Reactions of Quaternary Ammonium Salts

This E2 elimination (Table 7-3) give the less substituted alkene (Hofmann product) rather than the more substituted alkene (Saytzeff product Section 6.3). 

Problem 18.29 Give the alkene formed from heating 

The less substituted alkene is formed (a) HjC=CH2, not H2C==CHCH3 (b) CH3CH2CH2CH=CHj, not CH3CHjCH=CHCH3. 

Problem 18.30 Deduce the structures of the following amines from the products obtained from exhaustive methylation and Hofmann elimination, (a) C,H jN (A) reacts with 1 mol of CH,I and eventually yields propene. (6) CjHjjN (B) reacts with 2 mol of CHjI and gives ethene and a 3° amine. The latter reacts with 1 mol of CH,I and eventually gives propene. 

Problem 18.31 Outline the reactions and reagents used to establish the structure of 4-methylpyridine by exhaustive methylation and Hofmann elimination.  

Problem 18.25 Compare and account for the products obtained from thermal decomposition of (a) 

3-Methyl-1,3-pentadiene more stable conjugated) diene 

Problem 18.25 Compare and account for the products obtained from thermal decomposition of (a) [(CH3)3N+(C2H5)]OH-, (b) (CH3)4N+OH-.  

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Amine oxides 2, which can be prepared by oxidation of amines 1, react upon heating to yield an olefin 3 and a hydroxylamine 4. This reaction is called the Cope elimination reaction,and as a synthetic method is a valuable alternative to the Hofmann degradation reaction of quaternary ammonium salts. 

Hofmann rule The principal alkene formed in the decomposition of quaternary ammonium hydroxides that contain different primary alkyl groups is always ethylene, if an ethyl group is present. Originally given in this limited form by A.W. Hofmann, the rule has since been extended and modified as follows When two or more alkenes can be produced in a P-elimination reaction, the alkene having the smallest number of alkyl groups attached to the double bond carbon atoms will be the predominant product. This orientation described by the Hofmann rule is observed in elimination reactions of quaternary ammonium salts and tertiary sulfonium salts, and in certain other cases. 

REACTIONS OF QUATERNARY AMMONIUM SALTS HOFMANN ELIMINATION... 

This property of quaternary ammonium salts is used to advantage m an experi mental technique known as phase transfer catalysis Imagine that you wish to carry out the reaction... 

The amino functional group is not commonly encountered in steroid synthesis except perhaps in steroidal alkaloids. However, certain elimination reactions have been shown to have theoretical and limited preparative importance, largely due to the efforts of McKenna and co-workers. The Hofmann rule for 2 elimination predicts that alkaline elimination of quaternary ammonium salts will occur towards the carbon carrying the most hydrogen atoms cf. the converse Saytzeff orientation, above). In cyclohexyl systems, the requirement for diaxial elimination appears to be important, as in other 2 eliminations, and the Hofmann rule frequently is not obeyed [e.g., (116) (117)]. 

When potassium fluoride is combined with a variety of quaternary ammonium salts its reaction rate is accelerated and the overall yields of a vanety of halogen displacements are improved [57, p 112ff. Variables like catalyst type and moisture content of the alkali metal fluoride need to be optimized. In addition, the maximum yield is a function of two parallel reactions direct fluorination and catalyst decomposition due to its low thermal stability in the presence of fluoride ion [5,8, 59, 60] One example is trimethylsilyl fluoride, which can be prepared from the chloride by using either 18-crown-6 (Procedure 3, p 192) or Aliquot 336 in wet chlorobenzene, as illustrated in equation 35 [61],... 

It is important to make the distinction between the multiphasic catalysis concept and transfer-assisted organometallic reactions or phase-transfer catalysis (PTC). In this latter approach, a catalytic amount of quaternary ammonium salt [Q] [X] is present in an aqueous phase. The catalyst s lipophilic cation [Q] transports the reactant s anion [Y] to the organic phase, as an ion-pair, and the chemical reaction occurs in the organic phase of the two-phase organic/aqueous mixture [2]. 

