Desulfurization, Raney nickel

Through the work of especially Goldfarb et al. but also of Buu-Hoi et al., Badger et al., and Wynberg et al., the Raney nickel desulfurization of thiophenes has been developed to an important tool for the synthesis of aliphatic compounds. During the last 5 years over fifty papers have appeared describing applications of this method. 

Two different sets of experimental conditions have been used. Buu-Hoi et al. and Hansen have employed the method introduced by Papa et using Raney nickel alloy directly for the desulfurization in an alkaline medium. Under these conditions most functional groups are removed and this method is most convenient for the preparation of aliphatic acids. The other method uses Raney nickel catalysts of different reactivity in various solvents such as aqueous ammonia, alcohol, ether, or acetone. The solvent and activity of the catalyst can have an appreciable influence on yields and types of compounds formed, but have not yet been investigated in detail. In acetic anhydride, for instance, desulfurization of thiophenes does not occur and these reaction conditions have been employed for reductive acetylation of nitrothiophenes. Even under the mildest conditions, all double bonds are hydrogenated and all halogens removed. Nitro and oxime groups are reduced to amines. 

Fatty acids are prepared by acylating thiophene with acid chlorides and reducing the ketones (218) to alkylthiophenes according to Wolff-Kishner or Clemmensen. The latter are then acetylated and oxidized by hypochlorite to 5-alkyl-2-thiophenecarboxylic acids,  

Nishimura, S. Otsuka, and E. Imoto, Nippon Kagaku Zasshi 82, 1688 (1961). 

Instead of thiophenes the readily available di-2-thienylmethane can be used as a chain extender, introducing a nine carbon unit upon desulfurization. Similarly the two reactive positions of 2,2-bithienyl and 2,2, 5 ,2 -terthienyl have been utilized for the introduction of eight and twelve carbons, respectively.  

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The Gassman synthesis has been a particularly useful method for the synthesis of oxindolcs[lb,8]. Use of methylthioacetate esters in the reactions leads to 3-(methylthio)oxindoles which can be desulfurized with Raney nickel. Desulfurization can also be done by reduction with zinc or tin[10,ll]. 

Sulfenamides, R2NSR, prepared from an amine and a sulfenyl halide, " are readily cleaved by acid hydrolysis and have been used in syntheses of peptides, penicillins, and nucleosides. They are also cleaved by nucleophiles, and by Raney nickel desulfurization. ... 

Three different methods have been discussed previously (sections III-C,III-D and IV-A) for the replacement of a carbonyl oxygen by two deuteriums. However, in the conversion of a 3-keto steroid into the corresponding 3,3-d2 labeled analog, two of the three methods, electrochemical reduction (section ni-C) and Raney nickel desulfurization of mercaptal derivatives (section IV-A), lead to extensive deuterium scrambling and the third method, Clemmensen reduction (section III-D), yields a 2,2,3,3,4,4-dg derivative. 

In addition, the steric configuration can be obtained by Raney nickel desulfurization to optically active aliphatic acids of known con-figuration. 2 2 Combined with the quasi racemate method this... 

Correct structure proofs were earlier difficult to obtain, usually involving several reaction steps, and the structures were, therefore, assigned by analogy in many cases. However, through Raney nickel desulfurization (cf. Section VII,C), through NMR spectroscopy,and through polarographic analysis such problems are now easily solved. 

Archer, owing to very unfortunate coincidences, had mistaken acid potassium tartrate for the acetylamino acid. Goldfarb et al. prepared authentic 5-acetylamino-2-thiophenecarboxylic acid, mp 230 232°C (methyl ester, mp 171-171.5°C ethyl ester, mp 161°C), through reduction of 5-nitro-2-thiophenecarboxylic acid with Raney nickel in acetic anhydride and proved the structure by Raney nickel desulfurization to 8-aminovaleric acid. They also confirmed that the acid mp 272-273°C (methyl ester, mp 135-136°C ethyl ester, mp 116-117°C) is 4-acetylamino-2-thiophenecar boxy lie acid as originally stated by Steinkopf and Miiller. The statement of Tirouflet and Chane that the acid obtained upon reduction and acetylation of 5-nitro-2-thiophenecarboxylic acid melts at 272°C must result from some mistake as they give the correct melting point for the methyl ester. 

Acetylation of 2,3 -bithienyl occurs in the 5-position, which is in accordance with considerations on the localization energies, The structure was proved by hypochlorite oxidation followed by Raney nickel desulfurization of the 5-carboxy-2,3 -bithienyl. ... 

Raney nickel desulfurization of the macrocyclic ketones or their reduction products confirmed the structures assigned to these compounds and simultaneously offers new methods for the synthesis of macrocyclic alicyclic compounds. =°... 

