Quaternary tetraalkylammonium

In spite of being ionic many quaternary ammonium salts dissolve m nonpolar media The four alkyl groups attached to nitrogen shield its positive charge and impart lipophilic character to the tetraalkylammonium ion The following two quaternary ammonium salts for example are soluble m solvents of low polarity such as benzene decane and halo genated hydrocarbons... 

Another catalytic system which has been successfully applied to the autoxidation of substituted toluenes involves the combination of Co/Br" with a quaternary ammonium salt as a phase transfer catalyst (ref. 20). For example, cobalt(II) chloride in combination with certain tetraalkylammonium bromides or tetraalkylphosphonium bromides afforded benzoic acid in 92 % yield from toluene at 135-160 °C and 15 bar (Fig. 19). It should be noted that this system does not require the use of acetic acid as solvent. The function of the phase transfer catalyst is presumably to solubilize the cobalt in the ArCH3 solvent via the formation of Q + [CoBr]. ... 

The doso-clusters B Hn2-, B10H102-, and B6H62 are stable entities. Their alkali salts are very water soluble. Cesium as a counter-ion reduces the water solubility considerably, and ammonium ions (especially quaternary ammonium ions) precipitate the cluster anions quantitatively from aqueous solutions. The resulting tri- and tetraalkylammonium salts are usually soluble in organic solvents. This allows chemistry to be performed under conditions which are standard for organic... 

For many years, prior to the development of current phase-transfer catalytic techniques, tetraalkylammonium borohydrides have been used in non-hydroxylic solvents [see, e.g. I, 2], Originally, the quaternary ammonium borohydrides were obtained by metathesis in water or an alcohol [3, 4], However, with greater knowledge of the phase-transfer phenomenon, an improved procedure has been developed in which the ammonium salt is transferred into, and subsequently isolated from, dichloromethane [5, 6], In principle, it should be possible to transfer the quaternary ammonium borohydride for use in any non-miscible organic solvent. It should be noted, however, that quaternary ammonium cations are susceptible to hydrogeno-lysis by sodium borohydride in dipolar aprotic solvents to yield tertiary amines [4]. 

Tetra-n-butylammonium cyanoborohydride has been prepared by metathesis from the quaternary ammonium hydrogen sulphate and sodium cyanoborohydride. Other tetraalkylammonium cyanoborohydrides have also been synthesized [10]. 

Brunelle, in Chapter 5, has provided a solution to the problem of quaternary ammonium catalysts being unstable at elevated temperatures in the presence of highly nucleophilic anions. He found that catalysts based on p-dialkylaminopyridinium salts are approximately one hundred times more stable than simple tetraalkylammonium salts and are useful even up to temperatures of 180 C. Especially valuable is the fact that under these conditions a variety of nucleophilic displacement reactions on aryl halides occurs, making possible the economical commercial synthesis of otherwise difficulty available poly aryl ethers and sulfides. 

Quaternary ammonium salts of heterocyclic compounds have been used in liquid-liquid phase-transfer syntheses. When these compounds are achiral, they show a behavior very similar to that of other quaternary ammonium salts. For example, 2-dialkylamino-l-alkylpyridinium tetrafluoroborates have been used by Tanaka and Mukayama282 in the alkylation of active methylene compounds PhCH2CN, PhCH(Et)CN, and PhCH(Me)COPh. However, comparative studies of the efficiency of the catalysts show that alkylpyridinium bromides283 or N-alkyl-Af-benzyl-piperidinium chloride284 have a smaller catalytic activity compared to tetraalkylammonium halides. McIntosh285 has described the preparation of azapropellane salts 186 as potential chiral phase transfer catalysts. 

In 1971, Starks introduced the term phase-transfer catalysis to explain the critical role of tetraalkylammonium or phosphonium salts (Q 1 X ) in the reactions between two substances located in different immiscible phases [1], For instance, the displacement reaction of 1-chlorooctane with aqueous sodium cyanide is accelerated many thousand-fold by the addition of hexadecyltributylphosphonium bromide 1 as a phase-transfer catalyst (Scheme 1.1). The key element of this tremendous reactivity enhancement is the generation of quaternary phosphonium cyanide, which renders the cyanide anion organic soluble and sufficiently nucleophilic. 

