Ring carbons, nucleophilic reactions

Ethyleneimine (aziridine) and carbon-substituted alkyleneimines are relatively weakly basic compounds [43, 44], This is ascribed to 71-electron delocalization in the ring [44]. By protonation of the imine cycle this aromaticity disappears, and iminium rings are much more readily broken than imines [45], Also the N-alkylethyleneimines are only weakly basic, and they are also more resistant to ring-opening nucleophilic reactions [46]. 

Imidazole reactivity was fully covered in CHEC-I, and only a brief summary is included here. The neutral molecule is Jt-excessive, being subject to electrophilic attack at N-3, less readily at C-4(5), and seldom at C-2. In benzimidazole electrophiles preferentially attack N-3 and the benzene ring carbons. Nucleophilic substitution reactions usually require some form of electron withdrawal elsewhere in the system, with displacements of groups at C-2 often favored. Imidazolium species are naturally more susceptible to nucleophilic attack, and they only undergo electrophilic substitutions with difficulty (e.g. nitration, sulfonation). The corresponding imidazole anions, when they can form, are highly reactive towards electrophiles. 

The allylic esters 189 and 191 conjugated with cyclopropane undergo regio-selective reactions without opening the cyclopropane ring. The soft carbon nucleophiles are introduced at the terminal carbon to give 190, and phenylation with phenylzinc chloride takes place on the cyclopropane ring to form 192[120]. 

Anomalous Fischer cyclizations are observed with certain c-substituted aryl-hydrazones, especially 2-alkoxy derivatives[l]. The products which are formed can generally be accounted for by an intermediate which w ould be formed by (ip50-substitution during the sigmatropic rearrangement step. Nucleophiles from the reaction medium, e.g. Cl or the solvent, are introduced at the 5-and/or 6-position of the indole ring. Even carbon nucleophiles, e.g. ethyl acetoacelate, can be incorporated if added to the reaction solution[2]. The use of 2-tosyloxy or 2-trifluoromethanesulfonyloxy derivatives has been found to avoid this complication and has proved useful in the preparation of 7-oxygen-ated indoles[3]. 

The preparation of 5-azothiazoles uses the nucleophilic character of C-5 carbon in reaction with the appropriate diazonium salt (402, 586). These 5-azothia2oles form 1 1 complexes with Ag (587). 2-Amino-4-methyl-5-arylazothiazoles give reduction waves involving two-electron transfer the Ej/ values correlate to the angle between the thiazole and phenyl rings (588). 

Nucleophilic Reactions. The strong electronegativity of fluorine results in the facile reaction of perfluoroepoxides with nucleophiles. These reactions comprise the majority of the reported reactions of this class of compounds. Nucleophilic attack on the epoxide ring takes place at the more highly substituted carbon atom to give ring-opened products. Fluorinated alkoxides are intermediates in these reactions and are in equiUbrium with fluoride ion and a perfluorocarbonyl compound. The process is illustrated by the reaction of methanol and HFPO to form methyl 2,3,3,3-tetrafluoro-2-methoxypropanoate (eq. 4). 

Isoxazoles are also rather stable to nucleophilic attack by OH at carbon. For reactions with base at a ring hydrogen atom, leading, for example, to ring opening of isoxazoles, see Section 4.02.1.7.1. 

Very little is known about nucleophilic attack on an unsubstituted carbon atom of pyrazoles and their aromatic derivatives (pyrazolones, pyrazolium ions). The SwAr reaction of halogenopyrazoles will be discussed in Section 4.04.2.3.7. Sulfur nucleophiles do not attack the ring carbon atoms of pyrazolium salts but instead the substituent carbon linked to nitrogen with concomitant dequaternization (Section 4.04.2.3.lO(ii)). The ring opening of pyrazolium salts by hydroxide ion occurs only if carbon C-3 is unsubstituted the exact mechanism is unknown and perhaps involves an initial attack of OH on C-3. 

Nucleophilic attack on ring carbon (Scheme 39) is the most important reaction of these compounds (the electrophile may bond to oxygen either before or after nucleophilic attack). For vinylogous nucleophilic opening by 5n2 attack on ethenyloxiranes see Section 5.5.3.8. 