Raney nickel desulfurization has been applied especially to the synthesis of different kinds of amino acids. a-Amino acids have been prepared by the Strecker synthesis of substituted thiophenealdehydes, followed by desulfurization of the thiophene a-amino acids. a-Amino-n-enantic acid, a-amino-n-caprylic acid, and norleucin have been obtained in about 50% yield from the appropriate thiophene aldehydes. From the desulfurization of thiophene -amino acids, obtained from the reaction of thiophenealdehydes with malonic acid in ammonia, aliphatic j8-amino acids, isolated as acetates, have been obtained in high yields. The desulfurization of 3-nitrothiophenes, such as (232), in ammonia leads to y-substituted amino acids (233). ... 

Raney cobalt is generally less effective than Raney nickel, but may be of use when the rupture of other bonds must be avoided. The important use of Raney nickel desulfurization for the structure determination of thiophenes and for the determination of the absolute configuration of optically active thiophene and benzene derivatives has been stressed earlier. 

The more generally known mercuric oxide-mercuric chloride hydrolysis 2 may also be used, and in the present case it gives a yield of about 90%. The reductive desulfurization of Part E is also based on the work of Mukaiyama.12 It is clearly superior to Raney nickel desulfurization, which gives only 36-45% of 3-benzylindole. 

The initial phosphine products were converted to the phosphine sulfides to protect them from oxidation and readily reconverted to the free phosphines by Raney nickel desulfurization.77... 

As will be seen through the specific examples discussed later, the yields in Raney nickel desulfurization are quite variable, rarely approaching quantitative doubtless some of the reported yields would have been higher had the spent nickel, which tends to adsorb the products, been extracted more exhaustively. 

Prins64 has recently discovered that lithium aluminum hydride hydrogenates 1,2-epoxides smoothly in high yield this single-step reaction would appear to outmode the Raney nickel desulfurization process for this purpose. 

The reaction sequence outlined in Scheme 12 illustrates how macrocyclic polyether-thiono diesters such as RR)-lfi6 can be prepared (184) from 0,0-dimethyl 2,6-pyridinedicaibothiolate and (RR)-S4, Potassium thiocyanate forms a 1 1 crystalline complex with (RR)-1S6 and presumably the potassium ion serves as a template for the (1 -I-1) cyclization. Raney nickel desulfurization of (/ R)-186 yields the chiral pyridino-18-crown-6 derivative RR)-191. 

The diphenyl derivative 388, R = R = Ph, has an absorption band at 1495 cm S which has been assigned to the carbonyl group. This assignment could be questioned. The following chemical reactions of the compound 388, R = R = Ph, may be noted (a) Raney nickel desulfurization followed by oxidation with manganese dioxide yields dibenzyl ketone,(b) hydrazine yields 3,5-diphenyl-4-hydroxypyrazole (390), (c) phenylhydrazine yields PhCH2COCPh=NNHPh," (d)... 

Only a limited number of examples are known of applications of thietanes in organic synthesis. Prominent among these examples would be electrophilic ring opening reactions leading to polyfunctional sulfur compounds (33)-(37), utilization of 3-thietanones (55) and metal complexes (87) derived therefrom as oxyallyl zwitterion equivalents in cycloaddition reactions, synthesis of dipeptide (63) with a /3-thiolactone, Raney nickel desulfurization of thietanes (e.g. 120 cf. Table 7) as a route to gem-dimethyl compounds, and desulfurization of thietanes (e.g. 17) in the synthesis of cyclopropanes (also see Table 7). 

Raney nickel desulfurization of thiophenes is an important technique of chain extension. Ring fission is accompanied by saturation of the ring carbon atoms and chain extension by four carbon atoms is effected. This method has been widely used to prepare alkanes, ketones and carboxylic acids and their derivatives (B-74MI30200). An illustrative example is given in Scheme 38 see also CHEC 1.16 and CHEC-II(2)522. 

Thiophenes have served as important four-carbon templates for molecular elaboration. Both functionalized cyclic and acyclic chains can be generated by carrying out conventional reactions on the thiophene nucleus and then performing a Raney nickel desulfurization at or near the very end of the scheme. Thus, the major constituent (279) of the Panamanian ant, Atta columbica, was made by Friedel-Crafts acylation of the thiophene derivative (277), followed by Grignard addition to the carbonyl group of (278), dehydration, and reductive desulfurization (Scheme 57) (60JOC1754). 

Monocyclic 2,3-dihydro-l,2,3-diazaborines are obtained by Raney nickel desulfurization of compounds (137), (138) and (139), giving dimethyl or ethyl substituted 2,3-dihydro-l,2,3-diazaborines (Scheme 27). 

Hydrogenation of 1,4-dimethyl-l//-2-benzothiopyran produces, as expected, cis-1,4-dimethylisothiochroman, the S, 5-dioxide of which exists in the boat conformation.260 As with 2H-l-benzothiopyran, the anion formed from the 5,5-dioxide of 6 shows considerable delocalization and potential aromaticity.286 Treatment of 1-substituted lH- 2-benzothiopyrans with thionyl chloride followed by perchloric acid yields 1-substituted 2-benzothiopyrylium salts,287 and Raney nickel desulfurization produces indane structures.288,289 Finally, the enamine... 

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