Protons, as electrophiles

One more example of metal ion catalysis will be considered briefly. In a now classic paper, Cox (1974) showed that the enolization of 2-acetylpyri-dine (but not 4-acetylpyridine) is catalysed by divalent transition metal ions. Proton abstraction by acetate ions is strongly accelerated by Zn2+, Ni2+ and Cu2+ ions and the transition state stabilization by these ions roughly parallels their abilities to bind to the substrate (Table A6.5). The three metal ions are significantly superior to the proton as electrophilic catalysts, no doubt because they can chelate to both the pyridine nitrogen and the... 

With the proton as electrophile, the primary product from [Fe2S2(NO)4]2 is [Fe2(SH)2(NO)4] as noted earlier (Section II,A), but this is susceptible to decomposition, yielding [Fe4S3(NO)7] (24). 

Because of Us high polarity and low nucleophilicity, a trifluoroacetic acid medium is usually used for the investigation of such carbocationic processes as solvolysis, protonation of alkenes, skeletal rearrangements, and hydride shifts [22-24] It also has been used for several synthetically useful reachons, such as electrophilic aromatic substitution [25], reductions [26, 27], and oxidations [28] Trifluoroacetic acid is a good medium for the nitration of aromatic compounds Nitration of benzene or toluene with sodium nitrate in trifluoroacetic acid is almost quantitative after 4 h at room temperature [25] Under these conditions, toluene gives the usual mixture of mononitrotoluenes in an o m p ratio of 61 6 2 6 35 8 A trifluoroacetic acid medium can be used for the reduction of acids, ketones, and alcohols with sodium borohydnde [26] or triethylsilane [27] Diary Iketones are smoothly reduced by sodium borohydnde in trifluoroacetic acid to diarylmethanes (equation 13)... 

The initial step is the coordination of the alkyl halide 2 to the Lewis acid to give a complex 4. The polar complex 4 can react as electrophilic agent. In cases where the group R can form a stable carbenium ion, e.g. a tert-buiyX cation, this may then act as the electrophile instead. The extent of polarization or even cleavage of the R-X bond depends on the structure of R as well as the Lewis acid used. The addition of carbenium ion species to the aromatic reactant, e.g. benzene 1, leads to formation of a cr-complex, e.g. the cyclohexadienyl cation 6, from which the aromatic system is reconstituted by loss of a proton ... 

The initial step is the protonation of the aldehyde—e.g. formaldehyde—at the carbonyl oxygen. The hydroxycarbenium ion 6 is thus formed as reactive species, which reacts as electrophile with the carbon-carbon double bond of the olefinic substrate by formation of a carbenium ion species 7. A subsequent loss of a proton from 7 leads to formation of an allylic alcohol 4, while reaction with water, followed by loss of a proton, leads to formation of a 1,3-diol 3 " ... 

This is ordinary electrophilic addition, with rate-determining protonation as the first... 

Amouri and coworkers also demonstrated that the nucleophilic reactivity of the exocyclic carbon of Cp Ir(T 4-QM) complex 24 could be utilized to form carbon -carbon bonds with electron-poor alkenes and alkynes serving as electrophiles or cycloaddition partners (Scheme 3.17).29 For example, when complex 24 was treated with the electron-poor methyl propynoate, a new o-quinone methide complex 28 was formed. The authors suggest that the reaction could be initiated by nucleophilic attack of the terminal carbon of the exocyclic methylene group on the terminal carbon of the alkyne, generating a zwitterionic oxo-dienyl intermediate, followed by proton transfer... 

Protonation of alkenes yields carbocations, as we have seen, and in the absence of other effective nucleophiles (e.g. HaO, p. 187) these ions can act as electrophiles towards as yet unprotonated alkene (c/. p. 108), e.g. with 2-methylpropene (41) ... 

Carbene protonation has been amply demonstrated by product studies, time-resolved spectroscopy, and kinetic measurements. The ability of singlet carbenes to accept a proton is not adequately described by the traditional scale of carbene philicities, which is based on addition reactions with alkenes. In particular, aryl- and diarylcarbenes excel as proton acceptors but would traditionally be classified as electrophiles. 

With electrophiles such as hydrogen halides, perfluoropropadiene affords products with the central carbon atom of the allene moiety being protonated [57]. Although HX are normally considered as electrophiles, these reactions with tetrafluoropropa-diene may be nucleophilic in nature [57]. 

