Quinone methides addition

Quinone Methides. The reaction between aldehydes and alkylphenols can also be base-cataly2ed. Under mild conditions, 2,6-DTBP reacts with formaldehyde in the presence of a base to produce the methylol derivative (22) which reacts further with base to eliminate a molecule of water and form a reactive intermediate, the quinone methide (23). Quinone methides undergo a broad array of transformations by way of addition reactions. These molecules ate conjugated homologues of vinyl ketones, but are more reactive because of the driving force associated with rearomatization after addition. An example of this type of addition is between the quinone methide and methanol to produce the substituted ben2yl methyl ether (24). 

This addition is general, extending to nitrogen, oxygen, carbon, and sulfur nucleophiles. This reactivity of the quinone methide (23) is appHed in the synthesis of a variety of stabili2ers for plastics. The presence of two tert-huty groups ortho to the hydroxyl group, is the stmctural feature responsible for the antioxidant activity that these molecules exhibit (see Antioxidants). 

Methylenebis(2,6-di-/ /f-butylphenol) (25) (R = H) [118-82-17, the reaction product of two molecules of 2,6-DTBP with formaldehyde under basic conditions, is a bisphenoHc antioxidant. The quinone methide in this case is generated in situ. The product results from the addition of 2,6-di-/ /f-butylphenolate to (23) (12). 

Above 160°C it is believed that additional cross-linking reactions take place involving the formation and reaction of quinone methides by condensation of the ether linkages with the phenolic hydroxyl groups (Figure 23.14). 

In addition to the above possible mechanisms the possibility of reaction at w-positions should not be excluded. For example, it has been shown by Koebner that o- and p-cresols, ostensibly difunctional, can, under certain conditions, react with formaldehyde to give insoluble and infusible resins. Furthermore, Megson has shown that 2,4,6-trimethylphenol, in which the two ortho- and the one para-positions are blocked, can condense with formaldehyde under strongly acidic conditions. It is of interest to note that Redfam produced an infusible resin from 3,4,5,-trimethylphenol under alkaline conditions. Here the two m- and the p-positions were blocked and this experimental observation provides supplementary evidence that additional functionalities are developed during reaction, for example in the formation of quinone methides. 

In addition to methylene and dimethylether linkages, cured networks contain ethane and ethene linkages (Fig. 7.31). These side products are proposed to form through quinone methide intermediates. 

Much attention has been devoted to the development of methods to generate quinone methides photochemically,1,19-20 since this provides temporal and spatial control over their formation (and subsequent reaction). In addition, the ability to photogenerate quinone methides enables their study using time-resolved absorption techniques (such as nanosecond laser flash photolysis (LFP)).21 This chapter covers the most important methods for the photogeneration of ortho-, meta-, and para-quinone methides. In addition, spectral and reactivity data are discussed for quinone methides that are characterized by LFP. 

Using the same reaction, Cole and Wan later photogenerated mcta-quinone methides 110-112 from the appropriate m-hydroxy-a-phenylstyrenes.78 The three were characterized by LFP, with 110 and 111 showing strong and sharp absorptions at 430 and 450 nm, respectively, similar to those observed for 104 and 105. The dimethoxy-susbstituted 112 showed a much broader absorption centered at 420 nm. Addition of the electron-donating methoxy groups stabilized the quinone methides the lifetimes of 110-112 in 1 1 aqueous acetonitrile were 5-200 times longer than that of 104. 

A third reaction pathway for quinone methides generated following ESIPT to aromatic carbon (in addition to H-D exchange and cyclization) was observed following the examination of the photochemistry of 9-(2 -hydroxyphenyl)anthracene... 

SCHEME 2.16 Additional reaction pathway for the generation of the quinone methide in the gas phase oxidation of 2-methylphenyl radical, investigated by the hybrid functional MPW1K (reproduced from Ref. [23] with permission from American Chemical Society). 

