Reactions in Aqueous Media

A variety of metal complexes are known to catalyze oxidation of CO to CO2 in aqueous media [195-217]. The mechanism of CO2 formation in these cases, however, is quite different and may not involve oxygen atom transfer to coordinated CO. One medianism which appears to be operative in a number of cases involves attack by water on CO within the coordination sphere to give CO2 and a reduced metal complex. The function of oxygen may therefore be merely to oxidize the metal complex back to the catalytically active state. In other instances oxygen activation and transfer to coordinated CO have been postulated to occur in aqueous media. 

The oxidation of CO by dioxygen is catalyzed by cupric acetate in aqueous solution [195]. The stoichiometry of this reaction was originally described as shown in equations (149) and (150), addition of which gives the observed overall reaction CO+1/2 02- -C02. 

Kinetic studies carried out by Byerley and Lee [195] lead these authors to postulate a different reaction pathway. 

The rate of this reaction expressed as the rate of disappearance of oxygen, was found to be proportional to the concentrations of O2, CO, and Cu(II), and inversely proportional to the hydrogen ion concentration [195], equation (151). 

The importance of aqueous reactions is now generally recognized, and development of carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions that can be performed in aqueous media is now one of the most challenging topics in organic synthesis [59]. It has been found that Sc(OTf)3 was effective in aldol reactions of silyl enolates with aldehydes in aqueous media (water-THF Eq. 16) [4]. Reaction between aromatic and aliphatic aldehydes such as benzaldehyde and 3-phenylpropionaldehyde and silyl enolates have been performed successfully in aqueous solvents. In addition, direct treatment of aqueous solutions of water-soluble formaldehyde and chloroacetaldehyde with silyl enolates affords the corresponding aldol adducts in good yields. Water-sensitive silyl enolates could be used in aqueous solutions with Sc(OTf)3 as catalyst. 

Sc(OTf)3-catalyzed aldol reactions of silyl enol ethers with aldehydes have recently been successfully performed in micellar systems [60]. Although the reaction proceeded sluggishly in water (without organic solvents), reactivity was remarkably enhanced by the presence of a small amount of a surfactant. In these systems, versatile carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions proceeded smoothly in water without the use of organic solvents. 

More silyl enolate (1.5 equiv.) was added after 6 h. 

Several examples of Sc(OTf)3-catalyzed aldol reactions in micellar systems are shown in Table 4. Not only aromatic, but also aliphatic and a,j8-unsaturated aldehydes react with silyl enol ethers to afford the corresponding aldol adducts in high yields. Aqueous formaldehyde solution also worked well. Even the ketene silyl acetals, which readily hydrolyze in the presence of a small amount of water, reacted with aldehydes 

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This thesis contributes to the knowledge of catalysis in water, us it describes an explorative journey in the, at the start of the research, unh odded field of catalysis of Diels-Alder reactions in aqueous media. The discussion will touch on organic chemistry, coordination chemistry and colloid chemistry, largely depending upon the physical-organic approach of structural variation for the elucidation of the underlying mechanisms and principles of the observed phenomena. 

The extreme influence water can exert on the Diels-Alder reaction was rediscovered by Breslow in 1980, much by coincidence . Whale studying the effect of p-cyclodextrin on the rate of a Diels-Alder reaction in water, accidentally, the addition of the cyclodextrin was omitted, but still rate constants were observed that were one to two orders of magnitude larger than those obtained in organic solvents. The investigations that followed this remarkable observation showed that the acceleration of Diels-Alder reactions by water is a general phenomenon. Table 1.2 contains a selection from the multitude of Diels-Alder reactions in aqueous media that have been studied Note that the rate enhancements induced by water can amount up to a factor 12,800 compared to organic solvents (entry 1 in Table 1.2). 

In summary, a wealtli of experimental data as well as a number of sophisticated computer simulations univocally indicate that two important effects underlie the acceleration of Diels-Alder reactions in aqueous media hydrogen bonding and enforced hydrophobic interactionsIn terms of transition state theory hydrophobic hydration raises the initial state more tlian tlie transition state and hydrogen bonding interactions stabilise ftie transition state more than the initial state. The highly polarisable activated complex plays a key role in both of these effects. 

Because of the mentioned leveling effect of the solvent (or excess acid itself acting as such) the acidity cannot exceed that of its conjugate acid. In the case of water the limiting acidity is that of HsO. Proton-ated water, H30 (hydronium ion), was first postulated in 1907, and its preeminent role in acid-catalyzed reactions in aqueous media was first realized in the acid-base theory of Bronsted and Lowry. Direct experimental evidence for the hydronium ion in solution and in the... 

