167). 

Cases where the proton is localized on the nitrogen atom and an ammonium salt is formed are exceptional. Salts of l,4,4-trimethyl-.d -piperidine (89), which consist of a mixture of immonium (90) and ammonium (91) salts, serve as an example (1). 

The Hofmann elimination reaction is not often used today in the laboratory, but analogous biological eliminations occur frequently, although usually with protonated ammonium ions rather than quaternary ammonium salts. In the biosynthesis of nucleic acids, for instance, a substance called adenylosuccinate... 

The grouping of ammonium salts in a separate section serves to emphasize the similarities of behaviour which are apparent in reactions yielding the volatile NH3 molecule, following removal of a proton from the NH4 cation. This property is not unique indeed, many cations are volatile and numerous salts leave no residue on completion of decomposition. Few kinetic investigations have, however, been reported for other compounds, in contrast to the extensive and detailed rate measurements which have been published for solid phase decompositions of many ammonium salts. Comparisons with the metal salts containing the same anion are sometimes productive, so that no single method of classification is altogether satisfactory. 

Small amounts (<3.5%) of ammonium salts markedly accelerate [970] the dehydration of Na2HP04 12 H20 to Na2P207. This is attributed to an increase in the concentration of delocalized protons in the structure, as a consequence of the proton donor properties of NH4, and this promotes dehydration. 

Ammonium salts of the zeolites differ from most of the compounds containing this cation discussed above, in that the anion is a stable network of A104 and Si04 tetrahedra with acid groups situated within the regular channels and pore structure. The removal of ammonia (and water) from such structures has been of interest owing to the catalytic activity of the decomposition product. It is believed [1006] that the first step in deammination is proton transfer (as in the decomposition of many other ammonium salts) from NH4 to the (Al, Si)04 network with —OH production. This reaction is 90% complete by 673 K [1007] and water is lost by condensation of the —OH groups (773—1173 K). The rate of ammonia evolution and the nature of the residual product depend to some extent on reactant disposition [1006,1008]. 

The mechanism of amide formation is a source of insight into the properties of carboxylic acids and amines. Initially, we might expect an amine to act as a base and simply accept a proton from the carboxylic acid. Indeed, that does happen, and a quaternary ammonium salt is formed when the reagents are mixed in the absence of a solvent. For example,... 

In some cases, the Q ions have such a low solubility in water that virtually all remain in the organic phase. ° In such cases, the exchange of ions (equilibrium 3) takes place across the interface. Still another mechanism the interfacial mechanism) can operate where OH extracts a proton from an organic substrate. In this mechanism, the OH ions remain in the aqueous phase and the substrate in the organic phase the deprotonation takes place at the interface. Thermal stability of the quaternary ammonium salt is a problem, limiting the use of some catalysts. The trialkylacyl ammonium halide 95 is thermally stable, however, even at high reaction temperatures." The use of molten quaternary ammonium salts as ionic reaction media for substitution reactions has also been reported. " " ... 

Salts that contain cations of weak bases are acidic. For example, the ammonium cation Is the conjugate acid of ammonia. When ammonium salts dissolve in water, NH4 ions transfer protons to H2 O molecules, generating H3 O and making the solution slightly acidic NH4" ((2 q) + H2 0(/) NH3(c2 q) + H3 O (a q) The equilibrium constant for this reaction can be calculated from Equation and for ammonia (Example ) ... 

The activation free energies computed both in the gas phase and in aqueous solution (Table 2.6) suggest that the generation of an alkylating QM (QM-NI) becomes a much easier process, passing from the protonated quaternary ammonium salt NI to its zwitterionic form NI. ... 

If you ever run a sample which is contaminated with an ammonium salt, in DMSO, you will see 14N-proton coupling, as shown in Spectrum 6.14. Note that the three lines of the multiplet are of equal intensity (the middle line is a little bit taller than the outer ones, but this is because of the width of the peaks at their bases. The central signal is reinforced because it stands on the tails of the outer two). This is because 14N has a spin of 1=1, and the allowed states are therefore -1, 0 and +1. This three line pattern with its 51 Hz splitting is highly characteristic and once seen, should never be forgotten. 

A number of examples have been reported documenting the use of palladium phosphine complexes as catalysts. The dialkyl species [PtL2R2] (L2 = dmpe, dppe, (PMe3)2 R = Me, CH2SiMe3) catalyze the reaction of [PhNH3]+ with activated alkenes (acrylonitrile, methyl acrylate, acrolein).176 Unfunctionalized alkenes prove unreactive. The reaction mechanism is believed to proceed via protonation of Pt-R by the ammonium salt (generating PhNH2 in turn) and the subsequent release of alkane to afford a vacant coordination site on the metal. Coordination of alkene then allows access into route A of the mechanism shown in Scheme 34. Protonation is also... 