S-Alkylthiiranium salts, e.g. (46), may be desulfurized by fluoride, chloride, bromide or iodide ions (Scheme 62) (78CC630). With chloride and bromide ion considerable dealkylation of (46) occurs. In salts less hindered than (46) nucleophilic attack on a ring carbon atom is common. When (46) is treated with bromide ion, only an 18% yield of alkene is obtained (compared to 100% with iodide ion), but the yield is quantitative if the methanesulfenyl bromide is removed by reaction with cyclohexene. Iodide ion has been used most generally. Sulfuranes may be intermediates, although in only one case was NMR evidence observed. Theoretical calculations favor a sulfurane structure (e.g. 17) in the gas phase, but polar solvents are likely to favor the thiiranium salt structure. 

Pyrazolino[2,3-c][l,2,3]triazoles, 5, 702 Pyrazolium hydroxide, l,2-dimethyl-3,5-diphenylanhydro-4-hydroxy-IR spectra, 5, 201 Pyrazolium salts dequatemization, 5, 269 H NMR, 5, 185 hydrogen exchange at ring carbon, 5, 245 mesoionic compounds, 5, 171 nitrodebromination, 5, 237 reactivity, 5, 217 reduction, 5, 68, 243 synthesis, 5, 156 UV spectra, 5, 199 Pyrazolium salts, amino-reactions, 5, 262 Pyrazolium salts, bromo-nucleophilic displacements, 5, 266 Pyrazolium salts, 1,2-dimethyl-deuteration, 5, 175, 245 hydrogen exchange, 5, 71 acid-catalyzed, 5, 239 reactions... 

How- does this reaction take place Although it appears superficially similar to the SN1 and S 2 nucleophilic substitution reactions of alkyl halides discussed in Chapter 11, it must be different because aryl halides are inert to both SN1 and Sj 2 conditions. S l reactions don t occur wdth aryl halides because dissociation of the halide is energetically unfavorable due to tire instability of the potential aryl cation product. S]sj2 reactions don t occur with aryl halides because the halo-substituted carbon of the aromatic ring is sterically shielded from backside approach. For a nucleophile to react with an aryl halide, it would have to approach directly through the aromatic ring and invert the stereochemistry of the aromatic ring carbon—a geometric impossibility. 

The C2-symmetric epoxide 23 (Scheme 7) reacts smoothly with carbon nucleophiles. For example, treatment of 23 with lithium dimethylcuprate proceeds with inversion of configuration, resulting in the formation of alcohol 28. An important consequence of the C2 symmetry of 23 is that the attack of the organometallic reagent upon either one of the two epoxide carbons produces the same product. After simultaneous hydrogenolysis of the two benzyl ethers in 28, protection of the 1,2-diol as an acetonide ring can be easily achieved by the use of 2,2-dimethoxypropane and camphor-sulfonic acid (CSA). It is necessary to briefly expose the crude product from the latter reaction to methanol and CSA so that the mixed acyclic ketal can be cleaved (see 29—>30). Oxidation of alcohol 30 with pyridinium chlorochromate (PCC) provides alde-... 

Alternatively, epoxides can be formed with concomitant formation of a C-C bond. Reactions between aldehydes and various carbon nucleophiles are an efficient route to epoxides, although the cis. trans selectivity can be problematic (see Section 9.1.4). Kinetic resolution (see Section 9.1.5.2) or dihydroxylation with sequential ring-closure to epoxides (see Section 9.1.1.3) can be employed when asymmetric epoxidation methods are unsatisfactory. 

Stereoselective reactions of this type known at present only deal with four- or five-membered cyclic iV-acyliminium ions. The reactions with carbon nucleophiles usually lead to rra/u-substi-tuted compounds with very high stereoselectivity due to steric control by the substituent already present in the ring. 

Not all nucleophiles are compatible with acid conditions, and unfortunately most carbon nucleophiles, especially RHgBr and RLi,definitely cannot be used in this way. The Friodel-Crafts reaction, with an aromatic ring as the carbon nucleophile, is quite satlsfactory. ... 

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