Reactions in Aqueous Media. The chemistry of aqueous iodine has been extensively studied because of the role of iodine as a disinfectant (see Disinfectants AND antiseptics). The system is very complex, owing to the number of oxidation states available to iodine under ambient conditions (48). 

Photolysis or thermolysis of persulfate ion (41) (also called peroxydisulfate) results in hoinolysis of the 0-0 bond and formation of two sulfate radical anions. The thermal reaction in aqueous media has been widely studied."51 232 The rate of decomposition is a complex function of pH, ionic strength, and concentration. Initiator efficiencies for persulfate in emulsion polymerization are low (0.1-0.3) and depend upon reaction conditions (Le. temperature, initiator concentration)."33... 

Li C. J. Organic Reactions in Aqueous Media - With a Focus on Carbon-Carbon Bond Formation Chem. Rev. (Washington, D. C.) 1993 93 2023-2035 Keywords Diels-Alder reactions... 

Heck reaction in aqueous media Jeffery. T. Tetrahedron Utt., 1994, 35, 3051... 

Comprehensive Organic Reactions in Aqueous Media, Second Edition, by Chao-Jun... 

The most extensive studies of alkane reactions in aqueous media are on the oxygenation reaction. In fact, nature has used monooxygenase (found in mammalian tissue) and other enzymes to catalyze the oxidation of alkanes to give alcohols in aqueous environments at ambient... 

Kotschy et al. also reported a palladium/charcoal-catalyzed Sono-gashira reaction in aqueous media. In the presence of Pd/C, Cul, PPI13, and z -Pr2NH base, terminal alkynes smoothly reacted with aryl bromides or chlorides, such as 2-pyridyl chloride, 4-methylphenyl bromide, and so on, to give the expected alkyne products in dimethyl-acetamide (DMA)-H20 solvent. Wang et al. reported an efficient cross-coupling of terminal alkynes with aromatic iodides or bromides in the presence of palladium/charcoal, potassium fluoride, cuprous iodide, and triph-enylphosphine in aqueous media (THF/H20, v/v, 3/1) at 60°C.35 The palladium powder is easily recovered and is effective for six consecutive runs with no significant loss of catalytic activity. 

Besides palladium catalysts, nickel was also found to be an effective catalyst for the Sonogashira reaction in aqueous media. Recently, Beletskaya et al. reported a Ni(PPh3)2Cl2/CuI-catalyzed Sonogashira coupling reaction of terminal acetylenes with aryl iodides in aqueous dioxane in high yields (Eq. 4.19).39... 

Allylation of the C-3 position of the cephem nucleus was accomplished by either indium-mediated or indium trichloride-promoted tin-mediated allylation reactions in aqueous media. Both methods gave 3-allyl-3-hydroxycephams in moderate to excellent yields.149... 

The indium-mediated allylation reaction in aqueous media has been applied to the studies on the total synthesis of dysiherbaine (Scheme 8.18).159... 

Mechanistic Discussion. For the mechanism of the metal-mediated allylation reaction in aqueous media, Li proposed a carbanion-allylmetal-radical triad (Figure 8.1) in which the specific mechanism of the... 

Selective retro-aldol has also been reported by using aqueous HC1 in THF.243 Recently, catalytic aldol reactions in aqueous media have generated great interest due to the atom-economy related to the reaction. Reaction of 2-alkyl-1,3-diketones with the aqueous formaldehyde using aqueous 6-10 M potassium carbonate as base afforded aldol reaction products, which are cleaved by the base to give vinyl ketones (Eq. 8.96).244... 

The Diels-Alder reaction is one of the most important methods used to form cyclic structures and is one of the earliest examples of carbon-carbon bond formation reactions in aqueous media.21 Diels-Alder reactions in aqueous media were in fact first carried out in the 1930s, when the reaction was discovered,22 but no particular attention was paid to this fact until 1980, when Breslow23 made the dramatic observation that the reaction of cyclopentadiene with butenone in water (Eq. 12.1) was more than 700 times faster than the same reaction in isooctane, whereas the reaction rate in methanol is comparable to that in a hydrocarbon solvent. Such an unusual acceleration of the Diels-Alder reaction by water was attributed to the hydrophobic effect, 24 in which the hydrophobic interactions brought together the two nonpolar groups in the transition state. 

Recently, water-tolerating Lewis acid has been used to catalyze various Diels-Alder reactions in aqueous media. An important aspect of the Diels-Alder reaction is the use of Lewis acids for the activation of the substrates. While most Lewis acids are decomposed or deactivated in water, Bosnich reported that [Ti(Cp )2(H20)2]2+ is an air-stable, water-tolerant Diels-Alder catalyst.35 A variety of different substrates were subjected to the conditions to give high yields and selectivity (Eq. 12.6). 

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