When it is recalled that the ammonium ion is simply NH3 that has gained a proton, it is clear that NH4+ is the conjugate acid of NH3. Therefore, it is not unusual to expect NH4+ to behave as an acid, which was illustrated in Eq. (9.16). However, the NH4+ ion can react as an acid under other conditions. When an ammonium salt such as NH4C1 is heated to the melting point, the salt becomes acidic. In fact, the reactions are similar to those that HC1 would give. For example, metals dissolve with the release of hydrogen ... 

After the NH4+ acts as a proton donor in such reactions, the NH3 remaining escapes as a gas. Carbonates react with HC1 to produce C02, sulfites react to produce S02, and oxides react to produce water. Heated ammonium salts react in a similar fashion. 

There is nothing unusual about the acidic behavior of ammonium salts. In fact, any protonated amine can function as a proton donor. Because of this, many amine salts have been used as acids in synthetic reactions. If the chlorides are used, the amine salts are known as amine hydrochlorides. One of the earliest amine hydrochlorides studied with regard to its behavior as an acid is pyridine hydrochloride (pyridinium chloride), C5H5NH+C1. In the molten state, this compound undergoes many reactions of the type just shown. 

In Chapter 7, it was shown how the enthalpy of decomposition of an ammonium salt can be used to calculate the proton affinity of the anion. The proton affinity is a gas-phase property (as is electron affinity) that gives the intrinsic basidty of a species. The reaction of H+ with a base B can be shown as... 

These reactions have been known for almost 100 years and they have been extensively studied. The reactions are catalyzed by the corresponding ammonium salt in each case, although other protonated amines function as catalysts. It appears that the function of the catalyst is to supply ff+, which helps to force an end of the ethylenediamine molecule away from the metal. 

A system exhibiting chiral recognition. The chiral macrotricyclic tet-raamide (250) (Lehn, Simon Moradpour, 1978) has been used for the complexation, extraction and transport of primary ammonium salts. The tetraamide was used rather than the corresponding tetraamine because of the lower basicity of the nitrogens in the former ligand. This avoids the possibility of proton transfer occurring from the primary ammonium substrates R-NH3+ used as guests. In a typical experiment, a solution of a primary ammonium salt, such as naphthylethyl ammonium or phenylalanine methylester hydrochloride in hydrochloric acid was... 

Figure 4. The protonation of tolylhalocarbenes with ammonium salt in CH2CI2.

Problematic functional groups, however, are thioethers and disulfides [28] as well as free amines which poison catalysts of type 1 [4c]. In case of amines this problem is easily solved by choosing either an appropriate protecting group for nitrogen (e.g. amide, sulfonamide, urethane), or simply by protonation since ammonium salts were found to be compatible with 1 [4c]. As will be discussed in Sect. 4, free amines can also be metathesized in supercritical C02 as the reaction medium [7]. 

The TEAF system can be used to reduce ketones, certain alkenes and imines. With regard to the latter substrate, during our studies it was realized that 5 2 TEAF in some solvents was sufficiently acidic to protonate the imine (p K, ca. 6 in water). Iminium salts are much more reactive than imines due to inductive effects (cf. the Stacker reaction), and it was thus considered likely that an iminium salt was being reduced to an ammonium salt [54]. This explains why imines are not reduced in the IPA system which is neutral, and not acidic. When an iminium salt was pre-prepared by mixing equal amounts of an imine and acid, and used in the IPA system, the iminium was reduced, albeit with lower rate and moderate enantioselectivity. Quaternary iminium salts were also reduced to tertiary amines. Nevertheless, as other kinetic studies have indicated a pre-equilibrium with imine, it is possible that the proton formally sits on the catalyst and the iminium is formed during the catalytic cycle. It is, of course, possible that the mechanism of imine transfer hydrogenation is different to that of ketone reduction, and a metal-coordinated imine may be involved [55]. 

One of the major constituents of urine is the di-amine, urea (III). Each amine group in urea should remind us of ammonia in Equation (6.11). Solutions of urea in water are basic because the two amine moieties each abstract a proton from water, to generate an ammonium salt and a hydroxide ion ... 

Sterically unhindered tertiary amines add readily and reversibly to sulfenes (208) to give zwitterionic carbanions [91] that when protonated give trialkyl (alkylsulfonyl) ammonium salts [92] (King et al., 1972). Since salts of this type... 

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