In our previous works[8,9] on the synthesis of various 5-membered cyclic carbonate, quaternary ammonium salts such as tetrabutylammonium halides showed excellent catalytic activities in relatively mild reaction conditions, under atmospheric pressure and below 140 U. hi this work, several kinds of quaternary ammonium salts have been used for the transesterification reactions of the ethylaie carbonate with methanol to DMC and ethylene glycol. 

Yuan et al. studied two types of condition for this reaction - use of either the alcohols or the corresponding halides as starting materials [16, 17]. In the presence of quaternary ammonium salts the reaction shown in Eq. (7) is complete within a few minutes. Typical results are given in Tab. 5.5. 

Increasing the hydrophobicity of quaternary ammonium salts increases the apparent extraction constants for the ion pair and therefore leads to a higher catalytic activity (Brandstrom, 1977). The same phenomenon has been observed by Cinquini and Tundo (1976) for crown ether catalysis (Table 35). The catalytic activity of 18-crown-6 [3] and alkyl-substituted derivatives [117]—[ 119] in the reaction of n-CgH17Br with aqueous KI follows the order [117], [118] > [119] s> [3]. The alkyl-substituted [2.2]-cryptand derivatives are also much more efficient than the parent compound [86]. Increasing the hydrophobicity of [2.2.2]-cryptand (Cinquini et al., 1975) and even of polypode ligands (Fornasier et al., 1976) leads to higher catalytic activity. The tetradecyl-substituted compounds show the reactivity sequence [2.2.2]-cryptand at 18-crown-6 > [2.2]-cryptand on the reactivity scale that can be distilled from Table 35. 

The ammonium catalyst can also influence the reaction path and higher yields of the desired product may result, as the side reactions are eliminated. In some cases, the structure of the quaternary ammonium cation may control the product ratio with potentially tautomeric systems as, for example, with the alkylation of 2-naph-thol under basic conditions. The use of tetramethylammonium bromide leads to predominant C-alkylation at the 1-position, as a result of the strong ion-pair binding of the hard quaternary ammonium cation with the hard oxy anion, whereas with the more bulky tetra-n-butylammonium bromide O-alkylation occurs, as the binding between the cation and the oxygen centre is weaker [11], Similar effects have been observed in the alkylation of methylene ketones [e.g. 12, 13]. The stereochemistry of the Darzen s reaction and of the base-initiated formation of cyclopropanes under two-phase conditions is influenced by the presence or absence of quaternary ammonium salts [e.g. 14], whereas chiral quaternary ammonium salts are capable of influencing the enantioselectivity of several nucleophilic reactions (Chapter 12). 

The rate of reaction of phosphorus oxychloride with phenols to produce triaryl phosphates is increased by the addition of quaternary ammonium salts and the reaction temperature can be reduced without loss of overall yield [1,2]. The analogous reaction between phenoxide anions and thiophosphoryl chloride produces aryl phosphoro-dichloridothoates [3]. As with the acylation of enolizable (3-dicarbonyl compounds (3.3.12), phosphorylation leads to the predominant formation of the E-O-phos-phoryiated derivatives [4,5]. 

The catalytic effect of quaternary ammonium salts in the basic liquid liquid two-phase alkylation of amines [1-3] is somewhat unexpected in view of the low acidity of most amines (pKfl>30). Aqueous sodium hydroxide is not a sufficiently strong base to deprotonate non-activated amines in aqueous solution and the hydroxide ion is not readily transferred into the organic phase to facilitate the homogeneous alkylation (see Chapter 1). Additionally, it is known that ion-pairs of quaternary ammonium cations with deprotonated amines are decomposed extremely rapidly by traces of water [4]. However, under solidrliquid two-phase conditions, the addition of a quaternary ammonium salt has been found to increase the rate of alkylation of non-activated amines by a factor of ca. 3-4 [5]. Similarly, the alkylation of aromatic amines is accelerated by the addition of the quaternary ammonium salt the reaction is accelerated even in the absence of an inorganic base, although under such conditions the amine is deactivated by the formation of the hydrohalide salt, and the rate of the reaction gradually decreases. Hence, the addition of even a weak base, such as... 