Accelerations of the rates due to an additive P are explained as electrophilic catalysis by the heteroconjugate NuH+P, while a second-order term in the concentration of P can be obtained if the relative basicities of Nu and P are such that P can compete with Nu for removal of the proton from I followed by electrophilic catalysis by the homoconjugate PH+P. 

A cyclohexadienyl Lewis adduct or salt formed by the reaction of a Lewis base with an aromatic compound. Such an adduct is apparently formed from the reaction of OH with 4-(A/-2-aminoethyl-2 -pyridyl disulfide)- -nitrobenzo-2-oxa-l,3-diazole (2PROD). 2PROD is a two-protonic-state electrophile used as a probe for enzyme active site nucleophiles and as a fluorescent re-... 

Compound 211 and several related compounds are readily accessible by stereospecific deprotonation of the appropriate optically active carbamic esters with 5-BuLi/TMEDA ° . Much of the knowledge about the stereochemical course of substitution in benzyUithium derivatives was obtained from experiments with these compounds. Only the reaction with proton acids, aliphatic aldehydes, ketones or esters as electrophiles proceed with retention for alkyl, silyl and stannyl halides, acid chlorides. 

Other li acetylides Li-C=C-R with R = hexyl [21] or benzylether dendrons [22, 23] (up to the fourth generation) have also been attached to (Figure 3.3), and various different electrophiles have been used to complete the reaction with the intermediate li-fuUeride (Scheme 3.2 and Figure 3.3). Besides the protonation, alkyl-, benzyl-, cycloheptatrienyl-, benzoyl- or vinylether-derivatives or formaldehyde and dichloro-acetylene were used as electrophiles [12,20]. Most of these electrophiles are attached to the anion in the expected C-2 position. The 1,4-adducts are available by quenching the anion with the tropylium cation or benzoyl chloride [12]. The fuUerene anion can be stabilized by introduction of benzylether dendrons. The lifetimes of the anions change with the size of the dendrons [22]. 

Boranes undergo a variety of reactions, such as proton abstraction, electrophilic substitution, fragmentation and adduct formation. Some of these reactions are highlighted below with selective examples. 

Metal ions, because they are positively charged, act as electrophiles that is, they seek the possibility of sharing electron pairs so that a bond or a charge-charge interaction can be formed and electrical neutrality can thereby be attained. In these types of interactions, metal ions act like hydrogen ions (i.e., protons), except that they have a greater ionic volume... 

A-D (101-104), and xuulanins (105 and 106). (25)-5,7,4 -Trihydroxyflavan-4-ol (107) was claimed to have been identified from natural sources also. This may be unlikely in view of the high reactivity of 5-oxyflavan-3,4-diols as electrophiles in weakly acidic conditions. The absolute configuration of compound 100 was established as 25, 45 by reference to the ORD data of its likely flavanone precursor and using the relative configuration as established by NMR coupling constants of the heterocyclic protons. 

It has been indicated in CHEC-II <1996CHEC-II(7)431> that these systems tend to react by substitution rather than addition. Electrophilic reagents attack ring nitrogen atoms while, as is typical for 7t-deficient heteroaromatics, nucleophiles replace good leaving substituents especially at activated positions. However, to our knowledge, direct replacement of proton as with azines has not yet been observed. 

Reaction of 2-amino-3-phenylazo-5-methyl-6,7-dihydropyrazolo [ 1,5-a] -pyrimidine-7-one (209) with ACOH/H2SO4 gives the pyrazolo[l,5-a]-pyrimidine derivative 210 (77JHC155). This reaction can be looked at as electrophilic substitution of the arylazo function by the proton. Similarly, 4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-2-phenyl-3-phenylazo-5-oxopyrazolo[l,5-a] pyrimidine gives 4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-2-phenyl-5-oxopyrazolo[l,5-a]pyrimidine 212 by the action of acetic/hydrochloric acid (75T63). 

This is ordinary electrophilic addition, with rate-determining protonation as the first step.164 Certain other alkynes have also been hydrated to ketones with strong acids in the absence of mercuric salts.165 Simple alkynes can also be converted to ketones by heating with formic acid, without a catalyst.166... 

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