Reverse of Fischer

As indicated by the position of lsO in the product, the acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of r-butyl acetate in water enriched in lsO does not follow the mechanism for the reverse of Fischer esterification, shown in Figure 19.3. Suggest a mechanism that explains the position of the lxO in the product and explain why this mechanism is favored in this case. 

Show how an ester can react with H /H20 to give a carboxylic acid and an alcohol (H/nt This is the reverse of Fischer esterification) ... 

Esters react with water in the presence of an acid catalyst to produce a carboxylic acid and alcohol. The mechanism is exactly the reverse of Fischer esterification, explaining why Fischer esterification is an equilibrium process. 

Ester hydrolysis (Section 18.8) The conversion of an ester into an acid through treatment with an acid catalyst in excess water. The reverse of Fischer esterification. This reaction also occurs in base, and is called saponification in that case. 

Hydrolysis (Sections 20 10 and 20 11) Ester hydrolysis may be catalyzed either by acids or by bases Acid catalyzed hydrolysis is an equilibrium controlled process the reverse of the Fischer esterification Hydrolysis in base IS irreversible and is the method usual ly chosen for preparative purposes... 

Section 2010 Ester hydrolysis can be catalyzed by acids and its mechanism (Figure 20 4) is the reverse of the mechanism for Fischer esterification The reaction proceeds via a tetrahedral intermediate... 

The net effect of Fischer esterification is substitution of an -OH group by —OR. Aii steps are reversible, and the reaction can be driven in either direction by choice of reaction conditions. Ester formation is favored when a large excess of alcohol is used as solvent, but carboxylic acid formation is favored when a large excess of water is present. 

Acid-catalyzed ester hydrolysis can occur by more than one mechanism, depending on the structure of the ester. The usual pathway, however, is just the reverse of a Fischer esterification reaction (Section 21.3). The ester is first activated toward nucleophilic attack by protonation of the carboxyl oxygen atom, and nucleophilic addition of water then occurs. Transfer of a proton and elimination of alcohol yields the carboxylic acid (Figure 21.8). Because this hydrolysis reaction is the reverse of a Fischer esterification reaction, Figure 21.8 is the reverse of Figure 21.4. 

Active Figure 21.8 MECHANISM Mechanism of acid-catalyzed ester hydrolysis. The forward reaction is a hydrolysis the back-reaction is a Fischer esterification and is thus the reverse of Figure 21.4. Sign in afwww.thomsonedu.com to see a simulation based on this figure and to take a short quiz. 

Just as the Kiliani-Fischer synthesis lengthens an aldose chain by one carbon, the Wohl degradation shortens an aldose chain by one carbon. The Wohl degradation is almost the exact opposite of the Kiliani-Fischer sequence. That is, the aldose aldehyde carbonyl group is first converted into a nitrile, and the resulting cyanohydrin loses HCN under basic conditions—the reverse of a nucleophilic addition reaction. 

The kinetic and thermodynamic properties of Fischer-type carbene complexes have also been addressed by Bernasconi, who relates the strength of the 7r-donor substituent to the thermodynamic acidity [95-101] and the kinetics and mechanism of hydrolysis and reversible cyclization to differences in the ligand X [96,102]. 

The spiroindolinobenzopyran 2 is a classical example of spiropyran and is easily prepared by the condensation of l,3,3-trimethyl-2-methyleneindo-line (Fischer s base) and salicylaldehyde in anhydrous ethanol or benzene (Scheme 2).ia The nucleophilic attack of Fischer s base on the carbonyl group (like an enamine) gives an aldol product, which undergoes ring closure followed by dehydration. This condensation is reversible therefore, an exchange of the salicylaldehyde component of spiropyran with a different salicylaldehyde is possible. For example, when a solution of spiropyran 2 (Scheme 2) was refluxed with 3,5-dinitro-substituted salicylaldehyde, the open form of 6,8-dinitro-BIPS was obtained.2... 