To account for the effects of specific acid catalysis, the calculations were also carried out in the presence of an additional proton. The resulting potential energy surface at PCM-B 3LYP/6-311 G(2df,p)//B 3LYP/6-31 G(d, p) level of theory suggested that the p-O-4-linked quinone methide ((3-O-QM) is a fairly stable species and its... 

An additional notable mode of the reactivity of these quinone methide complexes is formation of metal stabilized p- and o-xylylenes.10... 

Given their extraordinary reactivity, one might assume that o-QMs offer plentiful applications as electrophiles in synthetic chemistry. However, unlike their more stable /tora-quinone methide (p-QM) cousin, the potential of o-QMs remains largely untapped. The reason resides with the propensity of these species to participate in undesired addition of the closest available nucleophile, which can be solvent or the o-QM itself. Methods for o-QM generation have therefore required a combination of low concentrations and high temperatures to mitigate and reverse undesired pathways and enable the redistribution into thermodynamically preferred and desired products. Hence, the principal uses for o-QMs have been as electrophilic heterodienes either in intramolecular cycloaddition reactions with nucleophilic alkenes under thermodynamic control or in intermolecular reactions under thermodynamic control where a large excess of a reactive nucleophile thwarts unwanted side reactions by its sheer vast presence. 

The generated quinone methide intermediates, during the disassembly, are highly reactive electrophiles and rapidly react with any available nucleophile (methanol or tetrabutylammonium hydroxide under organic solvent conditions). We could not isolate any significant amount of material that derived from the core molecule, probably due to generation of a mixture of compounds by the addition of different nucleophiles to the quinone methide. This molecule acts as an amplifier of a cleavage... 

The initiator-derived radical products generate a-tocopheroxyl radicals (2) from a-tocopherol (1). The radicals 2 are further oxidized to ort/io-quinone methide 3 in a formal H-atom abstraction, thereby converting benzoyloxy radicals to benzoic acid and phenyl radicals to benzene. The generated o-QM 3 adds benzoic acid in a [ 1,4] -addition process, whereas it cannot add benzene in such a fashion. This pathway accounts for the observed occurrence of benzoate 11 and simultaneous absence of a 5 a-phenyl derivative and readily explains the observed products without having to involve the hypothetical C-centered radical 10. 

TABLE 9.2 Substituents Affect the Susceptibility of Quinone Methides to Nucleophilic Addition... 

Angle, S. R. Yang, W. Nucleophilic addition of 2 -deoxynucleosides to the o-quinone methides lO-(acetyloxy) and 10-methoxy-3,4-dihydro-9(2T/)-anthracenone. J. Org. Chem. 1992, 57, 1092-1097. 

Acolbifene is also metabolized to a QM (Scheme 10.10)64 formed by oxidation at the C-17 methyl group. This QM is considerably more reactive compared to the tamoxifen quinone methide, which indicates that the acolbifene quinone methide is an electrophile of intermediate stability (Table 10.2). In addition, the acolbifene QM was determined to react with deoxynucleosides, with one of the major adducts resulting from reaction with the exocyclic amino group of adenine.64... 

The quinone methide can also be generated in situ, at least in aqueous NaOH, directly from the peracetate, as hydrolysis of the phenolic acetate is faster than the benzylic acetate (see an example in Section 12.5.3). This method was used to demonstrate the addition of anthrahydroquinone (AHQ) and anthranol to (actual polymeric) lignin quinone methides in studies elucidating the anthraquinone (AQ)-catalyzed 8-0-4-aryl ether cleavage mechanisms in alkaline pulping.64-66... 

Cleavage of 8-0-4-ethers in alkaline pulping is also facilitated by HS as used in kraft pulping.98 The major mechanisms (Fig. 12.8b) are via addition to the quinone methide QM1 to give adduct 19, followed by anchimerically assisted fragmentation via a thioepoxide 20. 

Ralph, J. Young, R. A. Stereochemical aspects of addition reactions involving lignin model quinone methides. J. Wood Chem. Technol. 1983, 3, 161-181. 

---