The reaction of methylenesulphones with allyl halides in the presence of quaternary ammonium salts produces the 1-allyl derivatives [52], unlike the corresponding reaction in the absence of the catalyst in which the SN- product is formed (Scheme 6.5). In contrast, alkylation of resonance stabilized anions derived from allyl sulphones produces complex mixtures [51] (Scheme 6.6). Encumbered allyl sulphones (e.g. 2-methylprop-2-enyl sulphones) tend to give the normal monoalkyl-ated products. Methylene groups, which are activated by two benzenesulphonyl substituents, are readily monoalkylated hydride reduction leads to the dithioacetal and subsequent hydrolysis affords the aldehyde [61]. 

The rate of the base-catalysed condensation of carbonyl compounds with alkyl groups activated by Jt-deficient aromatic systems is enhanced by the addition of quaternary ammonium salts. For example, 2-methylbenzoxazole, 2-methylbenzo-thiazole and 4-nitrotoluene react with a range of substituted benzaldehydes to produce the corresponding 2-styryl derivatives (62-80%) at room temperature over 1 -2 hours [61, 62]. The intermediate alcohol can also be isolated after a short reaction time. 

Palladium-catalysed C-C bond formation under Heck reaction conditions, which normally requires anhydrous conditions and the presence of copper(I) salts, is aided by the addition of quaternary ammonium salts. It has been shown that it is frequently possible to dispense with the copper catalyst and use standard two-phase reactions conditions [e.g. 18, 19]. Tetra-/i-butylammonium salts catalyse the palladium-catalysed reaction of iodoarenes with alkynes to yield the arylethynes in high yield [20, 21], whereas the reaction with 3-methylbut-1 -yn-3-ol (Scheme 6.30) provides a route to diarylethynes [22]. Diarylethynes are also formed from the reaction of an iodoarene with trimethylsilylethyne [23], Iodoalkynes react with a,p-unsaturated ketones and esters to produce the conjugated yne-eneones [19],... 

Esters are hydrolysed under basic conditions in the presence of quaternary ammonium salts [e.g. 1-7], Microwave activation of basic soliddiquid systems without an added solvent enhances the rate of saponification and the reaction is not affected by steric factors [3], Microwave irradiation has also been used in the hydrolysis and decarboxylation of malonic esters [8] and p-keto esters [9] (>90%). Lactones... 

The metal-catalysed autoxidation of alkenes to produce ketones (Wacker reaction) is promoted by the presence of quaternary ammonium salts [14]. For example, using copper(II) chloride and palladium(II) chloride in benzene in the presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, 1-decene is converted into 2-decanone (73%), 1,7-octadiene into 2,7-octadione (77%) and vinylcyclohexane into cyclo-hexylethanone (22%). Benzyltriethylammonium chloride and tetra-n-butylammo-nium hydrogen sulphate are ineffective catalysts. It has been suggested that the process is not micellar, although the catalysts have the characteristics of those which produce micelles. The Wacker reaction is also catalysed by rhodium and ruthenium salts in the presence of a quaternary ammonium salt. Generally, however, the yields are lower than those obtained using the palladium catalyst and, frequently, several oxidation products are obtained from each reaction [15]. 

A degree of stereoselective control of the course of a reaction, which is absent or different from that prevalent when the reaction is conducted in the absence of quaternary ammonium salts, may be achieved under standard phase-transfer catalysed reaction conditions. The reactions, which are influenced most by the phase-transfer catalyst, are those involving anionic intermediates whose preferred conformations or configurations can be controlled by the cationic species across the interface of the two-phase system. For example, in the base-catalysed Darzens condensation of aromatic aldehydes with a-chloroacetonitriles to produce oxiranes (Section 6.3), the intermediate anion may adopt either of the two conformations, (la) or (lb) which are stabilized by interaction across the interface by the cations (Scheme 12.1) [1-4]. 

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