Let us now return to the pioneering work of Fischer and Tiemann.4 Chitonic acid is produced from D-glucosamine by deamination and oxidation, in that order. If the order is reversed, however, i. e., if D-glucos-amine is first oxidized to D-glucosaminic acid (2-amino-D-gIuconic acid) and the latter substance subsequently deaminated, chitonic acid is not the product. Instead an isomeric 2,5-anhydro hexonic acid (chitaric acid) is obtained. These facts may be summarized thus ... 

Acid hydrolysis is the reverse of the Fischer esterification, seen earlier in the section Acid plus alcohol. Figure 12-34 illustrates the mechanism. 

Problem 22.10 Outline the steps in the Wohl degradation, which employs a dehydration of an aldose oxime and is thus a reversal of the Kiliani-Fischer step-up method. 

Possible inter relationships of natural substances are important. Similarities of the low molecular weight alkane isomers from crude oil and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis product have been reported. A similar composition for high temperature coal carbonization has been found. The C4 to C7 alkane isomers from these sources can be calculated quantitatively with equations developed for Fischer-Tropsch products. A reversal of the concentrations of the monomethyl isomers from CG (2 Me > 3 Me) to C7 (3 Me > 2 Me) occurs in all three products comparisons at higher carbon numbers indicate some dissimilarities. Naphthene isomers for crude oil and high temperature coal carbonization also have similar compositions. Aliphatic hydrocarbons from low temperature coal processes are considerably different. The C1 isotopic composition of pure compounds from the various sources are being compared in order to provide information on their origin. 

One of the interesting points concerning the prediction of crude oil and Fischer-Tropsch compositions is the quantitative success in predicting reversal of methyl isomers. In the Ce s the concentration of 2-methylpentane is found to be greater than that of 3-methylpentane, whereas in the C7S the situation is reversed as 3-methylhexane becomes greater than 2-methylhexane. 

Ester hydrolysis is the most studied and best understood of all nucleophilic acyl substitutions. Esters are fairly stable in neutral aqueous media but are cleaved when heated with water in the presence of strong acids or bases. The hydrolysis of esters in dilute aqueous acid is the reverse of the Fischer esterification (Sections 15.8 and 19.14) ... 

When carbon monoxide is produced from hydrocarbons, the process amounts to the reverse of the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis. 

Esters can be hydrolyzed to carboxylic acids under either acidic or basic conditions. Under acidic conditions the mechanism is the exact reverse of the Fischer esterification mechanism shown in Figure 19.3. Again, because the acid and the ester have comparable reactivities, some method must be used to drive the equilibrium toward the desired product—the acid in this case. This can be accomplished by using water as the solvent, providing a large excess of this reagent that, by Le Chatelier s principle, shifts the equilibrium toward the carboxylic acid. 

This acid-catalyzed mechanism resembles the reverse of the mechanism for Fischer es-... 

Butyl esters can be cleaved by reaction with dilute acid under milder conditions than those required to hydrolyze a methyl ester. The reaction follows an SNI mechanism, rather than the reverse of the Fischer esterification mechanism, because of the stability of the /-butyl carbocation ... 

First all three ester bonds and both amide bonds are hydrolyzed to carboxylic acid groups by the aqueous acid. The mechanisms for these reactions are discussed in Section 19.5. The ester hydrolyses follow the exact reverse of the Fischer esterification mechanism shown in Figure 19.3, and the amide hydrolysis occurs by a very similar mechanism. The product of these hydrolysis steps has three carboxylic acid groups and one amino group. Two of these acid groups are attached to the same carbon so that one can be eliminated as carbon dioxide by the cyclic mechanism described in Section 20.4 for the malonic ester synthesis ... 

Acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of an ester is simply the reverse of the Fischer esterification equilibrium. Addition of excess water drives the equilibrium toward the acid and the alcohol. 

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