Quaternary amines, such as tetraalkylammonium bromides and hydroxides (the alkyl group being Q to C4) are the typical zeolite templates. Quaternary amines fulfill the above-mentioned requirements of stability, specific interaction with the precursor (electrostatic interaction between quaternary amines and silicate), and easy removal (by calcination). 

Oxygen is reduced at the mercury cathode in a dipolar aprotic solvent containing a quaternary ammonium salt to form the superoxide ion, 02 , in a reversible one-electron transfer process 165 166 The reduction takes place at -0.8 V (SCE) and concentrations of tetraalkylammonium superoxide of at least 0.1 M can be obtained (the half life of the superoxide ion in dimethylformamide is about 40 min at room temperature). 

In both polarographic and preparative electrochemistry in aptotic solvents the custom is to use tetraalkylammonium salts as supporting electrolytes. In such solvent-supporting electrolyte systems electrochemical reductions at a mercury cathode can be performed at —2.5 to —2.9 V versus SCE. The reduction potential ultimately is limited by the reduction of the quaternary ammonium cation to form an amalgam, (/ 4N )Hg , n = 12-13. The tetra-n-butyl salts are more difficult to reduce than are the tetraethylammonium salts and are preferred when the maximum cathodic range is needed. On the anodic side the oxidation of mercury occurs at about +0.4 V versus SCE in a supporting electrolyte that does not complex or form a precipitate with the Hg(I) or Hg(II) ions that are formed. 

The nucleophilic reactivity of the lithium salts changes in the same order as in protic solvents (I > Br > Cl cf. Table 5-15). However, the order is completely reversed for the ammonium salts (Cl > Br > I ), and this latter order is the same as that found in dipolar non-HBD solvents such as A,A-dimethylformamide [278]. The small lithium cation, with its high charge density, has a strong tendency to form ion pairs with anions, whereas the electrostatic interaction between the large tetraalkylammonium ion and anions is comparatively weak. Quaternary ammonium salts, therefore, should be practically fully dissociated in acetone solution. Thus, the reactivity order obtained with these salts corresponds to that of the free, non-associated halide ions. On the other hand, the sequence obtained with the lithium salts also reflects the dissociation equilibria of these salts in acetone solution [279]. 

The most commonly used quaternary ammonium salts are tetrabutylammonium perchlorate (TBAP), tetrafluoroborate (TBAT), the halides (TBACl, TBAB, and TBAI), and the corresponding tetraethylammonium salts, such as the perchlorate (TEAP), but also the tetramethyl- or tetrapropylammonium salts have been employed the former cannot undergo a base-promoted Hofmann elimination. However, evidence has been found for the formation of trimethylammonium methylide [460]. In nonpolar solvents it may be necessary to employ tetrahexyl- or tetraoctylammonium salts. The tetraalkylammonium ions are soluble in many nonaqueous media, and they may be extracted from an aqueous solution by means of chloroform or methylene chloride [461,462], and tetraalkylammonium salts may thus be prepared by ion extraction [462]. Tetrakis(decyl)ammonium tetra-phenylborate is soluble even in hexane [442,443]. 

At very negative potentials neither the tetraalkylammonium ions nor the metallic electrode are inert they combine to form reduced TAA-metals [7]. Tetraalkylammonium (TAA) metals are composed of quaternary ammonium ions, electrons, and a post-transistion metal such as Hg, Pb, Sn, Sb, Bi [5-18] or Pt [19] most of them have the composition R4N" MeJ [13] or R4N" Mc4 [20] and have been described as Zintl ion salts or Zintl phases [21,22]. They have been shown to be useful intermediates in the electrochemical reduction of certain substrates that are reducible with difficulty. On reduction of the quaternary ammonium salt, the initial layer of the metal compound is controlled by a two-dimensional nucleation, whereas the bulk phase is initiated by a three-dimensional nucleation and a growth controlled by the diffusion of R4N from the solution. In some cases (A-methylquinuclidinium (MQ" ) mercury) the catalytic efficiency of the initial layer is greater than that of the bulk phase [18], whereas in other cases (A, A-dimethylpyrrolidinium (DMP" ) lead) the opposite is found [16]. 

The catalytic activity of quarternary ammonium salt usually depends on the corresponding catalyst cation and counter anion[2]. For a series of tetraalkylammonium chlorides, the activity increased in the order of TP AC < TBAC < TOAC. Bulky quaternary salts, having longer distance between cation and anion, are generally known to exhibit higher activity in activating anions[3]. This explains why they are more effective in nucleophilic attack of the anion to oxirane ring of GVE. Table 1 also shows that the rate constant with different halide anions of the quaternary ammonium salts decreases in the order of Cf > Bf > T. This is consistent with the nucleophilicity of the halide anions. 

The subsequent step of the reaction, hydroxylation, is carried out directly with the reaction mixture from iodination without any interme diate isolation or other processing of the reactants or by-products. Abase, such as an alkali metal hydroxide or a quaternary amine such as tetraalkylammonium hydroxide, is added directly to the reaction mixture to make a final concentration of 0.5 to 6 molar, with 0.1 to 20 mole % copper metal, or cuprous salts such as oxide, chloride or iodide, at temperatures of from 50°-120° C. The preferred conditions art-addition of sodium hydroxide to the iodination reaction mixture to give a concentration of 2-5 molar, then addition of 1-5 mole % copper dust, cuprous oxide or cuprous chloride, then allowing reaction at reflux (100°-120° C.) for about 18 hours. 

Quaternary Ammonium Ions. In a recent study (17), 1200 EW Nafion has been used to construct a membrane ion selective electrode. The electrode was placed in both the tetrabutylammonium ion and cesium ion forms, and the response characteristics of each form were measured. These electrodes show Nernstian responses, and the tetrabutylammonium ion electrode has no interference from inorganic cations such as Na" ", K" ", and Ca2" ". However, this electrode shows a marked interference with decyltri-methylammonium ion. In addition the cesium ion electrode response is sensitive to the presence of tetrabutylammonium ion and especially dodecyltrimethylammonium ion. Although membrane electrode sensitivities are not in general proportional to thermodynamic selectivity coefficients, the results do indicate that these large, hydrophobic cations are preferred over smaller inorganic cations by the polymer. The authors suggest that the surfactant character of the two asymmetric tetraalkylammonium ions may lead to non-electrostatic interactions with the fluorocarbon regions of the polymer, which would enhance their affinities (17). 

More recently, quaternary organic tetraalkylammonium hydroxides have been grafted on to an MTS surface by reaction with 3-trimethoxysilyl(trimethyl)ammo-nium chloride then treatment of the resulting solid with a methanolic solution of tetramethylammonium hydroxide [21],... 

Quaternary ammonium salts have been widely used in studies of solution properties, and azonia-spiroalkanes have provided useful contrasts with the simple tetraalkylammonium salts where the N+—C bonds have free rotation. In general terms a spiro derivative is less hydrophobic than the simple salt with the same number of carbon atoms. Almost all thermodynamic studies have been made on three azoniaspiroalkanes (6), (25), and (26). 

An attempt has been made to use the quantitative structure-property relationship (QSPR) method to correlate and predict the melting points of organic salts based on the quaternary ammonium cation [5], Moderate correlations were found for a set of 75 tetraalkylammonium bromides (see Figure 1), and for a set of 34 (n-hydroxyalkyl)trialkylammonium bromides. Descriptors used in the correlations were analyzed to determine which structural features led to lower melting points (e.g., asymmetry in the ions - see below). However, this technique cannot, as yet, extend to the prediction of melting points for salts that are either chemically or topologically dissimilar to those used in defining the QSPR. 

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